The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street

Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone

by Rod Serling, Theodore Bikel (Narrator)

On a sunny Saturday, Maple Street is plunged into darkness and turned into bedlam when a brilliant flash dwarfs the sun. Chaos reigns as the people turn on each other. But what is the enemy--hysteria or the people?

Genres: Graphic Novels, Horror, Short Stories, Fiction, Science Fiction, Comics, Young Adult

Audio Cassette

First published December 23, 2008

About the author

Rodman Edward "Rod" Serling (December 25, 1924–June 28, 1975) was an American screenwriter and television producer, best known for his live television dramas of the 1950s and his science fiction anthology TV series, The Twilight Zone.

Reviews

[Melki · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are weapons that are simply thoughts, attitudes, prejudices - found only in the pettiness of the human mind.

For the record, prejudices can kill and suspicion can destroy, and a thoughtless, frightened search for a scapegoat has fallout all its own . . .

Things get a little out of hand when the peace of quiet Maple Street is shattered by the prospect of a monstrous invasion. As so often happens during a crisis, be it a blackout, or a raging pandemic, we soon discover that the "monsters" are already living among us.

This is a decent enough graphic rendering of one of the more well known Twilight Zone episodes, one written by Serling himself.



At first I was concerned about putting this on the library's shelves, as it seems a bit violent for the younger set. But, then again, since Lockdown Drills are now as prevalent in schools as the ABCs, I suppose the kiddos can handle this somewhat bloody tale of neighbor versus neighbor.

[M.M. Strawberry Library & Reviews · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun read, but I also recommend watching the original Twilight Zone episode that this book is based off.

[Samantha Constant · Rating 3 out of 5]

Samantha Constant
“The Monsters are Due on Maple Street” - Rod Serling

One mid-afternoon, a bright, flashing light shoots across the sky. People start turning on each other because they are unsure of everything and they don’t listen to reason. Everyone starts fighting and someone dies. Nobody was safe.
I think the characters are real because they live in a normal, everyday town. I also believe they are real because it shows people what will happen if you don’t listen to reason it will tear you apart, as well as others.
When I close my eyes to picture Les Goodman, I see a tall man with no facial hair. His hair on his head is brown and he is always have a smile on his face, except for when the aliens came. I also picture him looking angry and terrified.
“Mr. Brand . . . you better not!” -- page 73. This quote means something to me because it is what started the whole arguments and mobs. When the kid told everyone the story of the aliens, the street’s people didn’t believe him at first. Then they started playing the blame game and got a “civil war” going.
Some of the characters, like Steve, listen to reason. You can tell these characters are smart because they always back everything the angry mob said. He started most of his sentences like, “Now wait a minute…” Other characters are angry, confused, worried, and scared. You can tell because they are all yelling out concerns and harsh judgements.
I liked most of the story, but I didn’t like some of the story. The reason why I did like most of it is because the story has a lot of drama (which I like) and it teaches us, kids, a great story. We can take that story and learn from it. The reason why I didn’t like some of it was because I don’t like the way they used aliens as the reason they started fighting. I think they could have used something more realistic, something maybe that we have/will do in life.
The theme of this story is the meaning; the message that the author is trying to get across the reader. In my opinion, I think the theme of the story is that if you start making accusations without a good amount of evidence, things can go very wrong. People can lose trust in others who jump to conclusions. For example, when the people on the street saw weird things happening, they jumped to conclusions and made accusations. The street erupted into cauious.

[Alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

I remember this story rather well, and was looking forward to reading this one. But honestly, it did better on television than as a graphic novel. Good opportunities for talking and acting, but not for this format. Also, the choice for how it was colored to show the lantern light was unnecessary.

The binding on these books is poor. Picked up several and the binding glue separated the cover from the book.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Really nice adaptation that stays faithful to Rod's story in an easy-to-digest way. Stories like these pioneered the sci fi genre, but having now seen so many variations & similar storylines to this one, I felt like I wanted something a bit more. Still a great place to start for kids or people just getting into the genre!

[Janelle Toledo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Janelle Toledo
Goodreads Review Practice
“The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street”- Rod Serling



1.The people of Maple Street are very much like any other neighborhood.Then something happens. The people that live on Maple Street see the sky light up, and then strange things happen. The power goes off, and nothing works. The citizens run around, confused.The next thing you know, people start to blame one another.

SPOILER ALERT- Aliens were the cause of the confusion.

2.The characters in the story seem real because they remind me of every neighborhood in either a story, or in real life.



3.In my mind, the main character would look like a normal person, like everyone else on the outside.


4.In the story, Steve said,"We're all on a monster kick, Les. Seems that the general impression hold that maybe one family isn't what we think they are. Monsters from outer space or something." In this quote, Steve showed that he was just straight forward person, who only said what he thought.


5.The characters go back and forth, blaming other people for what they think. They thought that someone was to blame, when they didn’t have any support to their claim.



6.I did sort of like this book, because it was very interesting, with many encounters, and mysteries. It had foreshadowed a lot, and at the end, it was a surprise.


7.I think the theme of the story is when you blame people without knowing that it is actually he or she that did it. It could become very serious, and there would be consequences. SPOILER ALERT- When Les Goodman couldn’t start his car, he got out and it started to work. After that, people started to yell accusations at him.

[Annlin Titus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Annlin Titus
Goodreads Review Practice
‘’The Monsters are Due on Maple Street’’-Rod Sterling

1.This story took place in a street known as ‘’Maple Street’’ and it’s about a group of families that lived on that street, and about a major conflict that happened between the people about a mysterious and strange events that occurred on a fairly normal day. Steve Brand is one of the main characters and minor characters include his neighbors. The conflict in the story is that the people living on that street believe there is a family living on their street that is believed to be not human and are somehow responsible for the strange loss of electricity and the object that made a loud noise earlier in the afternoon. So that’s when the people started pointing fingers at each other and that and the after effects forms the plot of this story.

SPOILER ALERT!!!!!! Tommy,the fourteen year old boy, was right when he said that aliens from space had come. These aliens had controlled the lights and all other electronics by a special controlling device. Through this they observed a pattern which consists of the people accusing one another and eventually destroying their street. The ultimate goal of the aliens are to destroy each city one by one without even doing anything except repeating that pattern.

2.I believe that the characters in this short story are totally seem real based upon their appearance, speech, and actions. The truth is that every single one of these character’s reactions are closely resembled to how we would most likely act if for some reason all our electricity completely stops with no technical reason, and out of nowhere individuals’s cars and lights start turning on and off while no one else’s does. The most creepiest detail about the characters is that all of them had went on with their lives just as we would how on a normal day. There was absolutely no detail in the story that couldn't be relatable, well other than the mysterious sightings and electricity going off.

3.In my mind, the main character Steve Brand, is a middle aged man who had brown hair and tannish skin that wore an everyday collared shirt and dark pants. All the other people on the street that were men wore similar clothing, some even wore work clothes that looked professional. The women most likely wore lighter shade frocks and had short hair that wasn’t much longer than their shoulders. The boys wore shirts and trousers while the little girls wore frocks and skirts. If I had to sum up their clothing, I would say it reminds me of the middle 1900s clothing.

4.‘’A shotgun? Good Lord- will anybody think a thought around here? Will you people wise up? What good would a shotgun do against-’’-82. Compared to the other people living on Maple Street, Steve seems to be the only one that uses logic and try to be rational. He seems to grasp the idea that shooting an alien with a shotgun isn’t really a reasonable idea since they’re aliens and they can probably deflect the shotgun. He also disagrees with the idea of shooting since no one really has any evidence that the figure in the dark is actually an alien. Steve is definitely the only character that cares to use logic and try to find a reasonable solution to their conflict. If all the characters acted like Steve, than the alien’s plan of destroying the humans may of failed.

5. The characters do plenty of unreasonable and illogical things that make them turn against one another. One character in particular,Charlie, was extremely suspicious of everyone even without a single piece of evidence or a proper judgement. Without a second thought, Charlie shot Pete Van Horn thinking he was an alien. From this, I can conclude that Charlie is a very inconsiderate and aggressive.

6.I definitely liked the book and it’s many aspects that relates to life nowadays. I especially liked two elements in the story-the way the author describes the characters and the way he narrates the story. The description,speech, and actions of the characters seem way too real in a way it gets a little creepy. I mean if I just took a glance around my neighborhood and I see a man washing his car, a group of kids playing a game, and mothers cooking something in the kitchen, I wouldn’t be astonished. I also liked the way the narration gives details about the setting and how the characters reacted to all the events.

7.The theme of a novel is the moral or lesson learned through the characters, events, emotions, and conclusion of a novel. The theme of a story is different based on one’s interpretation and understanding of the concept. For some it may appear as the solution to a better ending and for others it may connect to the world around us. The theme can simply be considered as the ‘’meaning’’ of a story rather than what it is actually about.
Based on my understanding and interpretation of the story, ‘’The Monsters are due on Maple Street,’’ I believe the theme or moral of this story is that one should not jump into conclusions without proper evidence or an absolute understanding of the situation. I believe that my theme is correct because it sums up the mistake the people of Maple Street did and gave us a fine understanding of not to do in a situation like this. The people that lived on Maple Street lived together calmly and normally for a decent amount of time before all of these mysterious and strange events started occurring. Then all of a sudden they start falsely accusing one another without evidence or a clear understanding of the situation. The accusations were not only false but also the building steps to the destruction of that street and its people.

[✩▹Lily◃✩ {Newt's Version} (Field Hockey Break) · Rating 3 out of 5]

read for school today

[Lauren Alexander · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lauren Alexander
Goodreads review
The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street- Rod Serling




It is a late summer day on Maple Street and at 6:43 P.M there was a loud roar followed with a blinding light of something very mysterious and unknown. Suddenly, strange things begin to happen. Car engines roar to life without anyone in the driver's seat, lights turn on and off, lawn mowers start with no one near it. They begin to blame the strange phenomenon on each other.

2. The characters in The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street seem real and believable. The characters remind me of people I would live next to, neighbors almost. The way they would be outside doing what any other person would be doing, nothing out of the ordinary and how they would interact with each other makes them seem real.


3. If I were to pick one character that I could visualize clearly, it would have to be Tommy. To me Tommy looks like a tall, lean boy who would wear a tan polo shirt with nice blue jeans. He represents the average looking boy.


4. “ It’s always that way, in every story I ever read about a ship landing from outer space.” This quote from Tommy is very important later in the story. Tommy gave a foreshadowing quote in a way that would make it seem childish or not reliable. In reality, Tommy was the only reliable source but no one realized it.


5. Before the strange appearance in the sky appeared, everyone was acting as if it were just another day on Maple Street. When the mysterious unknown object flew over Maple Street, everybody started to act strange, slightly frightened almost. When cars roared to life, lights came on and off, and lawn mowers started that's when the people of Maple Street started to point fingers. They started mobs and cornered many, but poor Pete Van Horn was shot dead. His neighbors thought he was a monster coming to get them, when all he did was go to the next neighborhood over to see if they had electricity. The entire neighborhood of Maple Street was jumping to conclusions based off of what a boy said.

SPOILER ALERT:

6. I gave this story four out of five stars. I did that because I did thoroughly enjoyed the book but the aliens making all the commotion, plus the space ship made it seem unrealistic. I did think the characters and the way they acted was realistic but the aliens were not as believable. I liked the overall theme of the story. Not everybody will take the same theme away from this story, but the theme I took from this story could help me in the real world.


7. Theme- theme is the moral or lesson taught in the story
The theme I took away from the story is to not jump to conclusions. As we saw in the story, the strange things kept happening and people kept pointing fingers at each other instead of being calm, collected adults. That turned into mobs, shootings and much more. If they had not jumped to conclusions some of the tragic events would not have happened

[Sienna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sienna Pinney
The Monsters are Due on Maple Street-Rod Sterling

The story “The Monsters are due on Maple Street” is about the citizens on maple street. The sky lights up for no apparent reason. Suddenly, strange things happen. Power goes on and off at certain peoples houses. Cars turn on and off without a driver or keys in the car. People begin to turn against each other.

SPOILER ALERT!!! Aliens are running an experiment on the residents of maple street, and intend to eventually take over the world.

The characters seem somewhat real because they act how we act. They get into arguments, they have friends, and we learn a little about their lives. The people are like any of us. They act just like how we do. The main character, Steve Brand , is a taller man with brown hair, as it reveals in the book. Pete Vanhorn was the man that got blasted by the shotgun when he came back to see if the power was still on at Floral Street.

The characters are all nervous, and ready to pin the whole mess on someone else. They are jumping to conclusions, and are making themselves the enemy that will eventually destroy them all. In the book it says,” A gag? A gag? Charlie, there's a dead man on the sidewalk and you killed him! Does this look like a gag to you?” That was Steve talking to Charlie after Charlie blasted Pete Vanhorn with a shotgun, and Charlie tried to pin it on someone else as a gag. This shows that each person was afraid, and that none of them wanted to be the one who was causing the whole mess.

The actions of the characters are frantic and hurried, and they are moving around a lot. When Charlie shot Pete Vanhorn, it was because he was scared, and was trying to prove a point to Steve. Near the end of the story, all the characters turn against each other and are fighting amongst themselves. They turn ordinary things into weapons to try and defeat the enemy amongst themselves, but they don't realize that the only enemy is themselves.

Jumping to conclusion based on what you don`t know and understand is very dangerous. It says in the book,” The tools of conquest do not necessarily come with bombs and explosions and fallout. There are weapons that are simply thoughts, attitudes, prejudices-to be found only in the minds of men. For the record, prejudices can kill and suspicion can destroy, and a thoughtless, frightened search for a scapegoat has a fallout all of its own for the children...the children yet unborn…” It says in the story that the people of Maple Street destroyed themselves. Do not suffer the same fate as the people from Maple Street.

[Isabelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Isabelle Earley
Goodreads Review
The Monsters are Due on Maple Street -Rod Sterling

The citizens of Maple Street are witnessing something very strange happening in their neighborhood. First, a very strange light is seen flying across the sky. People are shocked and start jumping to conclusions. A young boy suggests that the mysterious object was a spaceship and aliens were going to take over. A while later, all the lights in the houses go out and car engines don't start. The people of Maple Street start to turn against one another and try to put the blame on people who have done questionable acts, like, stare at the sky in the middle of the night, or anything that can make someone seem suspicious.
The characters in this novel were very realistic and seemed like real everyday people. Some even reminded me of my own neighbors. The small illustrations that the novel contained were very similar to the characters that I pictured in my head.
I imagine that the main character Tommy, looks like a normal, everyday, friendly kid that spends his time reading comics and watching T.V.
After the neighbors start to jump to conclusions and narrow the possibilities down to a few people, Les Goodman steps up and says, “What is this, a gag or something? This a practical joke or something?” This statement shows that Goodman is open to possibilities and assumes that someone is messing with them because he doesn’t believe in aliens.
As the characters angrily start toward Les Goodman’s house after his car started by itself, Steve interrupts the mob and says, “Wait a minute… wait a minute! Let’s not be a mob!” Steve’s actions show that he didn’t want to overwhelm Les. So he took responsibility of the group and decided that only a few of the neighbors would go up and ask him about the situation.
I enjoyed this story because it had great descriptions of what the town looked like and of the people in the story. But sometimes the descriptions were too long and repetitive when I just wanted to know what would happen next in the plot.
The theme of a story is the lesson, message, or moral interpreted by characters. The author most likely doesn’t tell the reader what the theme is, so it can be tricky to determine what the author is trying to say. The theme of this novel in my opinion, was to not always jump to conclusions because sometimes yours or others ideas can lead you in the wrong direction and cause you to do terrible acts.

[Kristina Calugay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kristina Calugay
Goodreads Review Practice
“The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street” - Rod Serling

1. The setting in the story is highly realistic. First, the neighborhood is normal. It has regular/average houses with regular/average people.Also, in real life, power outage is normal. The name Maple Street sounds like a normal/regular name for a neighborhood too.
SPOILER ALERT: The only thing that doesn’t seem realistic are the aliens that controlled the electricity/power. This is because aliens don’t exist on Earth.

2. The characters in the story sound very believable. In real life, there is always going to be “weird” or “oddball” people, angry and aggressive people, imaginative kids, and scared/frightened people.
Tommy: His belief in aliens and monsters
Steve: His aggression towards Goodman and everyone else
Goodman: From Charlie’s information, Goodman and his family are oddballs (I’m still uncertain is that statement is true).
Woman: Her screams and fear

3. “Except the people they'd sent down ahead of them. They looked just like humans.” This helps me visualize how the aliens/monsters that were sent to Earth look like.

4.”they pick the most dangerous enemy they can find...and it’s themselves.” This quote shows that we can sometimes make the problem more complicated and bigger.

5. The characters jump to conclusions and don’t use evidence to support their claim. They also don’t use logic to solve the problem either. Those actions tells us that that they only listen to what they think.

6. I would give this book a 4 out of 10. This is because they didn’t really give us much detail about the aliens and how the meteor/spaceship looked like. I do love the plot and the characters’ personalities, but I really want to know more about the aliens.

7. The theme (or moral) of the story is that accusing people without any evidence and use of logic can sometimes cause serious consequences.
SPOILER ALERT: In the story, Don shot (and killed) Pete Van Horn because he thought that he was a monster. Then, when the people’s lights randomly went on and off, people started to accuse each other which caused people to start shooting and throwing projectiles at one another. According to the story, it states that,”For the record prejudices can kill and suspicion can destroy and the thoughtless frightened search for a scapegoat has a fallout of all its own for the children... and the children yet unborn.”

[Neel Ramesh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Neel Ramesh
Period 3



The Twilight Zone:The Monsters are Due on Maple Street.By Mark Kneece.

The Twilight Zone is another dimension that exists parallel to ours..In this dimension, there is a street called Maple Street.A big roar is heard and they see a light pass by.Everyone comes out and watches but nothing else happens.Later on something weird happens all the power turns off in Maple street.Everyone thinks it's just some weird thing and they decided to to head down to the police office when a young boy says that they don't want you to leave.They ask him who he says the comet is a spaceship and aliens came down.Some of the main characters are Steve Brand, Don, and Charlie. Some minor characters are Pete Van Horn,Tommy,Les Goodman and many others.They are all just regular people.


2.The characters behave much like a normal neighborhood and people.They act just like we would in their place.The story took place around 1950-1980 and it was very accurate to that timezone.They are very realistic and easy to compare myself and others too.This helps you to imagine what is going on in the story very realistically.

3.Steve looks like to me a possibly tall man,who is not young but not old possibly like 40.He probably has black hair and has a normal voice.He is very logical,smart,and does not make uneducated guesses

4.”Well now look,friends,the only thing that’s going to happen is that we’ll eat each other alive-”is a quote from steve showing he is trying to tell them not to jump to conclusions.

5.Charlie suspects everyone and is willing to do anything to make it stop even to ignore looking for proof.He will make many assumptions in this story.He is also very brash and reckless and does things without thinking.This shows that he is sort of selfish and willing to do anything to get him off being a suspect.

6.The book was ok. One reason I liked it is because it had mystery.One reason i didn't like this book there wasn't much action in this story.

7.Theme is the moral that the story is trying to show.The theme is don’t jump to conclusions or make assumptions without evidence.This can cause dissension between people.This is also something that can happen in our present day world.At the end of the story there is a small paragraph talking about how dissension can ruin any group of people so this supports my theme.

[Megan Trinh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Megan Trinh
Goodreads Review
The Twilight Zone: The Monsters are Due on Maple Street-Rod Serling


In this story the citizens of Maple Street witness a strange event that they try to believe it is a meteor, but they know it is something unusual. Then the lights suddenly flicker on and off, the car engines and lawnmowers turn on and off, and the power was mysteriously shut down. The main character, Steve Brand, tries to figure out what is going on but is unsuccessful.


All the characters seem realistic because you can relate them to people you see everyday in your life. Also Maple Street is a location that has very common setting that you can find anywhere in the United States.


In my mind, the main character Steve Brand looks like an average, normal man who lived in the 1960’s. He is just like any average man, and is very sarcastic and thinks logically.


“It isn’t just the power failure Charlie. If it was, we’d still be able to get a broadcast on the portable. I’ll run downtown. We’ll get this all straightened out.” said Steve Brand. This shows that Steve likes to think logically about situations, and does not jump to conclusions by looking for clues downtown.


Through his actions, Mr. Goodman showed that he gets angry easily and is very protective of his home. For example, he suddenly spat at the people of Maple street in front of his house when they blamed him, and threatened anyone who stepped on his porch.


In my opinion, I did not really enjoy this story. One reason I did not like it was because it didn’t make sense why the story would end with people fighting, so there was no resolution in the story. Another reason is that there were some loose ends, as to why Pete Van Horn was in the story, as he did not play a big role in the main plot.


The theme of the story is that you should never jump straight to conclusions, as it could hurt you in the long run. I came to determination of this theme because at the end of the story, the narrator summarized the plot as well as recap the theme of the story. In the story, the citizens immediately jumped to conclusions about who is the alien and fought among themselves. Therefor, Maple street turned to chaos because they kept arguing and jumping to conclusions.

[Kelsiebowler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kelsie Bowler
Goodreads Review Practice
“The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street”-Rod Serling


The people that live on Maple Street noticed weird things happening. Such as lights going off and on, cars are starting random and the sky is going dark and light. Everything is going off and nobody knows why and what is going on. All they want to know is why these things are happening.
The characters in the story seem real because they live in a neighborhood like us and do normal things like drive cars, water lawns, and live in a house. The setting through the whole story stays around the neighborhood with neighbors and weird things happen. That can all happen to us.
Don is a neighbor that is a normal and nice neighbor. In my mind he looks like everybody else just different clothes on like a blue shirt and jeans.
“Wait a minute now. You keep your distance-all of you.” To me he sounds like he gets nervous really fast and starts to freak out. He tries to talk to fix it but makes it worse. Page 76 Goodman speaking.
The things that the characters do in the story explain a lot about them. Steve Brand is a nice person and tries to fix the problems that are going on in the story. That tells you that he likes to help out and see what's going on. Don on the other hand likes to try and figure things out right as it happens and ends up blaming somebody else. That shows me that he tries to hard when he should just wait look for hints of what is going on.
I did like the book “The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street.” because it wa a fun and short book to read. It was exciting and keeps you on edge and makes you want to know what is going to happen next.
I think the theme of the book is to not jump to conclusions. I say that as my theme because that happens a lot in the story. People are yelling and blaming each other for something they did not do. In the story when lights are turning off and on people thought somebody on Maple Street was playing tricks on them so they started to point out suspects of who it could be.

[Kiran Galsinh · Rating 4 out of 5]

The people of Maple Street witness a flash of light across the sky. Strange things are starting to occur. The power and phone line go out, the cars stop working, and the electricity goes out. The citizens start accusing each other of odd things that are scaring the people. Due to this they start turning and fighting with each other. But what they don’t know is that whatever that is casing it is the creation of their own. It’’s themselves!!!!

To me the characters in the book seem very believable. The emotions that are playing inside their heads relate to the situation that they are in.

In my mind Steve seems like a leader and the person that they all look up too. In the situation that they are in he seems to be the only logical person. He looks like a guy in his mid fifties, with black hair, a yellow button up shirt, black dress pants and shoes.

In my opinion Charlie seems to be the one who is shifting the blame on everyone. In the teleplay Charlie says “Go ahead, Steve. What kind of radio set you workin’ on? I have never seen it. Neither has anyone else. Who do you talk to on that radio set”? And who talks to you? Everyone is eager to see what Steve has to say. “I’m surprised at you, Charlie. How come you're so dense all of a sudden”? He pauses and then continues. “Who do I talk to? I talk to monsters from outer space. I talk to three-headed green men who fly over here in what look like meteors”.

When Steve answered Charlie’s question in sarcasm I could tell that he was the only one taking the matter seriously. The way Steve acted toward the situation showed me that he was a leader that used logic.

In my opinion I thought the teleplay was a four out of five. I liked the teleplay because the setting, time, place, and characters all fit together with the situation. I also liked the teleplay because it gave you science fiction, mystery, and fright.

The authors theme in this teleplay is to listen. I think that is the theme because if they listened to each other there wouldn’t have been a argument and fight.

[Camden Henson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Camden Henson
“The Monsters are due on Maple Street”- Rod Serling


The citizens of Maple street are witnessing weird things in their neighborhood. Cars and lights would turn on and off without anyone there to do it. Everything is just very out of the ordinary.
This story does not seem real to me because sure the setting is in a normal neighborhood and seem like normal people but it’s just abnormal for what all happened. Such as the complete power outage with no reason for it.
In my opinion Steve Brand is the main character because he was in the story most of the time either talking or interacting with the other characters.
“Wait a minute...wait a minute! Let’s not be a mob! said Steve Brand. Pg 76 This quote is significant because it symbolizes how the citizens on Maple Street were acting when Les Goodman’s car started up by itself.


Spoiler Alert: In the story Don says “we may need this” and then Steve says “A shotgun? (Then pulls it out of his hands)Good Lord-will anybody think a thought around here?Will you people wise up?What good does a shotgun do against-And then Charlie pulls it out of his hands. This goes to show you that Steve Brand is pretty much the only sensible one in the situation.


I personally did not like the book Monsters are due on Maple Street. This book didn’t come to my interests because it seemed to fake to be true and the whole thing just wasn’t appealing.
The theme of this novel is to not make accusations that aren’t based on facts but on thoughts. This was the theme I chose because in the story the citizens of Maple Street started making freak accusations about each other and not having anything to back them up. For example, after the citizens start turning into a mob when walking over to Les Goodman’s house a woman pipes up about how she goes to bed late sometimes and comes outside on her porch to see Les Goodman also out looking at the stars as if waiting for something. Really what she didn’t know was that he has insomnia so sometimes he can’t can’t sleep.

[Chris Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chris Smith
Goodreads Review Practice
“The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street” - Rod Serling


The citizens of Maple Street witness a strange event as the sky lights up for no apparent reason. Suddenly, strange things begin to happen. Lights turn on and off, car engines roar to life without anyone in the drivers seat. The entire situation is very odd to say the least.
SPOILER ALERT! - Aliens are putting the residents of Maple Street through an experiment which will eventually allow them to take over the world.


The characters seem real to me because the setting takes place in a normal, everyday city that could be anywhere in the United States. The characters in the short story seem like my neighbors and people who live in my neighborhood.

Appearance: Steve Brand - Steve looks like an “everyday” kind of person. When I close my eyes and picture Steve I see.


“We’re all on a monster kick Les. Seems that the general impression holds that maybe one family member isn’t what we think they are. Monsters from outer space or something!” - p.76. Steve is being sarcastic here in this section of the story. However, Steve seems to be the only character in the short story who is using logic to try and figure out what is really going on at Maple Street.

7. The theme of a work of literature is the moral, lesson, or value that the characters learn about themselves or the word around them in a piece of literature. Theme can at times be tricky to determine because the author is usually not going to come right out and state the theme. Readers have to find the theme for themselves through the events of a story.

In my opinion, the theme of The Monsters are Due on Maple Street is the danger and drastic consequence of making accusations without proper evidence. For example,

NEXT TELL YOUR READER WHY YOU FEEL THAT THIS IS THE THEME:

[Chloe Cornel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chloe Cornel
Goodreads Review Practice
“The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street”- Rod Serling

1. This story takes place in what seems to be a pretty normal neighborhood with a group of normal neighbors one of the main neighbors being Steve Brand and a minor character named Peter Van Horn.

2. In my opinion I believe that the characters seem realistic and act as my very own neighbors do. This could show that the event that occurred on Maple Street could happen any to anyone in the United States.

3. Appearance: Steve Brand- In my mind Steve Brand appears to be an ordinary type of man with normal characteristics such as brown hair and blue eyes. He seems like a normal Person because he actually uses logic and acts as an actual human being would.


4. “There’s something you can do, Charlie. You could go home and keep your mouth shut. You can quit strutting around like a self-appointed hanging judge and just climb into bed and forget it.” This quote from Steve Brand can inform a reader that the character is losing hope. It also shows that Steve can be kind of harsh when he is losing his temper.

5. Steve Brand checks the crowd and states “wait a minute… wait a minute! Let’s not be a mob”. The action of checking his surrounding shows the reader that Mr. Brand is very cautious of his surroundings and other people’s feelings. I think this because if he didn’t care he would have continued on acting and appearing as a mob.

6. In my opinion, I think this was an alright book. I feel like this was an alright book because it gave off a great life lesson and flowed very well.

7. The theme of this novel is to not jump to conclusions. I came up with this conclusion due to the fact *SPOILER ALERT* that at first one of the neighbors assumed that a shadow moving towards them on the sidewalk was an alien. Although after he shot and killed the figure did he discover that the shadow was not an alien but rather one of his neighbors Peter Van Horn.

[Kristine Yambao · Rating 3 out of 5]

In Maple Street, everything was normal. It was your typical suburban neighborhood and everyone were just your normal everyday person. Until the power went out. Sure it would seem like a normal power outage where you turn on the radio and get some flashlights, but it was quite the opposite. The people of Maple Street are confused, but also so scared they never considered any evidence to support their claims on why this is happening.
The story, The Monsters are Due on Maple Street, was quite an interesting story. It had its faults, but overall it was very interesting and suspenseful. The one negative thing about this story is the characters. I’m fully aware that this story was not written in modern times, but I still feel the need to point this information out. I feel like if that there was a power outage and nothing works, most people wouldn’t be as panicked. I feel like in every street, there has to someone who is logical.
I see the main character, Steve, as probably growing up in a white picket fence home. Although everyone else is jumping to conclusions, he seems to be the only person trying to find a valid explanation to the cause of this mess. Because Steve’s neighbors are being irrational, this shows me that they seem to be desperate for why this event may be happening. As one of his neighbors said “Maybe he was trying to warn us of the real danger. “.
One thing I have realized is that if the characters weren’t so irrational, the story wouldn’t be interesting. Overall, I loved the drama and the plot and I honestly think the key part to this story was the characters. In my eyes, I think the theme to this story is that you should always have a logical explanation for something. Since the characters never had an explanation, it led to multiple people almost getting killed and one of them. If you just jump to conclusions, then many bad things can happen.

[Bella Puentes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bella Puentes
Goodreads Review Practice
“The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street”- Rod Serling

1. Suddenly, the residents of Maple Street go through a strange stage and
confusing twist throughout the story. With the finger pointing scenes that throw them off guard. Blaming different people each time, a mysterious scene takes place. They all wonder who is the one behind the breathtaking horror.

2. I feel like the characters in the story are real that could be a normal type of people and that what makes it kind of scaring. They also are in awe and not scared of the things behind it all but, they wonder who it is behind it all.

3. Appearance: Steve Brandon- Steve is like a normal type of person in the story, he seems like a normal average towns folks and can be found in his neighborhood doing regular things.

4. Speech: A big event that happen throughout the story was when Tommy warned them about the, “They don’t want us to leave. That’s why they shut everything off. It’s always that way, in every story I ever read about a ship landing from outer space.” Tommy stated. It was an important part of speech that foreshadowed the story at the end.

5. Action: The characters help us know that at the beginning they seemed like normal people who did their normal personal route. In till the “asteroid” passed by.

6. I think The Monsters On Maple Street was a very interesting short story. I really enjoyed it because it was mysterious and I was on the edge of my seat, waiting to see what happened next. I have to admit that it was a long one, but it was worth reading it! Trust me! The suspicion goes on and on, but that's one of the reasons why it's such a great short story.

7. I felt like the theme of the story was what could happen in a modern neighborhood and what goes on behind it all. The only thing I thought was pretend was the aliens behind it all. But other then that mostly everyone can relate to a problem or being blamed on in their life.

[Lance Dimapilis · Rating 4 out of 5]

River Lance Dimapilis
Goodreads Review Practice
“The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street” - Rod Serling



The residents of Maple Street experience a rather strange event in which the electricity goes on and off at random, and cars start themselves without a driver. The characters of the book seem real, because they are portrayed as everyday people. They are seen doing what “normal” people would do, such as washing their cars, playing ball, and so on.

Steve looks like an average Joe in my mind, just like anybody who lives in Maple Street, and like anybody in real life.

“Wait a minute.. wait a minute! Let’s not a be a mob!” - p.76. This quote from Steve shows that he’s level headed, while the rest of the residents of Maple Street are rioting about a few electricity issues. This also shows that he’s the only one least affected by the power failure. Steve’s attempts to calm the mob shows me that Steve is a logical type of person that does not panic easily, unless there are absolutely no evidence or reasoning that leads to what is actually going on.

I loved the book, because it heavily resembles any street or neighborhood in the U.S. It has a great connection to the real world that, it makes the reader believe that it can actually happen in real life at any given moment.

The theme of a work of literature is the moral, lesson, or value that the characters learn about themselves, or the world around them in a piece of literature. The theme of the book was to not jump to incorrect conclusions without proof of your accusations. However, when the power fails, the people of Maple Street panic, and start throwing accusations at others without even having evidence to prove their statements. This led to the downfall of Maple Street, when people turn against each other, believing that their own neighbors were monsters.

[Javed Saliman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Javed Saliman
Goodreads review practice
“The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street”- Rod Serling



The story took place in Maple street. The main characters are Steve Brand, Tommy, Don Martin, Pete Van Horn, Charlie, and Les Goodman.


The characters seem real to me because, the setting takes place in a normal, everyday city that can be in the world. The characters seem real because they act just like regular people might do in a matter of place that they are facing.


Tommy- Tommy is just as normal as any child can be, reading comic books, living in a neighborhood, with a mom,and dad.


“That was the way they prepared things for the landing.They sent four people. A mother and a father and two kids that looked just like humans, but they weren’t”. This quote is important because it shows that all along Tommy knew that it could’ve been aliens landing.


Charlie- Charlie shot Pete Van Horn assuming that he was the alien. Then the neighbors taught that charlie knew Pete Van Horn knew something and killed him to get rid of the evidence.
Yes I did like the story because later on towards the middle of the story it keeps you wondering what is going to happen next. When the people starts fighting and arguing with each other then the boy talks about aliens or some kind of monster has come from outer space. That keeps you wondering who and what is the creature that has landed on their planet, and why is it only their street with the problems.
The theme is Maple street because the lights, electricity, and the cars won’t work, and the cause of that is because aliens are invading every Maple street on earth by making them not trust each other and argue with one another. The neighbors are pointing to each other blaming he is the monster no she is no the boy is. This keeps on going on and on and on until the aliens finally leave.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a graphic novel representation of a Twilight Zone episode. I won’t argue as to which is superior, as the two mediums really aren’t all that comparable. The story takes place on Maple Street, a friendly neighborhood filled with traditional families. Something flies over their heads and crashes in the distance, taking out the power with it. The neighbors assume it’s a meteor, but begin to lose their cool when they discover it’s not just the power that’s not working. Their radios, cars, and phones are also out of commission. Then the “weird kid” mentions a theory that aliens have infiltrated the neighborhood, and a witch hunt ensues to discover the alien living among them.

The story is frightening because it deals with the dark truths of human nature. People do not act rationally when frightened and part of a mob. These neighbors turn on one another with little provocation, and scarce evidence.

The artwork is rather simplistic, and Maple Street could use some diversity, but the images were mostly effective in portraying the action. The fighting scenes included bloody injuries, including blunt force and gunshot wounds, but the cartoony nature of the art allows the reader to distance himself.

In all, this is a good, quick read, and would likely encourage modern young readers to explore classic Twilight Zone episodes. The story itself is conducive to a variety of discussions both in and out of a classroom.

• No language or sexual issues
• Violence ensues as neighbors act on their fear—one man is killed with a gun, others are killed and injured with weapons of opportunity, such as bricks and fence posts.
• Gory imagery, not overly detailed

[Zoe Galley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zoe Galley
Good reads Review Practice
“The Monsters are Due On Maple Street”-Rod Sterling


1. The citizens on Maple Street witness a strange event as the sky lights up for no apparent reason. Suddenly, strange things begin to happen Lights turn on and off, car engines roar to life without anyone in the car. The entire situation is very odd to say the least.


2. The characters in the monsters seem real because it takes place in a normal neighborhood. But what I think isn't very realistic is that everyone listens to Tommy a 14 year old boy and they listen him and believe him.


3. The main character I chose to describe from my point of view is a boy named Tommy. Tommy in my mind sounds more like a 10 year old than a 14 year to me. When I imagine him I think he is averaged size in height has brown hair and brown eyes

4. All the characters in this story are all very quick to jump to conclusions. One quote that shows this about the characters is, “He was always and oddball. him and his whole family.”They said this after his car started all of the sudden and now people think that he is an alien because his car started when all power was out.

5. A lot of people jump to conclusions but they took it way too far when someone was shot dead. Charlie thought that pete was an alien in the darkness and shot him with a shotgun.

6. I really did like this story i thought it had a lot of good plot twists and good foreshadowing. It also had a very good script to it. overall i thought it was a well put together story.

7. I believe that the theme is to never jump to conclusions really fast. or someone can get hurt physically or mentally.

[Sarah Hudson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sarah Hudson
Goodreads Review Practice
“The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street.” - Rod Serling

One day, on Maple Street, strange things started happening. The sky lit up for no apparent reason, and the power goes off, not just power but everything that requires power, like battery radios, and cars. The people of Maple Street are scared and a series of unfortunate events starts to happen.
It hurts me to give this story three stars, but I honestly didn’t like the story. The characters just didn’t seem very realistic to me. They look like everyday people, they don’t have anything like, for example red eyes, but they way they act feels fake. They take information from a kid, and get scared because of it, grown adults, get scared of a comic book plot told from a fourteen year old, so they don't really act like adult characters. Also, hey turn to each other immediately instead of trusting the people they lived with for years.
Other than that, I sort of liked the book, it had a nice moral, and series of events. Also, (other than them getting scared from a fourteen year old) their actions seem acceptable for them being human, humans turn on each other and panic at the first or second sign of trouble. The best part of the story, which is my only favorite part, is the end. The reason for that is I love how they state the moral, for example, “There are weapons that are simply thoughts, attitudes, prejudges can kill.” ( page 86) I don’t think that the theme isn't what’s being stated. I think the theme is that assumptions are weapons, and not used for war, but to hurt themselves and others.

[Joseph R. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having read a previous adaptation of a Twilight Zone episode, I picked up this volume at the library anticipating another well-retold story. The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street is a famous episode from the show. In it, a suburban street is subject to a power outage after what seems to be a meteor comes crashing overhead. Not only is the power out, but cars won't start and portable radios don't pick up any stations. People start to get nervous. One guy goes to the next street to find out if they have the same problems. The other people gather and talk about how weird it is. When two guys decide to walk downtown, a boy of ten warns them not to go, because they won't come back. That's how these stories always work out in comic books and movies--people disappear one after another because the aliens from the "meteor" are starting their invasion. The boy insists that there must be a family who are really aliens sent ahead of time to get things ready. Suspicions immediately grow and good neighbors become a paranoid mob. Things go from bad to worse when cars mysteriously start and stop and only certain homes have power. The neighbors turn on one another at a truly frightening pace and with devastating consequences.

As an adaptation of the story, this volume was a bit of a let down. The story is exactly the same with no real visual flourishes or significant new material to make it better or even different in an interesting way. Having seen the episode first, this book feels redundant. It's still a great story anyway.

[Joseph Linder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Joseph Linder
Goodreads Review
Monsters are due on Maple Street


The citizens of Maple Street witness a strange event as the sky lights up for no apparent reason. Suddenly, strange things begin to happen. Lights turn on and off, car engines roar to life without anyone in the drivers seat. The entire situation is was very odd to say the least.

The characters seem real to because the setting takes place in a normal, everyday city that could be anywhere in the United States. The characters in the short story seem like my neighbors and people who live in my neighborhood.

Steve Brand is an “everyday” kind of person. If I picture him in my mind, then I see a nice man who is caring and nice to his neighbors.

“We’re all on a monster kick Les. Seems that the general impression holds that maybe one family member isn’t what we think they are. Monsters from outer space or something!”- p.76. Steve is being sarcastic herein this section of the story.

One of the woman say that she sees Les Goodman out on his porch looking at the sky. Everybody goes to see why. Les gets all frustrated and said that he is suffering from insomnia.

I liked the book because it had a lot of exciting moments that hooked you into the book. I liked how the kept thinking it was different people.

I think the theme of the story was “don’t judge a book by it's cover” because everybody kept thinking it was the person whose lights were on. They kept getting suspicious about their neighbors, about the oddballs of the neighborhood.

[Christian Daulat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Christian Daulat
Period 3
Mr. Smith

The Twilight Zone: The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street by Rod Sterling

The setting beings in a normal neighborhood in the world. The Main Characters in The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street are Steve, Charlie, Mr. Goodman, Mrs, Goodman, Tommy, and Don. The minor characters are, Pete Van Horn, Charlie’s Wife, Woman Next Door, Woman One, Man One, Man Two.


The characters do seems believable, because the townspeople act as if they were going through a real danger in a town with extra terrestrial problems. They act confused, angry, all the feelings they would feel if they were real.


The main character looks like a tall, man that wears khakis and a blue collar shirt.


Charlie. “He was always an oddball. Him and his family. Real oddball.” This quote shows that Charlie can be very suspicious and open, but not completely aggressive; which makes him a good character for the plot.


Charlie killing Pete Van Horn, and being a scapegoat towards Mr. Goodman, these actions tell that Charlie does things without knowing the facts.


I did like the book, because they tried to solve of mysterious problems, and go through people’s lifestyle and questioning lots of actions. But in the end they failed to figure out in the end. Which confused me why.


The theme is don’t jump to conclusion on a person, or you might end up sorry! I determined this conclusion, because even I guessed how others would act in this story, and got it all wrong. This is the theme because everyone jumped to conclusions on everyone on maple street!

[Aneesha · Rating 2 out of 5]

The short story is about the citizens of Maple Street witnessing strange events. The power goes out, cars don’t work,nothing works! People start accusing others for the strange events. After all of the strange events the citizens of maple street find themselves in the dark with an enemy that they know but do not exactly know who the enemy is.


The characters seem real to me because the citizens of Maple Street are like my neighbors. In the beginning of the story the citizens are either playing outside or gardening. Those actions are like something my neighbors may do.



To me I think the main character(Tommy) is someone who has a bright big imagination and looks like an ordinary 14 year old.



4. “ Whoever was in the thing that came over. I don’t think they want us to leave here.” I think this quote from the short story tells me that Tommy is either telling the truth or is just messing around with everyone.


5. When Charlie thought he killed an alien and it was Pete Van Horn, everyone started accusing him for the weird event occurring. I think Charlie is not an alien because in the story the author described Charlie as afraid and sorry for what he had done.

6. I would rate this story 2 stars because it was not really a book that I enjoyed. I would rather read a book that is similar to the Mortal Instruments series. It was really my type of book. Also I am not really interested in sci-fi books.


7. In my opinion I think the theme of the story is not to accuse others for something that they did not do.