Small, thin, and round monster who turns invisible when sideways because he is so thin. Little boy keeps getting in trouble because of the monster, I think there was a toothpaste everywhere scene, and the mom catches the monster and kicks him out of the house.
It was in the very early 80’s
I used to own this book, too! It’s called The Grumpus Under the Rug by Ellen Jackson. The grumpus is a weird little man/creature who plays tricks. A little boy gets blamed for the tricks, but when he finally manages to help his mother catch sight of the grumpus, his mother throws him up out of the house and up in the air. I think the grumpus ends up becoming the moon or something.
That’s it!
Thanks!
I have been trying to figure out the name of this book for a long time. Never found anything on google until now. Thanks for this. Loved the book!