Monster Manual : A Complete Guide to Your Favorite Creatures

Provides information on monsters from aliens to zombies taken from folklore, literature, film, and other sources, and suggests monster-related activities such as crafts, games, and make-up

Grade 5-8?This English edition of a German monster dictionary was not worth the effort of translation. It purports to be a "complete guide to your favorite creatures," but the topic selection is erratic, to say the least. There are separate entries for Dracula, nosferatu, and vampire, while the entire stable of mythological creatures is listed in one entry?oddly alphabetized as "Monsters of Greek Mythology." Dr. Seuss, Maurice Sendak, and cartoonist Gahan Wilson are lumped together under "Funny Monsters," and the Sesame Street muppets are entered as "Mini-Monsters." The writing style fluctuates wildly from straight information to sarcastic dialogue to Mad-magazinestyle comics without regard to the entry topic. The same lack of cohesiveness is evident in the illustrations. The cartoon drawings are moderately funny, but the pictures taken from monster films look like bad photocopies. Both often appear on the same page, which only emphasizes the contrast. Useless for reference and not particularly accessible to browsers, this title will put off even the most hard-core monster fans.?Elaine E. Knight, Lincoln Elementary Schools, IL
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Gr. 5-8. Ballinger has written the perfect book for monster fans who don't really want to be scared. Flip and funny, even acerbic at times, his A-to-Z roundup is a catchall of monsters from literature, film, and television that includes both the expected (Dracula, King Kong) and the unusual (Sesame Street's Cookie Monster and Rambo, a monster that "looks almost human . . . and bangs wildly away on his machine gun, slaughtering hundreds of people"). Mixed in are thumbnail introductions to people associated with monsters, such as Boris Karloff and Steven Spielberg (shucks, no Stephen King), and an assortment of activities (test your fear, make yourself up to be Dracula, etc.). There's also a running comic strip about a lovable monster named Glorp who thinks today's youths are "awfully nice." Although their quality isn't great, black-and-white illustrations--sketches, stills, photos, cartoons--are on every page. Like Detective Dictionary , its companion in the Late Night Library series, this is mainly just for fun. Stephanie Zvirin