The Big Book of Monsters: The Creepiest Creatures from Classic Literature

by Hal Johnson, Tim Sievert (Illustrator)

Overview

Meet the monsters in this who’s who of the baddest of the bad!

Like those supernatural beasts everyone knows and fears—the bloodsucking vampire, Count Dracula, and that eight-foot-tall mash-up of corpses, Frankenstein’s Monster. Or that scariest of mummies, Cheops, who scientists revived after 4,700 years—big mistake! Or more horrifying yet, the Horla, an invisible, havoc-wreaking creature that herds humans like cattle and feeds of their souls.
 
Drawn from the pages of classic books and tales as old as time, this frightfully exciting collection features 25 of the creepiest creatures ever imagined, from witches and werewolves to dragons and ghosts. Every monster is brought to life in a full-size full-color portrait that captures the essence of the beast, and in lively text that recounts the monster’s spine-tingling story. With sidebars that explore the history and the genre of each sourcebook, The Big Book of Monsters is an exciting introduction to literature and language arts.
 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781523507115
Publisher:	Workman Publishing Company
Publication date:	09/03/2019
Pages:	176
Sales rank:	531,512
Product dimensions:	8.20(w) x 10.10(h) x 0.80(d)
Age Range:	10 - 14 Years

About the Author

Hal Johnson is the author of Fearsome Creatures of the Lumberwoods and Immortal Lycanthropes. He loves monsters and books.

Editorial Reviews

09/02/2019

This bookish guide to 25 monsters includes those originating from largely Western mythology, novels, and fairy tales; the entities include the Headless Horseman, Dorian Gray, Mr. Hyde, the Invisible Man, and the Goblin Spider, among others. Each is presented in a bold and playful portrait, while text offers a brief synopsis of each tale. Sections explore the cultural and historical context of the stories, as well as their enduring influence; sidebars provide humorous stats for each monster, including a “Fear Factor” rating. Johnson offers entertaining insights into each monster’s origin story, while suggesting that great literature creates characters that can truly take on lives of their own—and what’s scarier (and cooler) than that? Ages 10–up. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

"A thrilling gallery of boojums from the pages, scrolls, and clay tablets of literary classics...Readers on the lookout for something wicked this way coming will be terrified, grossed out, delighted." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"Johnson offers entertaining insights into each monster’s origin story, while suggesting that great literature creates characters that can truly take on lives of their own—and what’s scarier (and cooler) than that?" —Publishers Weekly

"Readers prepared for a big scare with a side order of literary history will love this collection...Johnson's casual descriptions of horrifying tales will delight middle grade readers while he successfully lures them to grander-scheme ideas. A must-have for middle school libraries and those whose readers seek out the creepy and the scary." —School Library Journal, starred review

"Perfect for Halloween and beyond, this is a ready-made syllabus for an engaging literature course that will have readers shrieking—with delight!" —Booklist, starred review

"[This book] will leave you jumping at the sound of a cricket or the tapping of a tree branch." —TIME for Kids
 

From the Publisher

★ 09/01/2019

Gr 5 Up—Readers prepared for a big scare with a side order of literary history will love this collection of 25 monsters and villains ranging from The Epic of Gilgamesh demigod Humbaba to the vampires, werewolves, and golems of gothic literature. Presented alphabetically by the monster's name, each chapter tells the tale of a famous literary fright complete with stats such as their "most dastardly deed" and "fear factor" rating of one to five spooky skulls. A "Beyond the Book" section following each monster's story allows the author to delve briefly into topics like science fiction traditions, connecting myth and symbolism between cultures, the importance of representation in publishing folklore, and the origin of supervillains. Back matter provides a time line of the monsters presented, an abundance of reading lists (including all of the stories mentioned throughout the book), notes on translation from source texts, and even a list of 20 additional spine-tingling creatures and bad guys worth investigating. Sievert's full-page illustrations bring each monster to life with shades of bloody reds and oozy greens. VERDICT Johnson's casual descriptions of horrifying tales will delight middle grade readers while he successfully lures them to grander-scheme ideas. A must-have for middle school libraries and those whose readers seek out the creepy and the scary.—Liz Allen, Middle Country Public Library, Centereach, NY

School Library Journal

★ 2019-06-10
A thrilling gallery of boojums drawn from the pages, scrolls, and clay tablets of literary classics.

Staying in the public domain aside from a few brief excursions, Johnson (Fearsome Creatures of the Lumberwoods, 2015) selects 25 monsters and arranges them alphabetically from "Apep" and "Beatrice Rappaccini" to "Zahhak" (a cursed king from Persian literature with brain-eating snakes growing on his shoulders, woohoo!). For each he supplies a two- or three-page plot summary that incorporates occasional quotes and a basic fact box. Each main entry gets a "Fear Factor" rating designated with screaming-skull symbols (Dracula and Guy de Maupassant's invisible Horla join Zahhak to lead the pack with five; the Jabberwock rates just two). In an often fascinating aftersection dubbed "Beyond the Book," Johnson lays out literary or historical background, grants nods to similar tales (such as Rabelais' Gargantua, "a philosophical work and a collection of toilet jokes"), or just takes up fascinating tangential topics. His range of interests and informal style (" ‘Don't worry, I got this,' said Beowulf") make him a particularly engaging tour guide, and at the end he not only lists more monsters that did not make the cut, but also conscientiously cites and discusses his classic sources and translations. Sievert goes for lurid effects in his illustrations, depicting menacing figures with glowing eyes, half-rotten undead, and toothy, slavering monsters.

Readers on the lookout for something wicked this way coming will be terrified, grossed out, delighted. (timeline, further reading) (Nonfiction. 10-14)

Kirkus Reviews