Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
13 Monsters Who Should Be Avoided
Kevin Shortsleeve
Illustrator: Michael Austin
Picture Book
For ages 5 to 7
Peachtree Publishers, 1998 ISBN: 1561451460
Illustrator: Michael Austin
Picture Book
For ages 5 to 7
Peachtree Publishers, 1998 ISBN: 1561451460
Professor LeGrand is the world’s “foremost expert on monster diversity” and he would like to share some of his knowledge about monsters with you. He wants you to pay close attention to what he has to say, and it might even be a good idea if you take notes because the monsters he is going to tell you about behave in a manner that is “something far less than what most would call pleasant.” In other words, these are nasty monsters that you would be wise to avoid them if you can.
The first monster Professor LeGrand tells us about is called the Hedge-Standing Snit. The problem with these creatures is that they hang out in places where their hair is likely to get snipped by a pair of hedge trimmers. Snits are very “touchy” about their hair and are likely to bite you in the behind if you accidentally snip their very lovely locks.
Later in the book we hear about the Rare Re-arranger. This mischievous creature will sneak into your house in the dead of night and it will then proceed to put “your things where it knows it should not.” It loves to put pianos on lawns, cars in trees, cats in birdcages and birds in fish tanks. Even the mailman is not safe if one of these monsters is on the loose.
If you are one of those people who is constantly losing socks then you might want to check to make sure that your sock drawer is not inhabited by a Three-toed Albanian Snoring Sock Bat. These creatures are incredibly fond of socks and they don’t care what kind of socks you have. They are equal opportunity sock stealers.
In this highly useful book, wonderfully funny rhymes, splendid monster names, and clever illustrations are combined to give readers a memorable bookish adventure. If you think there is even a slim chance that you have a monster in your life, you must use this book to identify what kind of monster it is.