The Big Book of Monsters

Monsters are a total treat for kids. They turn up in stories and fairy tales all over the world, give kids thrilling yet safe shivers, help them work out real fears and anxieties, and empower them in the same way that dinosaurs do, inhabiting the kind of world that’s special in part because grown-ups are too busy and boring to pay attention to it. The Big Book of Monsters revels in this magic appeal and delivers an unparalleled compendium of 25 of the creepiest, the spookiest, the most wicked and dreadful creatures found in classic literature.

It’s a who’s who of the baddest of the bad, from those paradigms of literary terror, Dracula and Frankenstein; to the creatures of myth, both Western – like Polyphemus, the human-devouring one-eyed Cyclops of Homer – and not, like the Japanese Goblin-Spider; to witches, werewolves, golems, spirits, and scary human anomalies including the Headless Horseman, Mr. Hyde, the Invisible Man, and Rappaccini’s daughter, the poisonous maiden of Padua. Every monster is brought to life first in a full-size, full-colour portrait that captures the essence of the beast, and in lively text that recounts the story, highlights the gruesome details, and rates each monster on the Scare-o-Meter. Sidebars explore the source texts, giving readers a genuinely exciting introduction to literary genres and history, and making this book especially valuable for reluctant readers.

“"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”

"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
 

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

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