Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 1-6-This colorful volume is chock-full of fascinating and humorous details. The encyclopedic entries provide information about the life cycles, habitats, diets, and unique characteristics of unusual creatures. Recommended safety measures are also included when applicable since some of these creatures eat children. The inspired format resembles a well-used scrapbook with page edges that look as if they are folded, frayed, and browned. Through a clever and imaginative use of mixed mediums that include ink, pencil, watercolor, oil paint, and Adobe Photoshop, Olander depicts stained and crumpled notebook paper filled with field observations including pictures and diagrams, a reproduction of a 100-year-old "wood-panel painting" of a "Snouted Grabber stealing someone's silver," and archival papyrus scraps. Color is used sparingly to great effect: the blue eyes of a Patooty, fuchsia eyes of a Flesh-Eating Tub Frog, red teeth of a Razor-Twigged Tree Beast, and, of course, the bold, red "DANGER TO HUMANS" warnings. The spread that follows the title page includes a brief explanation of the "science of monstrology"; the "key traits" of a person who can "see a monster," including "an open mind"; and a list of tools recommended for anyone considering field study. This superb, playfully farcical presentation with its multiple levels of humor will capture children's imagination. Warning for squeamish readers: there are references to toilets, sewage, flatulence, and places "where the sun don't shine."-Kirsten Cutler, Sonoma County Library, CA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
