Scooby-Doo! and the truth behind vampires

Gr 3-5-Each of these volumes sees Scooby-Doo, that enormous brown Great Dane, and his human companion Shaggy become frightened by a different mythical creature. Their sensible teen friends-Daphne, Fred, and Velma-rush to the rescue and explain the basics of werewolves, vampires, and the like. Each title follows a familiar and formulaic pattern: the gang visits a museum, the beach, Baron Creepy's house, a park, or a homey living room, where similar discussions occur. Shaggy, easily discombobulated, asks lots of questions ("Like, are werewolves afraid of anything?"), while Scooby, with his speech impediment, makes shorter, echoing queries, prompting further explanations ("Roaning and ruffling?"). The format has a melded picture book/comics scheme with full-page scenes, occasionally wordless, but mostly superimposed variously with blocks of text or speech balloons. VERDICT Older elementary schoolers will learn much in those explanations of how popular culture enlarges folklore's spooky creatures. Solid choices for Halloween displays. © Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

In these books, Scooby thinks he sees a legendary creature ("rombie," "rampire," "rerewolf"), and the gang launches into a discussion of monster lore as Shaggy and Scooby try not to freak out. The speech-balloon text superficially covers appearance, behaviors, and weaknesses. The familiar--and not scary--cartoon illustrations and undemanding texts make these adequate introductions for young monster fans. Reading list. Glos., ind. [Review covers these Unmasking Monsters with Scooby-Doo! titles: Scooby-Doo! And the Truth Behind Zombies, Scooby-Doo! And the Truth Behind Vampires, and Scooby-Doo! And the Truth Behind Werewolves.] (c) Copyright 2015. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.