Gruesome Guide to World Monsters
Grade 4-6–Drescher's crudely drawn, luridly colored, mixed-media Monsters from the Id-style portraits, which provide perfect jumping-off points for susceptible young imaginations, are matched with Sierra's brief introductions to dozens of ugly customers from world folklore. Along with the few that will provoke shivers of recognition, such as the Australian Bunyip, she offers wonderfully provocative warnings against creatures as diverse as the giant skunk Aniwye, the blood-sucking bat Mansusopsop, and Bloody Mary, an evil specter who lives on the other side of mirrors, especially the mirrors of elementary-school bathrooms. Though the author does not provide specific source notes, she does give each entry a general area of origin, as well as a skull-and-crossbones Gruesomeness Rating and a Survival Tip, if any. This crowd pleaser is a perfect lead-in to Daniel Cohen's spine-chilling tales, or more broadly focused reference titles, such as Rosemary Ellen Guiley'sEncyclopedia of Vampires, Werewolves, and Other Monsters(Facts On File, 2004).–John Peters, New York Public LibraryCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.