Everything I Know About Monsters : A Collection of Made-up Facts, Educated Guesses, and Silly Pictures about Creatures of Creepiness
Tom Lichtenheld knows plenty about monsters, and fortunately for  8-year-olds everywhere, he's willing to share his secrets inEverything I  Know About Monsters, the sequel toEverything I Know About  Pirates. Presented as a field guide of sorts, the instructive book  begins with a diagram of a typical monster, with the usual characteristics from  hopelessly bad hair to weird feet. The guide, which delves into monster  psychology (very simple) as well as monster hygiene (very minimal), is divided  up by type of monster such as: "Under-the-Bed Monsters" (lazy, eat dirty socks,  scared by smiley-face night-lights), "Basement Monsters" (Sock Suckers, Ankle  Fiends, Tool Ghouls), "Attic Monsters" ("sit around all day reading oldNational Geographicmagazines that your parents are saving for no  apparent reason"), and "Outside Monsters" (such as Big Foot "a Boy Scout gone  bad" and Swamp Thang). A handy Monster Avoidance Chart may help kids get a good  night's sleep.Monsters are also discussed from a cultural perspective in sections such as  "Man-Made Monsters" (Frankenstein, robots) and "TV and Movie Monsters:" "Lots of  monsters audition for parts in monster movies, but they never get the parts  because they're such lousy actors." Even space aliens, "not officially part of  the monster kingdom," are given play, because they're "fun to draw." The  Official Mad Scientist Monster Maker includes three columns of words that kids  can mix and match to create a monster name, such as Creepy-Eared Knucklehead or  Bat-Nosed Belcher. Lichtenheld's comical, color-rich illustrations capture  Essence of Monster most gruesomely, and each double-page spread boils and  bubbles with funny captions, cartoons, side jokes, and general silliness. And  remember, "If you do see a monster don't overreact. It only encourages them."  (Ages 6 to 10--not for kids who are still afraid of monsters!)--Karin  Snelson