Copyright Date:
2019
Edition Date:
2019
Release Date:
05/01/19
Illustrator:
Ledesma, Sophie,
Pages:
1 volume (unpaged)
ISBN:
1-9999680-6-9
ISBN 13:
978-1-9999680-6-9
Dewey:
398.2454
Dimensions:
32 cm +
Language:
English
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews
Monsters from many lands, cultures, and media are revealed by peering through a red cellophane spyglass.Placed in cartoon landscapes or other settings and hiding behind red grids that vanish when viewed through the colored lens, the monstrous lineup features the likes of a troll, Dracula, and the Big Bad Wolf but also goes far beyond such usual suspects to include Gollum, Voldemort, Jabba the Hutt, Edward Scissorhands, Cthulhu, the ghost of Anne Boleyn, and Martians—not from The War of the Worlds but the ones with exploding heads from Mars Attacks! Reflecting the distinctly Eurocentric (not to say Gallic) slant to the selections, at least eight are or are billed as French while only one, Mokele-Mbembe, represents African traditions, and there are no Native American boojums. Also, some entrants, such as Casper the Friendly Ghost, Hypsignathus (a big but real bat), and the Dahu, a goatlike creature of French folklore that has short legs on one side for walking on slopes, seem like outliers. Whether they are bad actors or not, Ledesma draws them all in such a scrawly, naïve style that they would be hard to recognize without the prompts that Potard supplies ("JAWS: This giant shark has razor-sharp teeth," and "you can tell he's coming by the scary music") along the bottom edges. For young fans who want to make their own monsters and/or spyglass, an array of reproducible body parts for the former and simple directions for the latter bring up the rear.An unusual gallery of new and old monsters, kaiju, cryptids, creatures, and pop-culture creations. (Informational novelty. 5-9)
Parents' Choice Silver Award Winner! Investigate haunted castles, spooky forests and even outer space with a monster-revealing magic lens in this striking and unusual book. Children's favorite monsters are hidden inside each page waiting to jump out when the magic lens is held over them. Mythological creatures, ghostly spirits and monsters from film and fiction all make an appearance. Fascinating or frightening, monsters are everywhere...but who are they, what do they look like, and what do they do? Budding sleuths will love using the 'magical detector' tucked inside this intriguing, interactive book as they set out to comb forests, caves, mountains, castles, and fairy tales to discover the secrets of monsters and then hunt them down with a hand-held colored lens. Armed with the monster-revealing magic lens, young detectives must find some of their favorite characters from fiction, film, myth and legend, which are all hidden on pages packed with quirky, vivid illustrations and the secret story of each fascinating creature. Brief, lively text reveals all their secrets, from their ghastly origins to their favorite meals. And if that isn't enough, children also get the chance to design their very own monster!