*****= An all-time
favorite
**** = Outstanding
*** = Above
average
**
= Enjoyable
*
= Good, with reservations
****Everything I Know About Monsters
A Collection of Made-up Facts, Educated Guesses,
and Silly Pictures about Creatures of Creepiness
by Tom Lichtenheld
Reviewed January 1, 2003.
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, New York, 2002.
36 pages.
Available at Sembach Library (E LIC).
This book is simply good silly fun. The author does assure the
reader right at the start that there really are no such things as monsters.
However, he goes on: “But, monsters DO exist in our imaginations.
And, as you know, our imaginations are immensely HUGE. (Your imagination
is so huge that sometimes it leaks out of your ears as earwax.)”
He then goes on to catalog and describe such common monsters as Under-the-Bed
Monsters (like the Triple-Tentacled Tickler), Closet Monsters, Basement
Monsters, Attic Monsters, and the Homework Hasher, among others. He
details monster avoidance techniques and practical tips such as “Never let
a monster borrow your sports car.”
You might not want to give this book to a child so young he doesn’t
yet understand the difference between reality and fantasy, but young school-age
children will find this book delightful, and their parents will get a good
laugh as well.
Book Reviews by Sondra Eklund