I wasn't really sure what I was going to get from this book until I started reading through it. I knew I was going to get monsters, of course, but I didn't know which ones or pay attention to where the monsters that were going to be discussed would be coming from. I obviously lack the ability of reading the front cover or the title given for it on Goodreads. I mean it says it right there in both of them, but I really had no idea...
Well, wouldn't you know it...a lot of the monsters have come from stories and written work! Some of the monsters detailed within I knew about in some form or another. Others, I knew from having read the actual work that they are featured in!
The way the book works is - it gives you a quick synopsis of the story the monster is from. Then after that it will give you some other information relating to some aspect of the monsters story. It may be a tidbit about the time period it came from, it may be a random fact in regards to the author, and it may even be other works where you can find similar monsters! And some of these I found really interesting.
Now, as I said, I knew some of the monsters in the book before this from having read the actual source they are from. I found the quick run down for those monsters a nice little refresher of their story. Then for the monsters I had heard about before, but had not read about I found that I really had no idea what their stories were actually about! I had no knowledge about The Invisible Man except for the part where he is invisible... Now I know the synopsis of that book and it has definitely made me want to read the book so I can experience him in full!
Also, what is nice, is at the end of the book it gives some great resources. There are some suggested readings, other monsters to look into and where to find them, some tips on picking translations for those that were not written in English in the first place, etc.
However, I will say that I was not a huge fan of the artwork, but that is very much just my own opinion. I am also not a person in their targeted audience as this book is clearly aimed at older elementary and middle school kids. I know my 6 year old found them a bit spooky, where I found them usually too bright and too cartoonish for my liking.
All in all, I enjoyed this book and the quick bits I got about literature and mythical monsters. It was a great refresher for the ones I have read and a nice introduction into the ones I haven't encountered yet.
This review is based on an advanced reading copy. All thoughts and opinions are mine and I received nothing in exchange for this review.
