Module 14: Monsterologist

SLIS 5420/ Module 14? April 22- April 28
The Monsterologist
By: Bobbi Katz

Bibliography: Katz, B. (2009). The monsterologist. New York, NY: Sterling

Summary:
The The Monsterologist is written as a series of letters, memoirs, notes, and interviews of a monsterologist. The book is full of rhyme and is designed to look like an adventurer's journal. It is full of accounts about werewolves, vampires, witches, and all manner of monsters, all written in rhyme.

Impressions:
I thought that this was a very cool book. The poems and verse made the book different and engaging from some of the other books of this genre. I know that our library has several of these monsterologist, monstrology, fairy, oceanography, etc. types of books. Kids love the different mythical topics. I found myself very impressed with the overall construction quality of the book, from the binding and cover, to the cutouts and gatefolds in the interior of the book. I'm not always a big fan of books written in rhyme or poetry for that matter, but I thought that this was a very fun way to present this topic.

Review:
Booklist Review
Definitely not to be mistaken as an entry in the increasingly ubiquitous Ology line, this book offers a collection of hideous beastie-based verses. From an invitation to visit Count Dracula to an international zombie census, the quality of the poems is wildly inconsistent, sometimes even from line to line, as when a clever gross-out ( Greasy green lizards / and raw chicken gizzards, ) gets a poem rolling, only to have it fall flat on its face with spell-binding spells / cast by spell-casting wizards. More often than not, though, bursts of devilish humor and winking creepiness keep things moving, and McCauley's well-designed pages outfitted in a sort of loose, splashy collage, with a few sturdy fold-outs have browsing appeal. Cleverly, alongside old favorites from medusas and witches to krakens and the Loch Ness Monster Katz dreams up her own baddies, like the compu-monster, that gobbles up hard drives, and the voracious Verbivore (take heed, librarians!).--Chipman, Ian Copyright 2009 Booklist

Library Setting:
This book would make a great book for a Halloween program or monster program. The fact that it is written in verse makes it different from other books that could be read at the event. It would also be fun to include some kind of craft idea like making monster masks, have the  children write their own monster poems, and/or listen to "The Monster Mash".

Reference Review:
R.R. Bowker LLC. (2009). Books in print. Retrieved from http://libproxy.library.unt.edu:4442/DetailedView.aspx?hreciid=|25690942|24377977&mc=USA
Image:
http://designarchives.aiga.org/assets/images/000/100/331/100331_lg.jpg