Summer Reading
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Publication Date: September 15, 2009 | Series: Monster Moon
It's almost Halloween, and twelve-year-old AJ Zantony's world is threatened by an ancient curse that releases wicked pirates who had been trapped for centuries in his Aunt Zsofia's creepy mansion, Zala Manor.
The pirates--a vampire count, a pegleg skeleton, and a zombie--have three goals: to find a lost treasure, unleash the restless dead from their graves, and to settle a very old score by destroying the Zantony bloodline.
AJ has to stop them before midnight during Aunt Zsofia's annual Halloween party. Except he has a big problem--monster phobia! He's scared to death of monsters. But if he doesn't act fast, the streets of Craggy Cove will be crawling with zombies.
Will AJ overcome his fear and stop the monsters or bail out? Will Craggy Cove become Zombie Central? Who will be alive when midnight tolls?
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In the vein of The Goonies and There's a Batwing in My Lunchbox comes Monster Moon: Curse at Zala Manor.... This book has it all: secret tunnels and talking animals, mad science and real monsters. This is the perfect...book for in-class reading in elementary schools and early middle schools. Equal parts scary, mysterious, gross and silly, it's pure fun. It's definitely recommended for all collections aimed at fostering a love of reading. --Monster Librarian
Fun, silly, creepy, gross kiddo read. If I were a teacher, this is what I [would] read my class.... 4.5 out of 5 stars. --Michele Lee, Booklove
BBH McChiller is the pseudonym for three Southern California writers. The Monster Moon series began one Halloween as a discussion about their greatest fears and ended up being one of their most rewarding experiences. (www.monstermoonmysteries.com)
Lynn Kelley worked as a court reporter for 25 years. Her ebook, Trio of Haunting Tales - Short Spooky Stories, is available in the Kindle store for 99 cents. She is the author of the picture book, Merry as a Cricket (WhipperSnapper Books). Her story, "The Jobo Tree" won her Highlights For Children's Author of the Month award. She has written for the Highland Community News and is currently working on a Young Adult novel. She's a big scaredy cat and is afraid to watch horror movies. (www.lynnkelleyauthor.com)
Kathryn Sant is a retired Obstetrician who has witnessed the births of thousands of future readers. She has published a middle-grade novel, Desert Chase (Scholastic), and written for the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrator's newsletter. She is currently working on a middle-grade boys' adventure novel. Her interest in adventure, accurate research, and genealogy has led to a love of world travel, but she also enjoys quiet evenings, reading, with her dogs at her side.
Maria Toth has a background in journalism. Her work, including children's stories, has appeared in The Los Angeles Times and the San Bernardino Sun. She is a Reading Buddy at local schools and has appeared on Storytime, a children's television program. Her novel Butterfly Hollow (Stargazer Publishing) is scheduled for release in 2010. Her favorite holiday is Halloween. She enjoys ghostly tales and reading epitaphs at historic graveyards.
To read an interview of BBH McChiller by The Writing Nut, go to: http://www.thewritingnut.com/author-interview/monster-moon-week-author-interview-bbh-mcchiller-curse-zala-manor/
This is an entertaining children's mystery adventure, with lots of exciting and suspenseful situations that the two main characters find themselves in. Not only is it scary, but it's educational as well, because scattered all throughout the story are learning facts, with some science thrown into the mix. I also thought that the main male character, AJ, was a very good role model. Quite enjoyable book! I'm looking forward to the next Monster Moon book to buy for my grandson.
It's rare that an adult can get "in the head" of their young readers, but BBH McChiller does a great job of grabbing the reader's imagination and not letting go. Pirates, vampires, zombies, ghosts and ancient curses ... what more could a kid ask for in a book?
The Curse at Zala Manor is fun, well-written and definitely a book that every kid will enjoy reading ... preferably in a dark room, under the covers, with a flashlight.
Try to get it before Halloween. I can't wait for the next book in the series to come out!
Oh my gosh I loved this book! I am always looking for new books to read to my students that will grab their attention and keep them interested (for comprehension and recall). And I hit the jackpot with this book! And I'm glad to hear that there will soon be a teacher's manual to accompany this book in the near future addressing California Standards in Reading Comprehension, Writing, Language Arts, and Science. After reading it myself, I felt it reminiscent in some ways of the Nancy Drew mysteries I loved as a kid...only much more intense with monsters, zombies, and scary dead pirates involved! I was picturing this story as a movie the whole time I was reading it! Great imagery. Lots of suspense! I can't wait to share this with my students!
I got this book for my cousin's birthday last week. After it arrived, I thought I'd glance at it, just to see what I was getting him, and I ended up finishing the whole thing. It was really a fun book. I'd describe it as sort of a cross between the Hardy Boys and Dracula. Something like that. Really well done, funny and, obviously, kept my interest. Luckily, the book is well made, so I hope no one could tell I'd read it.
My granddaughter Brooke read this book in 3 days. She loves scary movies and reads lots of scary books. When I saw this book on Amazon, I just had to buy it for her. She so enjoyed reading this book and I sure received many extra hugs from her.
AJ Zantony lives in a big old spooky house with his eccentric aunt. The story starts in the lead up to AJ's aunt's Halloween party. AJ hears the walls of the old house speaking to him. His science partner, and new friend, Emily, thinks he's imagining things. But AJ discovers the voice in the walls belongs to Vlad, the talking rat. Then he and Emily discover catacombs exist beneath the house, an ancient journal belonging to AJ's ancestors, and a 300-year-old curse set to obliterate the Zantony family and the whole population of Craggy Cove on Halloween. In the middle of his aunt's massive Halloween party, AJ, and Emily have to outwit and outfight a vampire and two zombie pirates in the old graveyard outside. A fight to the death follows, against all odds, Aj and Emily save the day. This story is exciting and never lets go of you for a minute. Fabulous!
My son read this book and gave it a high thumbs up. His review was that it was one of the best books he had ever read and it deserved five stars. He told me to hurry up and get the next book. When I asked him to describe it for me he said, "fantastic, amazing, fun, mysterious, and compelling." Although it's not among the AR books, ultimately it is about getting kids to read, so his teacher was willing to give my boy credit for reading this book anyway. Upon completion he had a choice of writing a one page summary or taking an author generated test based on the book. Because he was so absorbed by the story he got every question right. That's saying a lot for a kid whom I have to push to get interested in a book. I would recommend this book in a heartbeat.
