Customer Reviews

A Field Guide to Monsters: Googly-Eyed Wart Floppers, Shadow-Casters, Toe Eaters, and Other Creatures

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These days, my opportunites to share great children's books are limited. My 27 year-old son is so over storytime. I have no grandchildren and my nephews are in high school. My husband spends all day listening to his students read out loud.

When "A Field Guide to Monsters" landed on my desk last week, I was happy to once again read something light, bright and everso creative.

The publicity packet included with the book says the author is "a firm believer in monsters and will trust any report of monster sightings until proven false."

It takes a very active imagination and a mind open to all possibilities to write truly engaging children's stories. Face it. The Brothers Grimm already have a patent on the most popular plot lines. This encyclopedia of scary things that lurk under beds, in closets and bathtubs is a bright and fresh addition to adolescent literature.

With this book, young readers will "learn about monster habitats, life cycles, and how to avoid the most dangerous creatures; see historical evidence of monster sightings; read about chilling monster encounters; and find out how to become a monsterologist, too."

Olander teaches us the importance of having the right tools when on a monster hunt and how to go about stalking and finding new species.

Olander says it's helpful to have an old sheet or blanket and to cut holes for your eyes in the blanket so "you can see out while remaining covered."

He says "many monsters have a sensitive sense of smell, so using cloves or potpourri can be used to mask your human scent."

The very first monster Olander chronicles is the Balloonseter (bulla inflatus). Balloonster consumes gas of any kind, even plain air and is not aggressive or dangerous.

No safety measures are necessary when encountering a Balloonster.

Not so with the Corner Cat (felis angulosa). You'll need rubber galoshes or leather boots to protect your ankles from Corner Cat bites, since the creature is a specialist in "lightning fast sneak attacks and can cause grave injuries to small children."

According to Olander, there is no need to be afraid of the Domestic Dust-Devil (sarcinula diaboli domestica), even though he has distinguishing features that include "limbs full of barbs that catch dust bunnies and other prey." Olander reminds us that the Dust-Devil's natural enemy is the vacuum cleaner.

Olander warns of the dreaded Flesh-Eating Tub Frog (rana labrum carnivora). "This creature eats human flesh, soap and bath products. It also loves fruit- and bubble-gum scented bubble bath."

Although the Flesh-Eating Tub Frog is very rare, be careful if you find one of the hop toads in your bath. "If you find one, there are often many more."

Monster-X (monstrosaurus rex) seems to prefer children with few friends. They're vegetarians, so it's safe to hang with them. However, they are candy thiefs. They reproduce by laying eggs, which can usually be found in abundance during the month of April.

Olander takes a close look at the care and feeding of other scary beasts, such as Wearms, Two-Toed Jumping Rats, Snouted Grabbers and Hangers. Olander, who is also an illustrator, adds clever drawings to explain some of the monsters' peculiarities.

Olander's insight into the creatures and their habitants is just delightful, although not for the faint of heart.

Editor's note: The publisher has set the age guidelines from 9-12. You might want to push that up a year or so if your youngster is squeamish about guts, gore and things that go bump in the night.

I bought this book for my Grand daughter. She was delighted to receive it, as she had been taking it out from the Library repeatedly, and obviously needed her own copy.

Jessica's Review: This guide is a creative encyclopedia of monsters that you never knew existed, but secretly believed in. The creatures presented within the pages are only limited by Olander's imagination and it seems that his is very far reaching. I liked the format of the guide and the artwork that adorns each page. Journal clippings, sketches, children's drawings, and first hand accounts of the different monster add to the basic information of each one. The children that enjoy their creatures will certainly enjoy this book.

Kole's Review: This book was a nice getaway from all of the regular format books. It shows a picture, description and notes of all of the crazy monsters. It is fun and silly and a little on the childish side. I found myself looking at the pictures again and again. The illustrations are great. It was a really fun read.

My 10-year-old son LOVES this book. He checked it out from the library, but now that he has to return it he needs his own copy. He is having so much fun "monster hunting" with his friends. It has really sparked his imagination and he can't wait to go outside looking for monsters. When he's inside, he's drawing new monsters of his own. Fun, totally engaging book. Thanks, Mr. Olander!

My six-year-old son cannot put this book down. He has us read it to him, and he pours over it himself. We love its sly humor and "studious approach" to monsters. Olander's imagination is incredibly keen and his drawings are both horrific and hilarious. Definitely a book that we'll buy as birthday gifts for other little budding monstrologists.

John Olander's FIELD GUIDE TO MONSTERS discusses monster habitats, habits, historical evidence and more, offering over twenty 'undocumented' monsters for casual thought. From the Dark Ooze to a household Snouted Grabber, a fun visual and written description evolves.

I picked this up at the library last night. I did not have it on my list just noticed it in the new books section. My 8-year-old son loved it and even my 15-year-old daughter looked at it with him some. I think our favorite was the Leech-Eel and we all have been slamming the toilet seats just in case. My son was a little worried about the Corner Cat. I would not recommend this for kids that are prone to nightmares or worry about monsters. I would recommend it for ages 8 and up.

A great monster book for kids who aren't too squeamish and love a "scientific" presentation of "facts". A lot of fun.

He absolutely loves this book. Its great for his imagination and he loves trying to remember them all by heart. He even had me buy him an empty book so that he could add his own monsters too. It's one of my favorite things I bought him for christmas.

A fantastic guide for would-be monster hunters in your home. Each creature has a 2 page entry detailing it's likely location, what it likes to eat and most importantly, if it's harmful to people and how to protect yourself against it. Quite a few, if not all, also have some reproduction of a 'historical' sighting of the monster. The distressed pages of the book give it the feel of something you might accidentally find tucked away in the attic.

Most of the critters are funny and harmless, but a few might give the younger ones a fright. In particular, the Bedwolf which lurks under your bed...I always wondered what the thing under the bed looked like and now I'm glad I never knew as a kid! This one will literally have them jumping into bed so their ankles don't come within grabbing distance of the Bedwolf' six arms.

Another favorite is the Corner Cat (felis angulosa), a very skinny kitty that stands on it's hind legs and jumps out from corners to bite your ankles. Perhaps realted to the Lovecraftian Hounds of Tindalos?

All in all, this is a terrific collection of original beasties sure to spark the imagination of monster enthusiasts young and old.