The Mischief Monster (Moongobble and Me) [Paperback]

Bruce Coville (Author), Katherine Coville (Illustrator)

Book Description

Series: Moongobble and Me

Sometimes when you get what you want, it's not as good as you thought it would be. Ever since Edward's good friend Moongobble became a full magician, life has been rather boring. No more adventures.

But then Snelly comes bursting into their lives. Snelly is small -- only a foot tall -- but she's a bundle of trouble. She's the daughter of the queen of the Mischief Monsters, and she has run away. Edward, Moongobble, and their friends learn that they must return Snelly to her home right away, or her mom will start a Mischief War. And that would be really annoying!

So Edward, Moongobble, Urk, and Fireball set off on another adventure, this time to return Snelly to her home in Monster Mountain. But when they get there they find a bigger surprise waiting for them than they ever could have imagined. And Edward won't have to worry about being bored for a very long time!

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Brimming with magic, humor, and action, this fourth entry in the Moongobble and Me series will appeal to fantasy fans. In this installment, told in decidedly modern-day language, Edward finds Snelly, princess of the Mischief Monsters, and must return her to her mother with the help of his genial, bungling magician friend, Moongobble.Cliff-hangers and snappy dialogue propel the reader through the story, which stands on its own, thanks to author Coville's ability to slip in plenty of background information. Celtic-style borders and soft pencil illustrations create strong visual appeal. Harold, Suzanne --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Bruce Coville is the author of nearly ninety books for young readers, including the international best-seller My Teacher Is an Alien. He has been a teacher, a toy maker, a cookware salesman, and a grave digger. In addition to his work as an author, Bruce is much in demand as a speaker and as a storyteller. He is also the founder and president of Full Cast Audio, a company dedicated to producing unabridged recordings of children's books in a full-cast format. For more information about Bruce, check out www.brucecoville.com.

Katherine Coville is an artist, a sculptor, and a doll maker who specializes in highly detailed images of creatures never before seen in this world. She has illustrated several books written by her husband, Bruce Coville, including Goblins in the Castle, Aliens Ate My Homework, and the Space Brat series.

Bruce and Katherine live in Syracuse, New York, with a varying assortment of pets and children.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 80 pages
• Publisher: Aladdin; Reprint edition (August 5, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416908080
• ISBN-13: 978-1416908081
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 5.1 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #359,333 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Bruce Coville was born in Syracuse, New York, in 1950. His family lived in farm territory, about twenty miles north of Syracuse. Bruce grew up around the corner from his grandparents' dairy farm, where he spent a great deal of time as a child, dodging cows and chores to the best of his ability. As a young reader he loved Mary Poppins and Dr. Dolittle, and still has fond memories of rising ahead of the rest of his family so he could huddle in a chair and read THE VOYAGES OF DR. DOLITTLE. He also read lots of things that people consider junk (Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, Tom Swift, and zillions of comic books). His only real regret is the time he spent watching television, when he could have been reading instead. (A mind is a terrible thing to waste!)

His first book, THE FOOLISH GIANT, was published in 1978. It was illustrated by his wife, Katherine, whom he had married in 1969. This was followed in 1979 by SARAH'S UNICORN, also illustrated by Katherine. After a long period of working separately, the Covilles began collaborating again with SPACE BRAT and GOBLINS IN THE CASTLE, both published in 1992.

Before getting published Bruce earned his living as a toymaker, a gravedigger, a cookware salesman, an assembly line worker, and finally as an elementary school teacher (second and fourth grades). He left teaching in 1981 to devote himself to becoming a full time writer - though it took another five years to achieve that goal!)

Bruce has published nearly 100 books, which have appeared in over a dozen countries around the world and sold more than sixteen million copies. Among his most popular titles are MY TEACHER IS AN ALIEN, INTO THE LAND OF THE UNICORNS, and THE MONSTER'S RING. In 2001 he founded Full Cast Audio, an audiobook company dedicated to creating unabridged, full cast recordings of the best in children's and young adult literature.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hooray! Moongobble is back!, July 13, 2007

By 

Matthew T. Carpenter (Peoria, IL, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: The Mischief Monster (Moongobble and Me) (Hardcover)

The Mischief Monster picks up the story of Moongobble and Edward after the events in The Evil Elves (published in 2004). Moongoble has completed his mighty tasks and is now a full fledged wizard. Alas for him but fortunately for us, this does not mean he is still not turning things into cheese or otherwise miscasting his spells. Edward is working in the garden, lamenting how dull things are since there have been no more adventures and Moongobble doesn't have any customers when a tiny monster shows up, just as Moongobble is turning Urk the toad into a tiny pink cat. Of course our intrepid band must return this little monster to her mother. But where is the Rusty Knight if he is not in his house? Will Urk ever become a toad again? Will Moongobble ever learn to cast a spell? All these questions will be answered!

This book shares all the features with its predecessors that make it practically self recommending. My sons (age 7 and 9) got a big kick out of the spells gone wrong and Urk's surly attitude. They very much enjoyed the generous number of Ms. Coville's illustrations. My impression is, however, that this book is really too juvenile for ages 9-12. It is a better bet for age 4-8, particularly if you dislike the violence in Spiderwick or the bad language in the Shluffmuffin saga. For the independent reader of chapter books in 1st-2nd grade it would be great, as it is a very nice hardcover, perfectly sized with a handsome slipcover. Adults should probably do a quick pre-read as there was one word that some might find objectionable (this was also the case in The Evil Elves but it got eidted out of my review). The Mischief Monster leave us with another quest for Moongobble and Edward so there should be at least one more volume in the saga, a good thing since young Moongobble fans are always asking for more.

3.0 out of 5 stars Audio version, January 17, 2012

By 

Kat at Fantasy Literature - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Mischief Monster (Moongobble and Me) (Hardcover)

The Mischief Monster is the fourth book in Bruce Coville's delightful MOONGOBBLE AND ME series for ages 9-12. I've been listening to this series of short books on audio with my girls who are 6 and 9 years old. Each book is about an hour long and dramatized by Full Cast Audio, which means there's a cast of readers playing parts rather than just one narrator.

In The Mischief Monster, Edward, Moongobble, and their friends try to return a mischievous monster princess named Snelly to her home in Monster Mountain. As usual, there's a surprise twist at the end. The plot of The Mischief Monster is cute and funny (especially when Urk the toad gets turned into a fluffy pink kitty). My girls loved the story.

Though I've been recommending Full Cast Audio's versions so far, I can't do so for this installment. The voice used for Snelly, the titular character of The Mischief Monster, is piercingly high-pitched. This is supposed to be cute and she's supposed to sound like a brat, but it's so effective that it soon got on my nerves. Even my daughters were annoyed by Snelly's voice.

If you've enjoyed the previous MOONGOBBLE AND ME books, you'll be happy with The Mischief Monster. I just suggest reading this one in print. My 2.5 star rating reflects my disappointment with the audio version, but my daughter Tali said she'd give it 3.5 stars.

5.0 out of 5 stars Very imaginative, March 5, 2011

By 

tboriginal - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Mischief Monster (Moongobble and Me) (Paperback)

I really enjoy reading the Moongobble and Me series with my children. These books really keep my children engaged and wondering what might happen next.