Monsterology: Fabulous Lives of the Creepy, the Revolting, and the Undead [Paperback]

Arthur Slade (Author), Derek Mah (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up

Monsterology: Fabulous Lives of the Creepy, the Revolting, and the Undead is the most fun anyone can have with some of the nastiest creatures ever imagined! Who can resist morsels like the fact that “Drakul” means “son of the dragon” in Romanian, that the first Golem may have been Enkidu, who appeared in the ancient Epic of Gilgamesh, and that Frankenstein’s Monster was first inspired by Mary Shelley’s nightmare?

Governor General’s Award-winner Arthur Slade has gathered together fifteen scary critters, ranging from Dracula to Golem, from Frankenstein to Baba Yaga and even a zombie. He provides facts, real history, imagined history, and lots of jokes to make these creatures come to life. Slade’s hilarious text presents delicious imagined gossip, favorite blood types, favorite movies, and even favorite haunts (you should pardon the expression) with character descriptions and thoroughly researched background information.

Lively black-and-white illustrations by Derek Mah make this a book that is sure to be a hit with every monster-loving reader.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-8–Slade takes a funny, fascinating look inside the lives of 15 creepy characters from literature, mythology, and folklore, including Dracula, the golem, Medusa, Loki, Sasquatch, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and Loba (a female werewolf). Facts and historical background are smoothly presented in a chatty tone with lots of humor and just enough gross stuff to be appealing. Each six-page entry features a terrific black-and-white illustration and a listing of the creatures loves and hates, favorite saying, fashion rating, and high-school memories. Youngsters will enjoy this quick read and are sure to learn interesting tidbits about their favorite monsters. They may even discover some new ones to investigate.–Michele Capozzella, Chappaqua Public Library, NY
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About the Author

Arthur Slade was raised in the Cypress Hills of southwest Saskatchewan and began writing at an early age. He received an English Honors degree from the University of Saskatchewan, spent several years writing advertising and is a full-time fiction writer. He is the author of the “Northern Frights” series, the “Canadian Chills” series, Dust, which
won the the 2001 Governor General’s Award for Children’s Literature, and Tribes. He lives in Saskatoon with his wife, Brenda Baker, and daughter Tori.

Derek Mah draws and paints in Calgary, Alberta, in the company of his wife Cari, two cats, a rotating cast of gerbils, hamsters, and mice. He has spent the past two decades trying to convince anyone who will listen that it is too a real job.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Tundra Books; First edition (October 11, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0887767141
• ISBN-13: 978-0887767142
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.3 x 8.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,580,247 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Arthur Slade was raised in the Cypress Hills of southwest Saskatchewan (on a ranch) and began writing at an early age. He received an English Honours degree from the University of Saskatchewan, spent several years writing advertising and now writes fiction full time. He is the author of sixteen novels, including the "Northern Frights" series of books, "Dust" (which won the Governor General's award), "Tribes," "Monsterology" and "The Hunchback Assignments" series. He currently lives in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Very funny, for bigger kids, August 9, 2011

By 

M. Heiss (USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Monsterology: Fabulous Lives of the Creepy, the Revolting, and the Undead (Paperback)

Your teens and pre-teens will get a kick out of this collection of monster lore, plus fashion critiques and "interviews" with the monsters. It is funny -- maybe a bit on the silly side, but very entertaining. Sneaks in some ACTUAL LEARNING among the inside jokes and puns.

5.0 out of 5 stars Monsters in a whole new light, July 15, 2010

By 

Steven R. McEvoy "MCWPP" (Canada) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Monsterology: Fabulous Lives of the Creepy, the Revolting, and the Undead (Paperback)

Arthur Slade is an amazing author. He is like a cross between Chuck Palahniuk, Christopher Moore, and Douglas Coupland but without the jaded cynicism, and with a great sense of humor. His books are also written for a younger audience, but can really be enjoyed by readers of any age who like a good story.

In this volume there are profiles of 15 monsters they are:
Dracula
Golem
Medusa
Loki
The Giant
Tera
Frankenstein's Monster
Sasquatch
Loch Ness Monster
Zack (Not the one from Saved by the Bell)
Baba Yaga
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Quasimodo
Loba
The Grim Reaper

In a very tongue-in-cheek fashion, Slade presents a short biography of each of these characters. Mixed and mingled with fact, lore, fictions and outright embellishments, the profiles will be fun for children of all ages. And of course if you read this book you will need to read the companion volume Villainology: Fabulous Lives of the Big, the Bad, and the Wicked. Together they pack a better punch than Frankenstein's Monster and the Wolfman together. Derek Mah does an amazing job illustrating this book; the character portraits are some of what you would expect but with a new and unique interpretation on them, and the smaller illustrations that add to the profiles are wonderful. An excellent book and I highly recommend it.