Module 14: Poetry and Story Collections

Module 14: Poetry and Story Collections

Book: The Monsterologist:  A Memoir in Rhyme

Author: Bobbi Katz

Illustrator: Adam McCauley

Plot

The book starts by telling the reader what a Monsterologist is through poem and continuous by then introducing and explaining each monster met by the Monsterologist through verse. Count Dracula writes to the Monsterologist while most of the rest are explanations. The book travels all around the globe explaining and introducing monsters and creatures of all kind in verse with illustrations that are scrapbook-esque and reminiscent of The Spiderwick Chronicles books of faeries and such.

Impression of the Book

            I loved the book and enjoyed it immensely. I have read my fair share of monster books and –ology books but this book, by far, has been the most enjoyable for it brings together two of my favorite things: Poetry and Halloween related ghouls.

Implementation of Book in Library Setting

            During Halloween, I would read these to the kids and then ask the kids to create their own monsters, characteristics and all. And then, as a judge, I would have them all present their monsters however they may want (either through simple storytelling, art work, dressing up).

Reviews

            “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, I.

 

APA Citation

Chipman, I. (2009). The Monsterologist: A Memoir In Rhyme. Booklist, 106(2), 61.

Katz, B., & McCauley, A. (2009). The monsterologist: A memoir in rhyme. New York: Sterling.