You are here: Kids » What to Read » Books for Special Interests » Monstruous Reads

Monstrous Reads!

Picture Books

E Hindley
The Perfect Little Monster
By Judy Hindley
A baby monster does all the right things to make his family proud--until his first birthday party.

E Leuck
My Monster Mama Loves Me So
By Laura Leuck
A young monster describes all the things its mother does to show she loves it.

E MacDonald
Snarlyhissopus
By Alan MacDonald
The jungle animals warn each other of a monster headed their way as they each confuse the name of the animal that is really coming.

E Schnitzlein
The Monster Who Ate My Peas
By Danny Schnitzlein
A young boy agrees to give a disgusting monster first his soccer ball, then his bike in return for eating the boy's peas, but when the monster asks for his puppy, the boy makes a surprising discovery.

E Seeger
Abiyoyo
By Pete Seeger
Banished from the town for making mischief, a little boy and his father are welcomed back when they find a way to make the dreaded giant Abiyoyo disappear. Also see Abiyoyo Returns! (E Seeger)

E Sendak
Where the Wild Things Are
By Maurice Sendak
Max, a naughty little boy gets sent to bed without his supper and sails to the land of the wild things where he becomes their king.

E Weeks
Happy Birthday Frankie!
By Sarah Weeks
A professor tries to assemble Frankenstein's body parts so that the monster can enjoy his birthday cake, with unexpected results.

Easy Readers

J 428.6 Cazet
Minnie and Moo Meet Frankenswine
By Denys Cazet
During a thunderstorm, the farm animals are frightened out of the barn by a monster, and only cow friends Minnie and Moo are brave enough to investigate.

J 428.6 Eek!
The Mummy's Gold (and others in this series)
By Kate McMullan
Eek! Stories to Make You Shriek! series. Jake thinks that the mummy he meets at a movie theater is part of one of his brother's tricks, but he is wrong.

J 428.6 Yolen
Commander Toad and the Intergalactic Spy
By Jane Yolen
Commander Toad and the crew of the Star Warts are asked to rout out Tip Toad, Space Fleet's greatest and most elusive spy.

Chapter Books

J Bailey
Gremlins Don't Chew Bubblegum (and others in this series)
By Debbie Dadey
Adventures of the Bailey School Kids series. There are some pretty weird grown-ups living in Bailey City. But could the substitute school secretary really be a gremlin messing up the electricity? The Bailey School kids are going to find out!

J Hughes
The Iron Giant
By Ted Hughes
The fearsome iron giant becomes a hero when he challenges a huge space monster.

J King-Smith
The Water Horse
By Dick King-Smith
In 1930, on the coast of Scotland, eight-year-old Kirstie finds a large egg that hatches into an unusual sea creature, and as he grows her family must decide what to do with him.

J Levy
Frankenstein Moved in on the Fourth Floor
By Elizabeth Levy
Robert and Sam suspect their weird new neighbor is really Frankenstein.

J Selznick
The Boy of a Thousand Faces
By Brian Selznick
Obsessed with horror films, ten-year-old Alonzo dreams of transforming himself into "The Boy of a Thousand Faces" and gets his wish in an unexpected way.

Older Juvenile Fiction

J Bruchac
Skeleton Man
By Joseph Bruchac
After her parents disappear and she is turned over to the care of a strange "great-uncle," Molly must rely on her dreams about an old Mohawk story for her safety and maybe even for her life.

J Cooper
The Boggart
By Susan Cooper
Returning home to Canada after visiting an inherited castle in Scotland, twelve-year-old Emily finds that she has accidentally brought back with her a boggart, an invisible and mischievous spirit with a fondness for practical jokes.

J Coville
Monsters of Morley Manor
By Bruce Coville
Anthony and his younger sister discover that the monster figures he got in an unusual box at an estate sale are alive, but they have no way of knowing that the "monsters" will lead them on fantastical adventures to other worlds in an effort to try to save Earth. Also look for other Bruce Coville books for more alien and monster fun!

J Dead
Dead Good Read: 21 Classic Tales of Mystery and Horror
Retellings of classic horror tales from before the early twentieth century by such authors as Oscar Wilde, Mary Shelley, and Edgar Allan Poe.

J Howe
Bunnicula (and others in this series)
By Deborah and James Howe
Though scoffed at by Harold the dog, Chester the cat tries to warn his human family that their foundling baby bunny must be a vampire.

J Hugo
Hunchback of Notre Dame
By Victor Hugo
In medieval Paris, Quasimodo, the hunchbacked bellringer of Notre Dame Cathedral, struggles to save the gypsy dancer Esmeralda from being unjustly executed in this classic novel.

J Regan
Monster of the Month Club (and others in this series)
By Dian Curtis Regan
Thirteen-year-old Rilla's life becomes chaotic when someone anonymously enrolls her in the Monster of the Month Club and little monsters start to arrive in the mail.

J Stevenson
Terror on Cemetery Hill (and others by this author)
By Drew Stevenson
Detective Sarah Capshaw has her hands full. Not only is she on the lookout for the Village Bandit who robbed the Wilsonburg Bank but she must also stake out the old cemetery looking for the monster that has been sighted there.

Non-Fiction

J 001.944 Landau
The Loch Ness Monster
By Elaine Landau
Introduces the folklore and reported sightings of the unidentified creature known as the Loch Ness Monster and evaluates the evidence for and against its existence.

J 398 Crum
Who Took My Hairy Toe?
Retold by Shutta Crum
An old man known for taking what isn't his picks up the wrong thing one Halloween night, and its owner wants it back.

J 398 Pearson
The Headless Horseman and Other Ghoulish Tales
By Maggie Pearson
A collection of tales from around the world, including "The Skeleton Woman," "Abena and the Python," "A Bargain is a Bargain," and "Vasilissa and Baba Yaga."

J 398 San Souci
The Hobyahs
Retold by Robert San Sousi
Five faithful dogs save their mistress from the dreadful Hobyahs.

J 398 Wahl
Tailypo!
Retold by Jan Wahl
A strange creature haunts the woodsman who lopped off its tail and it wants it back!

J 398 Williams
Fabulous Monsters
By Marcia Williams
Five stories, told in cartoon form, about legendary monsters including Grendel, Isikukumanderu, the basilisk, bunyip, and chimera.

J 745.5 Ross
Make Yourself a Monster!
By Kathy Ross
Provides instructions for twenty craft projects with a monster theme, created using common household materials.

J 932 Stewart
You Wouldn't Want to Be an Egyptian Mummy!
By David Stewart
A humorous and disgustingly detailed approach to the process of mummification in ancient Egypt.

Compiled by the Tompkins County Public Library Youth Services Department Staff
Tompkins County Public Library
101 East Green Street
277-4557 Ext. 275
9/02