Hachette Australia

• ISBN:9780316348522
• Publication date:25 Aug 2015
• Page count:48
• Imprint:Little, Brown Young Readers USA
• RR $14.99

So R. L. Stine drove us all crazy over the past decade or so with endless Goosebumps books – but hey! They got the kids reading didn’t they?

Since then his books have moved into an older readership and I have observed the success of these with boys and girls in lower secondary particularly.

Now – look out! – he’s moving into the Junior Fiction picture book market with this very entertaining book about some very crazy monsters.

Yes of course there are lots of kids (and let’s face it, some adults) who get a bit thingy about monsters but this is exactly what is needed to take the sting out of the unknown scariness. Though referred to as a shop the illustrations make this seem more like a rescue/shelter facility for the said monsters and as the children inspect each variety, there is a deliciously descriptive explanation of each.

Any child who is harbouring a fear of unknown creepy monsters under the bed will giggle at monsters like Yucky and Mucky or Teaser and Squeezer – and though it is revealed that these monsters are smelly, vile and horrible – we can be quite safe as we check out each and every one. Then we can run away quite safely monster-free!

I envisage that this would be a very popular read-aloud with many of our younger students. There are some juicy interactive moments such as guessing the name etc which will delight the thinkers in the audience.

Have a lot of fun with this one – I know we will!

Click here for a trailer narrated by Jack Black!