Monster Mash

K-Gr 3—Using the words from the 1962 novelty song "Monster Mash," Catrow has created a hilarious picture book with inventive illustrations. Electrifying pictures on spreads with minimal text explode the lyrics into a (not) terrifying book that monster fans will cherish. The artwork shows everything readers might think would frighten them in a humorous light. The detailed pictures are created with pen, pencil, watercolors, and gouache. For example, the lyrics "The coffin-bangers/were about to arrive/with their vocal group/The Crypt-Kicker Five" are set against a picture of a skeleton dragging a fiery vehicle loaded with several pairs of pink eyes as it passes in front of an enormous Swiss cheese moon on its way to a drawbridge that leads into a spooky castle. This title will work as a read-aloud, but kids are going to want to spend a lot of time looking at the illustrations. It is a book for every library with readers who celebrate Halloween.—Mary Hazelton, Elementary Schools in Union, Washington & Waldoboro, MEH