MEET THE MONSTERS
Written with Jane Yolen
Illustrated by Patricia Ludlow
Walker 1996
ISBN# 0-8027-8441-0 Walker hardcover |
 |
When I was pregnant with my daughter Maddison,
my mother called me and asked if I would like to write a book
about monsters with her. One of my friends had a three-year-old
son named Justin who would only let me read him a book if it had
a monster in it, so I thought this book would be a great idea.
Besides, I was sick, tired, and very bored with the whole pregnancy
thing, so I agreed. I waddled to the library in Atlanta where
I was living at the time. There I did a lot of research and took
notes on index cards. Two weeks before Maddison arrived, my mother
and I sat in my bedroom/office (she at the computer and me with
my feet up on my bed in my maternity nightgown) and plugged away
at the final draft. The book is made up of thirteen double page
spreads featuring mythical monsters, why they scare us, and how
to get rid of each one. "Gargoyle" is our favorite spread
and on the Christmas after the book came out, my mother gave me
the original art from that page. I love it but Maddison spent
a year and a half refusing to walk past it even though the book
is dedicated to her.
See what Jane
Yolen has to say about this book.
Available
in the Walker hardcover.
What reviewers have said:
"No self-respecting child will be able
to resist." -- School Library Journal
"This guide book to monsters of the world
is enough to scare the socks off almost any child -- but in a
way it's reassuring." -- Philadelphia Inquirer
"A great read-aloud." -- Union Democrat