The Math Monster (A book about confidenc...

Danielle does not have her math homework. She knows she put it in her folder. Now where is it?  She finds it when she returns home as well as a pencil. Who is the pencil? Why does he have her homework?

I enjoyed this quick tale. Matthew, the pencil--AKA--the Math Monster--helps Danielle to realize she knows her math. He helps her with her confidence. Her negative reactions change when she realizes she did her math well. I did not like Kristi, the mean girl at school. She was a nasty piece of work.

This is a good book for your early readers.

Do you search for Nessie in Scotland, Champ in New York or do you want to go to Africa to search for Mokele-mbembe, the choice is yours?  I myself, started with the Loch Ness Monster in Scotland and then, came back to the beginning again and started other searches for the other creatures because I needed to know how they all would end.  I also took alternative side options with each of them for that’s what’s so wonderful with these books, the possibilities are endless.   

There are actual photographs in these books and a few of them, you will find familiar as they are popular with that creature.  There is the blurry image of the Loch Ness Monster with its head poking up out of the water (or is that really a twisted tree branch in the water).  Nevertheless, the photographs help reassure the reader that these creatures are real and that you’re on a mission to prove it.  I enjoyed all the different directions this book takes you down and following these paths, they were never hard.  The font size was large and easy-to-read which was good and it varied in size according to different tasks.  I did feel that the book was lacking in drama department.  The book does a great job in providing specific details and setting up the scenes but each of the actual events, they fell short for me.  They were over before I knew it and it was time to move on.   Where was the drama?  The anticipation?  I felt cheated.  I was tracking down a famous, mysterious creature and I thought there needed to be more: more story and more excitement.

Make sure you check out the back of the book for a list of freshwater Lake Monsters Around the World.  There are 7 monsters listed from Loch Ness in Scotland to Champ in the U.S. to Ogopogo in Canada to The Lake Van Monster in Turkey.  There is also a glossary at the back, a few internet sites & books pertaining to the Loch Ness Monster, and a few questions relating to information in this book.  I liked that this book also includes an index. I think this book provides some good basic information about the monsters presented inside it.   

Sample Text

“Going inside the cave would be a terrible risk.  You could get trapped or lost. No. You’ll stay where you are and hope the shape returns.  You wait and watch as long as you can.  But nothing appears.  After a while, you have to resurface before running out of air.

In the boat, you swap out your oxygen tanks and head back down.  But it’s hopeless.  You don’t see another hint of Nessie.  As the sun drops low in the sky, you realize it’s time to head back.

This search has been a failure.  But you’re not going to give up.  Maybe tomorrow you’ll have better luck.

THE END

To read another adventure, turn to page 9

To learn more about lake monsters, turn to page 103”

Imaginative story of Billy and his Monster friend who love to celebrate holidays but love Easter most of all because of all the chocolate, their favorite thing. But chocolate at grandma's tempts them too much and they learn the value of moderation.

I chuckled as Billy and the Monster make a mess of the Easter chocolate. I shook my head as Billy decided he could get up early to clean the mess (like he is any different from the rest of us--ain't gonna happen!) An adorable story for your 3-5 year old.

 This book drew me in with its cover, as is often the case. I was intrigued by the synopsis. And several reviews of it called it a merging of Frakenstein, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and Dr. Jeykll and Mr. Hyde, and that left me even more interested. Normally with that much hype surrounding a book it is bound to disappoint, at least a little bit, but this book was fantastic.

Hark was a fabulous character. He was uncertain and timid but trying to find a foothold in the world. He could see that his friendship with Jelt was changing but admitting it to himself meant that nothing would be the same. He broke my heart and left me cheering him on. He had a great story arc. Through the course of the story he was forced from being a little boy running a small time con to a man who takes responsibility for his own story.

I had a hard time feeling too much sympathy for Jelt because he was pretty mean to Hark from the moment we met him. But, despite that, I felt tremendous sympathy for how Hark dealt with the changes in his friend.

The gods were presented as monsters first, deities almost by accident, and I liked that approach. The idea of monster gods is appealing to me and this was the perfect blend of monster and majesty to suit me. The world this book was set in was also beautifully detailed. I could feel the undulating waves of the Undersea. The permeating fear of it that fed the gods for thousands of years. It was a beautifully written story. My only complaint was that the ending when Hark is going after the heart dragged on for a bit too long. After about 50 pages my mind started to wander and I wished we could stop describing everything so thoroughly and move on with the action a bit quicker. But the ending was compelling, as was the epilogue. I read the last thirty pages or so with tears streaming down my face, my heart breaking and cheering for Hark all at the same time. In the end this was a story about the power of stories, and it had a profound power all its own.