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Mysteries Unwrapped
The Real Monsters
We all love shivery, scary stories about unquiet ghosts, bloodsucking vampires, wicked witches, and werewolves howling under a full moon. But do real monsters walk the earth—or are they just figments of our imagination? Unwrap the mystery and discover the truth! Over time, scientific inquiry has shed light on these terrifying creatures of the darkness; the reality behind the legends will fascinate children as much as any horror movie or tale told round a campfire. Find out whether there really is a curse of the mummy; how Dracula got his name; and how zombies are created. From giant cyclopses to a chilling account of an authentic haunted house, what they read here will open kids’ eyes wide with surprise!
88 pages, Paperback
First published October 7, 2008
6 people are currently reading
47 people want to read
About the author
Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen
74 books130 followersSudipta Bardhan-Quallen is an award-winning children's book author whose books include Duck Duck Moose, Chicks Run Wild, Pirate Princess, Hampire!, and the forthcoming Orangutangled. She visits schools around the country to talk about the craft of writing to children of all ages. "Every book is an autobiography" is a favorite saying of hers, and a big part of her message is that everyone, grownup or child, has a story that is interesting and compelling—if you can find the right words to tell it. Sudipta lives outside Philadelphia with her children and an imaginary pony named Penny. You can learn more about her and her books on her website www.sudipta.com or at her blog www.NerdyChicksRule.com.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
April 29, 2015
This is a primer for elementary-aged kids about monsters. It covers mummies, vampires, Dracula, werewolves, zombies, Frankenstein's monster, ghosts, Cyclopes, and witches.
It goes in-depth enough in it's little "chapters" to satisfy me.
It gets points for opening with a Nietzsche quote, "He who fights with monsters might take care les he thereby become a monster."
It also gets points for having great illustrations mixed with photos. The illustrations by Josh Cochran really grabbed my attention.
It goes in-depth enough in it's little "chapters" to satisfy me.
It gets points for opening with a Nietzsche quote, "He who fights with monsters might take care les he thereby become a monster."
It also gets points for having great illustrations mixed with photos. The illustrations by Josh Cochran really grabbed my attention.
January 20, 2024
I feel conflicted. This book was well written. The information in it makes me want to read in depth some of the subjects touched on it. I learned stuff. The illustrations were interesting and it had a nice range of black and white photos.
BUT I don't read a non fiction book about monsters for the book to explain why they aren't read. Maybe it was lack that there could be anything out there that bumps in the night that rubs me the wrong way. I think this book goes to hard in the everything can be explain scientific manner.
I like more of a middle ground like I have seen in t tv shows like TAPS and Destination Truth. One house TAPS is going..."You are not haunted. You have bad pipes." and the next house " There is something strange. We don't know what." Destination Truth goes somewhere where strange things have happen. They act goofy. They do tests. They say "We haven't found shit." Or "This is strange."
It is a good book. It wasn't for me thou.
BUT I don't read a non fiction book about monsters for the book to explain why they aren't read. Maybe it was lack that there could be anything out there that bumps in the night that rubs me the wrong way. I think this book goes to hard in the everything can be explain scientific manner.
I like more of a middle ground like I have seen in t tv shows like TAPS and Destination Truth. One house TAPS is going..."You are not haunted. You have bad pipes." and the next house " There is something strange. We don't know what." Destination Truth goes somewhere where strange things have happen. They act goofy. They do tests. They say "We haven't found shit." Or "This is strange."
It is a good book. It wasn't for me thou.
June 29, 2018
Kids love the monsters in Scooby-Doo and Goosebumps stories, but what about the legends that inspired these beasts? Mysteries Unwrapped™: The Real Monsters dives deep into the investigation of the foul creatures that plague the recesses of our minds. Author Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen uncovers the truth and falsities surrounding fiction’s most frightening foes in well-researched chapters on mummies, vampires, werewolves, zombies, ghosts, cyclopes, and even instances when science runs amok, such as in Frankenstein’s monster. Also included are numerous illustrations by Josh Cochran, photographs of monster depictions from Hollywood B movies, chapter notes, an index, and a list of sources, should curious minds seek additional information. For young monster fans, this is a great primer. Recommended.
August 22, 2018
A fun quick read about the origins of the boogeyman and things that go bump in the night.
October 3, 2022
This was pretty interesting.
January 29, 2016
The Real Monsters
by Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen
The book “The Real Monsters” by Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen was about the frightening, mysterious tales about the monsters. It explained how the tale of the monster started, then a little bit of history about the monster, and how people prove the monsters to be real. They discussed the Mummies, Vampires, Draculas, Werewolves, Zombies, Frankenstein, Ghosts, Cyclopes, and Witches. The tales seems freakey, and gave many people chills, however, they have contradicting point of the story, and how some people know that they aren't real. This book has chapters divided for each monsters and is really straight to point. It specifically explains about each monsters such as a mummy. For the mummy chapter, it talked about the reason why the tale was made. What mummies are. Why people are so frightened. And how the tale might be just a tale. Every monster isn't explained with the same type of facts, but you still get to turn each page with lots of information about each of them.
I would recommend this book to people who are interested in the true stories of the monsters that many people have been afraid of. The illustration in the book also keeps the reader entertained. It has unusual information. Unlike the other “scary books” in which the monsters are far exaggerated, it actually gives facts about them. Also, this book helps us visualize things that were just imaginations. However, we don't actually see them in colors, but it is the old black and white pictures which was a good color for this book since if certain things were in color, it would have been scary. I would rate this book a four out of a five because it could have been more there could have been more parts for each monsters, through it still was an excellent book to read.
by Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen
The book “The Real Monsters” by Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen was about the frightening, mysterious tales about the monsters. It explained how the tale of the monster started, then a little bit of history about the monster, and how people prove the monsters to be real. They discussed the Mummies, Vampires, Draculas, Werewolves, Zombies, Frankenstein, Ghosts, Cyclopes, and Witches. The tales seems freakey, and gave many people chills, however, they have contradicting point of the story, and how some people know that they aren't real. This book has chapters divided for each monsters and is really straight to point. It specifically explains about each monsters such as a mummy. For the mummy chapter, it talked about the reason why the tale was made. What mummies are. Why people are so frightened. And how the tale might be just a tale. Every monster isn't explained with the same type of facts, but you still get to turn each page with lots of information about each of them.
I would recommend this book to people who are interested in the true stories of the monsters that many people have been afraid of. The illustration in the book also keeps the reader entertained. It has unusual information. Unlike the other “scary books” in which the monsters are far exaggerated, it actually gives facts about them. Also, this book helps us visualize things that were just imaginations. However, we don't actually see them in colors, but it is the old black and white pictures which was a good color for this book since if certain things were in color, it would have been scary. I would rate this book a four out of a five because it could have been more there could have been more parts for each monsters, through it still was an excellent book to read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 10, 2013
Do monsters really exist or are they rumors that someone long ago created. This book explains it all, from vampires to Frankenstein's monster. This book reveals the truth behind everything in your childhood. This book does the real monsters and what it actually was or is. But one thing that is commons in every story in the book, somehow or someway the story was over exaggerated and it evolved into the monster we know today.
I like anything that has to do with monsters, books, movies, you name it. When I saw this book I knew I have to take it out and read it. This book is very informative and that it is for all ages. The book has great illustrations to show the meaning of the text. One of my favorite ways for an author to show his/her work is through a picture and text combination. I believe the reader can benefit for that and that the reader could actually have fun while reading. I like informative books about subjects I like, the book is fairly short so it only lasted about 2 days in my hands but I think that those 2 days were spent about learning a subject I enjoy that's not taught in schools.
This book would be recommended to everyone. It is a fun book and I think that little kids would want to know the truth behind ghosts. The grade level for the book however could be considered to be 11 years old and up. There is nothing inappropriate with this book and I think that the author did an excellent job making the book for everyone especially with teen concepts such as zombies. I gave it 4 stars.
1 star: Terrible
2 stars: It was ok
3 stars: I like it
4 stars: I love it
5 stars: I love it, I couldn't put the book down.
I like anything that has to do with monsters, books, movies, you name it. When I saw this book I knew I have to take it out and read it. This book is very informative and that it is for all ages. The book has great illustrations to show the meaning of the text. One of my favorite ways for an author to show his/her work is through a picture and text combination. I believe the reader can benefit for that and that the reader could actually have fun while reading. I like informative books about subjects I like, the book is fairly short so it only lasted about 2 days in my hands but I think that those 2 days were spent about learning a subject I enjoy that's not taught in schools.
This book would be recommended to everyone. It is a fun book and I think that little kids would want to know the truth behind ghosts. The grade level for the book however could be considered to be 11 years old and up. There is nothing inappropriate with this book and I think that the author did an excellent job making the book for everyone especially with teen concepts such as zombies. I gave it 4 stars.
1 star: Terrible
2 stars: It was ok
3 stars: I like it
4 stars: I love it
5 stars: I love it, I couldn't put the book down.
January 26, 2014
Are monsters real? What really goes “bump” in the dark? What is reality? What is fantasy? We all see monsters in the movies, or haunted houses, heard stories around the campfire on a spooky night of Halloween. Mysteries Unwrapped: The Real Monsters tells readers everything they have to know about monsters all the way from the Curse of the Mummy to Count Dracula. The book contains facts based on eyewitness accounts and events that really happened a long time ago. It’s interesting to know all these weird, or should people say, “paranormal” events that occurred, making people believe in things that they made up. It is also astonishing how quickly the stories could spread from one place to another.
This book can really question a person’s thoughts and change their thoughts about monsters, whether to believe in them, shrug it off as if it was just a coincidence, or possibly ignore it completely. To me, this book was clearly amazing, and I was eager to look into this more. This book can arouse a lot of questions as of regarding to monsters, such as, why do monsters exist? The book also had illustrations that caught my eye, going along with the text and describing the setting in great detail.
This book can really question a person’s thoughts and change their thoughts about monsters, whether to believe in them, shrug it off as if it was just a coincidence, or possibly ignore it completely. To me, this book was clearly amazing, and I was eager to look into this more. This book can arouse a lot of questions as of regarding to monsters, such as, why do monsters exist? The book also had illustrations that caught my eye, going along with the text and describing the setting in great detail.
June 14, 2013
This book was out of my comfort zone, but I still really enjoyed the information behind it. This book focuses on the idea of different types of monsters, from witches to werewolves and vampires. I was never a big fan of monsters, but the facts that the book had intrigued me to want to learn more. For each monster, the author stated the facts and ideas of the monster, the experiences that people have had with this monster and the theories on what the monster really is. I thought that the book was very well put together and organized so I could clearly understand what points I was reading on each monster.
I became a big fan of this book, and even went beyond and searched up more about my favorite monsters, witches and werewolves. I thought that the book was a risk taker because I was not a fan of scary books or anything to do with scary things. However, the book was so good that I continued to research about this topic. Overall, I gave this book a 4 star because it was good, but there could have been more information presented.
I became a big fan of this book, and even went beyond and searched up more about my favorite monsters, witches and werewolves. I thought that the book was a risk taker because I was not a fan of scary books or anything to do with scary things. However, the book was so good that I continued to research about this topic. Overall, I gave this book a 4 star because it was good, but there could have been more information presented.
January 23, 2015
A short, well constructed book explaining the truth behind common monsters and beasts, such as the werewolf and the mummy. The book is nothing more than an information book and does not have anything else but information; no emotion inn the speech, no feeling in the text, the reading is completely devoid of feeling. It's a good book, but i feel that it could have been expressed with at least some emotion to help me stay entertained as i read the book. Some of the information given about the monsters were also very bland and things you could probably have inferred by yourself in a few seconds if asked to. I would recommend reading this book if you are just looking for something quick to read, not for fun or leisure. If you are being made to read a book, whether for school work or your parents, this book is a candidate to read. It's short and quick to the point and therefore would make a great book just to read if you have no choice, and you have a time limit. I don't recommend this book however, if you are looking to read something for leisure under your own will.
May 17, 2013
"Part of the allure of monsters is that we may never have a full and complete explanation--and so they remain just a little bit scary."
This was entertaining. I enjoyed how each section was formatted the same way: beginning with the myth, then providing a historical context for why people might have begun believing the myth, and then finishing with a modern-day perspective/possible explanation.
I am somewhat tempted to add a non-fiction-ISH shelf for this book, however, because I'm not 100% confident in the information provided.
This was entertaining. I enjoyed how each section was formatted the same way: beginning with the myth, then providing a historical context for why people might have begun believing the myth, and then finishing with a modern-day perspective/possible explanation.
I am somewhat tempted to add a non-fiction-ISH shelf for this book, however, because I'm not 100% confident in the information provided.
April 14, 2018
From vampires to witches to mummies, this book looks at creepy creatures and some of their characteristics. It also provides some history behind them and some theories to explain them--while acknowledging that in many cases, the true origins of the myths are not concrete.
This is an interesting book, particularly the history of these creatures. Illustrations as well as a read-friendly layout make this an appealing package.
This is an interesting book, particularly the history of these creatures. Illustrations as well as a read-friendly layout make this an appealing package.
November 22, 2019
We bought this book for our daughter at the school's book fair (as a reward for an excellent report from her teacher at Conference). Comic style illustrations (not great, but interesting) coupled with monster legends. The great part? Barehanded-Quallen outlines each basic mythology, including why some people believe/d in it...then, he gives possible, factual and scientific explanations for the phenomenon. Easy to read. Simple to understand. All while being entertaining. A great little read.
August 5, 2020
I loved this book! I didn’t realize it was geared for children until I looked up the author, but that didn’t stop the book from being interesting, well written, and short and sweet. The illustrations were the icing on the cake!
January 21, 2010
Good non-fiction. Learned a lot about monsters and I would consider myself an honorary member of the Monster Squad
Currently reading
March 28, 2016im almost done with the book.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews