My Monster Notebook

by John Harris, Mark Todd (Illustrator)

In 2005, the Getty published Greece! Rome! Monsters!, a handy guide to the best-known monsters from Greek and Roman mythology. Now comes My Monster Notebook, which presents yet more of these creepy creatures and characters from ancient times. Purporting to be a school notebook found on the sidewalk, the pages reveal the stories of such thrilling and little-known creatures as the huge Teumessian Fox (who was turned to stone by Zeus), Echidna (mother of many, many monsters), hundred-headed Briaereus (who was also a handful), and Typhon (who threw mountains around as if they were beanbags).

My Monster Notebook offers a peek at a bunch of creatures you definitely would not want to run into, brought to vivid life by someone who accidentally dropped his (or her) lovingly put together notebook. Fortunately, we found it! It includes a pronunciation guide. How do you say “Nereid”? Ages eight and up.

48 pages, Hardcover

First published March 15, 2011

About the author

John^^^^^^^^Harris

John Harris has written a number of books for children, including, most recently, My Monster Notebook. Of A Giraffe Goes To Paris (co-written with Mary Tavener Holmes), Publishers Weekly said, "This is history for children the way it ought to be written." He lives in California.

Reviews

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good kids' book about mythological monsters. (I have this to cut apart for collage and inadvertently read it.)

[Debbie Hoskins · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm pretty sure I read this, but not very memorable.
It gets a 2 instead of a 1 because I love words-and-pictures together.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a longer and older book, and a very entertaining one. 5th grade boys in particular would enjoy this. It is a very appealing and relatable book about mythological creatures and greek legends. The drawings are elaborate and the annotations are humorous. I wouldn't read the entire thing out loud, but I would share it in a circle of boys and assign them to report out on their favorite 'monsters' and draw their own interpretation of the story.

[Sandberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is very interesting.~Ava