An A to Z of Monsters and Magical Beings

An A to Z of Monsters and Magical Beings

Text by Aidan Onn

Illustrations by Rob Hodgson

Published by Laurence King

There seems to be an on-going monster theme by illustrator Rob Hodgson at the moment, after recently reviewing Monster Bingo, here's another monster delight: you can find out more about these fantastical, magical and a touch scary creatures in an A to Z of Monsters and Magical Beings.

Featuring a different magical being per letter of the alphabet, there's a good and varied selection of monsters; from the more popular ones such as an alien, banshee, ghost to even Nessie, to monsters from around the world; the Xing Tian in China, or the Ushi-Oni in Japan among others. There's a brief paragraph per monster which gives you some history and sometimes advice if you have the misfortune of meeting these beasties. 

Rob Hodgson has a distinctive style that works really well with the monster theme. Age range for the book would be 5/6+ depending on your child and if they're a fan of monsters, or a little beastie themselves. Aoife has just turned 3 and is definitely too young for this book however she managed to get her hands on this before I could warn her, and actually enjoyed flicking through the book with me and talking about the characters but she is very much into magical beings at the moment so I don't think I'll be able to keep her away from this book for too long.  

I like the style of the book with it's big, full paged illustrations, and a few fun things to spot in the backgrounds. It's a hit with us and one where children will enjoy the interesting facts and more with this guide to the strange, scary and wonderful world of monsters and ancient mythical beings! 

Scary Bingo - Game

Scary Bingo

Illustrations by Rob Hodgson

Magma for Laurence King

I'm excited to review something a little different today! Scary Bingo, an easy to play game with lots of crazy characters. For 3-7 players, this is a game for the family.

Aoife has been eyeing this game up all week and was desperate to play it and it didn't disappoint her! 

There are two games that you can play:

Game 1 - You select someone to be the caller who gets the big game board and assembles the monster box for the character cards to sit in. All other players select a bingo card each.

The caller will select a random spooky character and call its name out. If a player has that character, they will select a token and cover that character.

The aim is to mark all your monsters on your bingo card. Once complete, the player must shout 'Scary Bingo' to win.

Game 2 - Another way to play the game, which could be faster, players could focus on marking off five of the characters in just one line on your bingo card (horizontal, vertical or diagonal).

With there being 8 double sided bingo cards to choose from, and with 25 monsters on each side, I thought the game would take a while to play and that Aoife would lose interest, but it was far from it! Once we got started we enjoyed taking about the monsters that I was calling out and Aoife loved checking her bingo card getting more excited when her bingo card was filling up. I can't wait to play this with more players, maybe a monster theme party/playdate for October.. 

The monster characters are fun, and crazy looking, some even cute. I didn't find them to be too scary and Aoife liked to talk about them pointing out the funny looking ones. It was easy to set up and the rules were short and clear, and easy to understand for little ones. My only little worry would be how long the monster box will last with the assembling and disassembling after each game, so I would recommend a parent take charge of that. Overall a great spooky (& kooky) little game! 

When I'm a Monster Like You, Dad!

When I'm a Monster Like You, Dad!

By David O'Connell & Francesca Gambatesa 

Published by Harper Collins 

Every little monster wants to be like his/her mummy or daddy. When I'm a Monster Like You, Dad! tells the heart warming story of wanting to be a grown-up, though being little can be just as fun and exciting! A monster of a story from new talents, David O'Connell & Francesca Gambatesa.  

Little monster can't wait to be big and bad like his big monster daddy. Though daddy monster isn't all about teaching his son to be big and bad. Instead he wants his son to use his fangs to smile instead of crunching houses and cars. And instead of using his scaly and long tail for whipping and thrashing, he prefers little monster uses it to play chase through the trees. 

This is a heart warming family story about teaching a child to embrace their childhood and not want to grow up too fast! Daddy Monster would rather his son plays and has fun as he did. David's rhyming text is subtle and full of charm, with a lovely little joke at the end. Francesca's illustrations are full of monster character and her use of colour brings each page to life. A lovely debut from a talented duo - I'll look forward to seeing more from these two in the near future! 

When I'm a Monster Like You, Dad! is available to buy now from all good bookshops and from the Harper Collins website here.

Monsters Love Underpants

Monsters Love Underpants

By Claire Freedman & Ben Cort
Published by Simon & Schuster

Ever wondered where your underpants have disappeared to? Well wait no longer, its all down to some naughty pant stealing monsters! Yes, that’s right, monsters love underpants! - it’s the latest book in the much-loved Underpants series by duo Claire Freedman and Ben Cort, who have also brought out Aliens Love Underpants, Dinosaurs Love Underpants and Pirates Love Underpants!

This picture book will have your children laughing at these silly monsters, who all think pants are fun-tastic! Monsters Love Underpants looks at lots of different types of monsters; monsters found in dungeons who love squeaky armour pants, drool monsters who fill their pants with gooey slime, and even monsters in the deep dark sea where their underpants are covered in beautiful bling bling jewels. And where do all the monsters like to go and show off their underpants?

Disco night in their secret cave of course! Jigging and jiving until the early hours before they all rush home before anyone can see them.

Children and adults alike will laugh at these silly monsters and their taste in underpants (I especially love the swamp monster who can't keep his pants up from all the slippery slime!) - With Ben’s bold and colourful illustrations (and talent to create so many different types of monsters), no child will find these monsters scary! This is definitely another great addition to the Underpants series.

And as always, I have a slight fascination with end papers, and Monsters Love Underpants does not disappoint! Look as this array of different pants! I raise my underpants to Ben for coming up with such an amazing collection!

Monsters Love Underpants is available now in all good bookshops and to buy online. Up next; an interview with Claire Freedman and Ben Cort about all things underpants!