Here Be Monsters!

Rating: 4 of 5

Buncha nonsense, really. The stuff of pure fantasy - I loved it! One of those books I wish I could've read for the first time when I was like 11 years old. Aside from the quirky illustrations, I think my fave was the imaginative twists on reality, like "Oil of Brussels" used as a weapon. Because what kid thinks of Brussels sprouts as anything other than parent-sanctioned poison? Be warned: No matter what age, you will giggle A LOT whilst reading Here Be Monsters! (And if you don't, why the hay would you pick this book up in the first place?!)

A COUNTER-REVOLUTION in children’s literature has banished the grim plethora of social realism and reclaimed those elements of magic and imagination so necessary for childhood. Here Be Monsters features the indefatigable Arthur, an orphan who lives underground with his grandfather and a quirky community of Box trolls, Cabbage Heads, Rabbit Women and Trotting Badgers. On one of his nightly forays into the town above for food, Arthur witnesses an illicit cheese hunt… From then the action is fast and furious as his band of misfits and recreants battle to save the old town of Ratbridge from the evil plans of the sinister Cheese Barons.

This is the book upon which the Boxtrolls movie is very loosely based. It's fun, witty, & quirky, but things don't always entirely add up.

Although I found this book to be a bit long for its intended age level, the characters are charming and the story is adorable. This is a nice story for children who want that bigger book with more pages. The short chapters help to make it very readable and the story itself will keep the pages turning.

Z loved it. He's now using legos to build his very own Ratbridge, complete with cabbageheads, boxtrolls, and Snatcher.

Fun!

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