Monster Race - from AHH! to Zombies is a creative and appealing book written and drawn for young children who are looking for something a bit different. For each letter of the alphabet, there is a character linked to the theme of horror who has joined a race - with Dracula being ultimately the winner.
The illustrations were very creative and eye-catching, definitely something that would catch a child's eye in a bookshop and beg their mother to buy. Some are really funny to look at even as an adult such as Bigfoot being too big for his car and instead of being able to drive it, it carries the car around instead and has to walk. Each description had rhyming which was a clever way for the book to be memorable for children. The author uses inventive ideas to teach children the alphabet and it works.
However, I thought some of the choices were a bit odd for example:
V is for Volcano Tiku. Villainous vegans in a van, they'll claim victory if they can - so very sneaky!
Some parts seemed like the author was clutching at straws for anything they could possibly add to finish the page. It was a bit of a random choice and not sure if it was the right one. Still think it works for being memorable though.
I did like the addition of adding well known fantasy characters from older tales such as Jekyll and Hyde, Dracula as well as Quasimodo the hunchback which would not only teach the children about characters in older pieces of literature but hopefully put a smile on a parent's face reading it to their child.
As a children's book I think this is a very well illustrated and not only useful to teach the alphabet for those really young but also extending the vocabulary for those a bit older as this book includes some words children would not have heard before and so gives the parents the opportunity to teach them. Spooky fun for everyone!
I'm a college student who in her spare moments spends her time catching up on reading. I pick up anything that interests me in whatever genre since I know each book has the potential to become a new favourite. Happy reading!