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Musings: I Want To Be A Monster When I Grow Up by M.T. Weber

I Want To Be A Monster When I Grow Up by M.T. Weber
Pint Bottle Press, 2016
ISBN-13: 978-1945005961
Available: Paperback, Kindle edition

Sometimes a book comes along that really hits the mark. In my family, this picture book did exactly that, just as soon as I took it out of the box and read through it for the first time. My initial impression was that the art had an inexpert look, and the font looked like it had been printed on a dot matrix printer– a little primitive for today (a second look made me realize that the font size and darkness made the simple text much more readable than many other picture books I’ve seen, and the monsters are lovingly depicted with bright colors that make them stand out from the page). Once I started reading, though, it melted something inside me.

I Want To Be A Monster When I Grow Up is a gently affectionate, funny, and loving portrait of the relationship between Hudson, a monster-loving kid and his mother. Hudson’s joy and excitement about monsters is an accurate picture of a little boy who really loves them, and his mother, obviously a savvy mom who enjoys sharing her own love of scary stories, is able to direct his enthusiasm into positive behavior and life choices (like eating vegetables, sharing, and brushing teeth). As a mom who loves scary stories and reading aloud, and has a monster-loving 11 year old who is “too cool” to have Mom read aloud to him anymore, this couldn’t have done a better job of catching me and making me remember what it’s like to have that time of reading aloud with an excited little kid with a love of learning, and his contagious excitement of discovering for the first time something you love and want to share. I had to take it up to my own monster kid, who was already in bed, and read it to him right away. And he listened, and smiled, and I saw a little of that little boy enthusiasm again as he snuggled up to me and gave me a hug while I read aloud to him for the first time in a long time.

If you or your kids think that there is a stage where they outgrow picture books, or you reading aloud to them, I’m happy to tell you that you are wrong. There is always a time for that. Reading aloud brings us closer together, and I Want To Be A Monster When I Grow Up is a book that inspires this. For any monster-loving mom who is raising a Monster Kid, or any Monster Kid with a monster-loving mom, regardless of age, you couldn’t choose a better book. Recommended.

Reviewed by Kirsten Kowalewski


Posted on January 7, 2017 by , 1 comment

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children: What Next?


When I first read Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, I didn’t realize it was intended to be a young adult title, even though the narrator is a teen. Obviously a lot of other people missed out on that too, as it became a bestseller read by teens and adults alike. A sequel, Hollow City, is scheduled to  be released in January, and I expect a lot of the people who were oblivious to the first book will now discover Miss Peregrine and her charges. What to read next, as they impatiently wait for a third book (and there practically has to be a third book, so this can make up a trilogy)?

I think that much of the appeal of Miss Peregrine comes from how atmospheric and surreal it is, while at the same time being grounded in history and reality by the use of real photographs obviously taken long before the advent of the modern camera. The mix is one that will be difficult to replicate, maybe impossible, but I think there are titles that might be of interest to those who enjoyed Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, as well.

 


The Seer of Shadows by Avi.  It is 1872, and Horace Carpentine, taken on as an apprentice by a photographer of dubious character,  discovers, to his disbelief, that he can bring back the spirits of the dead by taking photographs. This is an unforgettable tale of ghostly vengeance, well-grounded in historical fact. While there aren’t actually any photographs in the book, readers will learn a great deal about early photographic processes and how they could be manipulated, something that ought to appeal to people who are curious about the early photographs that appear in Miss Peregrine. While the target audience is (theoretically) ages 9-12, this should appeal to older readers as well.

 

 


Cryer’s Cross by Lisa McMann. In this spine-chilling read, Kendall Fletcher is drawn into a terrifying supernatural situation that stems from incidents in her isolated town’s dark past (yes, I know it’s a trope). Kendall is  a unique and likable character who also has OCD, something that plays into the story without overtaking it. There are creepy alternating chapters from the malevolent force’s point of view, which ratchet up the suspense and give the story a surreal edge. While this is a contemporary novel, the focus that triggers the supernatural is a physical object, and there is a boarding school involved, and Kendall ends up digging into local history to find answers to her questions. The ending is so intense, I almost forgot to breathe. This book is targeted at older teens, but I definitely enjoyed reading it.  All the Lovely Bad Ones by Mary Downing Hahn, while much more of a middle grade novel, is another excellent novel that deals with a similar tragic situation.

 


The Photo Traveler by Arthur J. Gonzalez. Gavin escapes from his abusive adoptive family through photography. He discovers that photography is more than a hobby for him– it gives him the opportunity to travel through time. Although this is also a contemporary novel, there’s family twistiness, time travel, photography, and historical detail, things which will probably be appreciated by someone who enjoyed Miss Peregrine.

 


The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff. Mackie Doyle has a secret– he’s a “replacement”, or changeling child, in a town where, for the sake of keeping the residents prosperous,  a human child is traded away every seven years. Kind of like “The Lottery”, which has always given me the chills. When another child is stolen, Mackie and his friends decide to rescue her. This novel plays up the surreal and the atmospheric setting has been described as one of  misery and hopelessness. According to Yovanoff, there is no sequel in the works, but maybe this is a good lead-in to introducing readers to her other books (she has a new one coming out soon).

 


Asylum by Madeleine Roux. This is about a teenage boy who is sent to a camp for gifted students inside a former mental hospital. Because nothing could possibly go wrong by sending gifted kids to an insane asylum for summer break. Roux has written two books for adults, which we read and reviewed (and I highly recommend the first one, Allison Hewitt is Trapped), and this is her YA debut. I haven’t had the opportunity to read it, but reviews seem to be all over the place as to whether it works as a crossover title. It does take advantage of the photo-novel aspect of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, however, with both genuine and (in this case) altered photographs from early asylums. I imagine that increases its creep impact at least tenfold. While it doesn’t have the realism that photographs offer the readers of Asylum, another excellent book, aimed at middle grade students, with the similar background of gifted youngsters isolated in a haunted school is Down a Dark Hall by Lois Duncan.

 

 


Talking Pictures: Images and Messages Rescued from the Past by Ransom Riggs. This is a book of “found” photographs that captured an important moment in the photographed person’s life, noted by an annotation or message written on the photograph. These are not the bizarre photos used in Miss Peregrine, but people intrigued by the photos in Miss Peregrine may be interested to see into the lives of other people, who live on through photographs that might otherwise be filed away in a shoebox.

 


Pretty Monsters by Kelly Link. Putting aside the visual and historical aspects of Miss Peregrine completely, there is a surreal feel to many of the stories in Pretty Monsters that some readers of that book might appreciate. Illustrations by Shaun Tan, a brilliant visual artist, complement the stories beautifully. Link’s stories will ring true to a lot of readers, and many of the stories in Pretty Monsters first appeared in editions published for adults. I’d also like to mention Shaun Tan again here, as he has produced some gorgeous and surreal artwork both on his own and in collaboration with author Gary Crew. The Viewer. The Viewer is not easily available, but does play with images, and did involve photography in its production (I will note here for clarity that Amazon’s suggested age range of ages 6-11 is radically different than what I (or most people) would suggest as an appropriate title for children– I wouldn’t give The Viewer to any child under age 10, and then only if I planned to sit down, read it with them, and discuss it afterwards).

 

Interested in some additional suggestions? Check out BookRiot’s booklist here. And enjoy the wait for Hollow City by enjoying (and recommending) a few of these.

 

 

Posted on December 18, 2013 by , Reply

Holiday Gifts for Monster Kids

The holidays are already zooming past, and it’s time to shop for the monster kids in the family. Actually, it’s past time to shop for them, but I like to hide at home while people are trampling each other at the mall on Thanksgiving weekend. Looking for some options for the child reader in your life? I suggest starting out with a nice fuzzy blanket, a good pillow, and a book light (preferably one without a timer), and adding some books to the mix.
Harry Potter Box SetHarry Potter Special Edition Paperback Box Set (Books 1-7):  Maybe you already have all the Harry Potter books in their various editions. Or, maybe you’re okay with checking them out from the library or buying them cheaply, used. That second route was the one I planned to go with my own kids, and it has worked pretty well until now. However, I actually own in a nice hardcover edition of the third book. My kids, 6 and 8, are really into the books, and after seeing what my 8 year old had done to the very nice used copy of the first book, I am not terribly excited about putting my hardcover edition into his grubby little hands. I read about this set on BookRiot and it looks like it will fit the bill nicely. Reviews indicate that the artwork is beautiful, and it will be nice to have a matching set that I don’t have to stress over too much. I also think it’s possible that a box set will encourage him to take better care of his books. As collectors know, there is something satisfying about keeping a complete set of matching titles together.  Not sure that your child is ready for Harry Potter? I referenced a very useful article (link here) on this on our Facebook page recently. As our kids are still a little young for the books, and they get really dark, I will keep the set with me and read the books with them until we finish each one.
 The Creature Department: This entertaining book by Robert Weston, in concert with special effects and animation studio Framestore, is a lot of fun.  Two kids, along with a major technology corporation’s mysterious research department (the mystery is that it’s staffed with quirky monsters) must thwart an evil corporate takeover. The primary contribution from Framestore seems to be the illustrations, which give a much more action-oriented feel to the story than traditional illustrations do. It’s big and thick, but not intimidating, and it is a lot of fun. This is another one my son keeps absconding with before I can grab it for review.
®Shrinky Dinks Monster Lab: As a kid, I used to make Shrinky Dink holiday ornaments every year. How the world of Shrinky Dinks has advanced since then! This is a project for a long, empty afternoon when everyone is trapped inside. Coloring in Shrinky Dinks, especially for younger kids still working on coloring between the lines, can be really time-consuming. But once the coloring is done it’s still awesome to watch the Shrinky Dinks do their thing in the oven. Constructing the playset so that it stays all together may be a challenge, but it’s fun to see the finished product.

 

     SmartLab Toys Squishy Human Body and Dr. Frankenstein’s Human Body Book. Got a junior mad scientist in the house? Stop graveyard robbing before it starts by giving the gift of  learning human anatomy at home with the Squishy Human Body and Dr. Frankenstein’s Human Body Book. Sure, there’s plenty of educational value here, but there’s no reason to point that out when your own little Frankenstein is squeezing brains and guts into place. Cons of these two items are that the pieces of the body need to be used with adult supervision and could be easily lost, and the book pretty much skips over the reproductive system, but older elementary kids will have a blast.
         

 There’s a Ray Harryhausen fan club in this house, and extreme admiration for the Rankin-Bass film Mad Monster Party.  Once you grow to appreciate the awesomeness of stop-motion animation you get kind of carried along into wanting to do it yourself.  The Klutz Book of Animation: Make Your Own Stop Motion Movies and Hue Animation Studio are a great way to go if your child (possibly your inner child) is interested in actually trying to create a stop-motion animation film. There’s plenty of inspiration during the Christmas season, with all the stop-motion Rankin-Bass specials like, say, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, with its terrifying Abominable Snowman. I haven’t used the Hue Animation Studio myself, but it has gotten top reviews, and is supposed to be easy to use for kids as young as five, assuming that a kid that age has the patience for stop-motion animation in the first place.

 

 


A Christmas Carol (picture book edition) and  A Christmas Carol (Reissue). What is Christmas without a good ghost story? A Christmas Carol is, in my opinion, the best ghost story of the season, and a great story to share with children of many ages. The picture book version I’m suggesting here is an abridged version illustrated by Bret Helquist, whose talents at illustrating the gothic brought to life Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events. His style is a perfect match for this story, which can now be shared with children not quite ready to attempt the original novel. Patrick Stewart’s audio performance is also an excellent way to share the story, especially in extending the experience from the picture book to the more complex story. You can even listen to it as a family, on the way to Grandma’s house.

 

 

Ripley’s Believe It Or Not! Dare to Look! and A Scaly Tale (Ripley RBI, No. 1). If you have an elementary aged kid, especially if you have a boy, one of the most compelling books you can get into his hands is Ripley’s Believe It or Not (similar titles like the Guinness Book of World Records and National Geographic Weird But True may also be popular choices). Before you write these books off because they’ve grossed you out or are disreputably flashy, let me tell you that the Ripley books are based solidly in research, and there’s usually information about that in the book. This year’s Dare to Look! has an accompanying app that, when you use your smartphone or tablet on particular spots in the book, will activate videos and provide additional information. Ripley’s has carried its weirdness over into fiction with the RBI: Ripley Bureau of Investigation books. These are about a group of extremely diverse kids with incredible talents who, in addition to their schoolwork, investigate wild stories to find out where the truth lies. At the end of each book there’s a little information about the person or item around which the story is built. A Scaly Tale is currently available for free on Kindle. My son has asked for it over and over again.

 

Best wishes with your holiday shopping!

 

 

Posted on December 3, 2013 by , Reply
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