The Barefoot Book of Monsters! - Hardcover

Fran Parnell spent her early childhood years in Singapore, before moving to Yorkshire, England. Since graduating from Cambridge University with a degree in Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic, Fran has worked as an editor on both children's books and travel guides. Even when she can't escape to exotic places, she uses stories to travel in her imagination. She has always loved monster tales, 'the bigger and badder the better!' Sophie Fatus is a full-time illustrator and sculptress, who studied at the prestigious Academy of Fine Art in Paris. Her brightly coloured illustrations and quirky style are world-renowned and have graced the pages of several other Barefoot Books including The Story Tree (1-84148-312-5), Babushka (1-84148-353-2) and Riddle Me This (1-84148-169-6). Sophie now lives in Florence.

Grade 2-4-Parnell has assembled a globe-trotting array of folktale monsters, such as the Abominable Snowman from Nepal and the Feathered Ogre from Italy. The engaging stories are filled with evil creatures (some quite scary in fact) and, in many cases, the brave humans who outwit them. An Aboriginal tale from Australia, "The Monster of the Whirlwind," explains why frogs jump into the water at the slightest sound. "The Girl with No Fear" is actually rescued by a young man with no fear in a Bantu story. "Rona Long-Teeth" is a pretty scary monster who gets her own in this Tahitian legend. The folksy watercolor illustrations are bright and fun, but the placement of the smallish text on top of the art makes reading difficult. Also, the artist uses stereotyped and inaccurate images of the Micmacs' clothing and houses in "The Terrible Chenoo." The source notes are brief, but do list two or three places from which the tales came. A marginal purchase for most collections.
Bina Williams, Bridgeport Public Library, CT
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