Frankenkidsby Sheena McNeilReviews may contain information that could be considered 'spoilers'. Readers should proceed at their own risk. Publisher
Credits Grade: 6 On Halloween, two brothers have a fateful encounter with a mad scientist and his chimera creation. This is the fifth book in The Nightmare Club series.Uncle Fraser is the perfect mad scientist. He only cares about his experiments, and his logic for how to handle certain things is unique to say the least. The chimera (cat-monkey-parrot) is really cool (and creepy) looking in the art, though it inexplicably has human-like hind feet. There's no mention of human body parts, but they certainly are there in the art. I guess they could be monkey feet, but the monkey aspects (back legs and tail) are covered in thick black fur, whereas the feet are bare. The art throughout doesn't quite mesh with the text; sometimes it shows things that don't happen, and sometimes it's a page or two off from the event it's depicting. The rooftop antics may be scary to some, but it's the description of the two boys' battered bodies at the end that really got to me. The final part is handled well and leaves off at a perfectly scary point. This story in particular is made extra spooky by the fact that it was told by a mysterious stranger in the midst of the sleepover guests, and that he disappeared just as mysteriously after the tale was told. I'm not sure what the point of his description was for, since he himself didn't turn out to be a monster in the story (though he sounds like he might be a vampire or something similar). There's a larger intro before the actual story due to this stranger as well. This book is aimed at struggling and emerging readers in grades 2 through 5, and has a small number of sentences per page with illustrations throughout. While this story is not my personal favorite, it is definitely a spooky read. Written: April 5, 2015
|
|
|
Home |
Features |
Columns |
Culture Vultures |
Report Card
Indicia | Contact | Archives © Sequential Tart, 1998 – 2021 |
