Here Be Monsters!
By Alan Snow
Reviewed by Anthony Feinman
04/15/07

I picked up this book for my mother last Christmas. I didn't know anything about and what drew me to it was the title and the illustrations as I flipped. through it. My mother is a big fan of Harry Potter so Ithought she could use something else to read until the next and finally book came out. however, since it was a children's book, (aimed at 4-6 grade reading) she flew right through it and passed it on to me to read.

I finally got a chance to read it a few months back. For those of you that have kids, this is a great book. Alan Snow produced over 500 hundred illustrations for this 530 page novel. The story alone is great but with the pictures included, it is absolutely fabulous! They are all done in pen in ink which is a style I greatly favor. It helped give the book a nineteenth century feeling, which for me, made it fun.

The story deals with a young boy by the name of Arthur living with his grandfather underground. It begins with Arthur coming to the surface in search of food. He is equiped with flying mechanical wings, made by his inventer Grandfather, and a two way talking device that resembing himself. While on the surface, Arthur notices several men traveling on make believe horses (Really two men in disguise underneath cloaks. They also takes turns from being the riders to being the horses) chasing large two feet all cheeses with feet. His curiousity gets the better on him and he follwos them for more information. The result is Arthur being caught and his wings being taken by a evil man and leader of the Cheese Guild, Snatcher. Arthur manages to escape and befriends a old lawyer, Willbury, and his friends who happen to be box trolls. So begins the quest of retrieving Arthur's wings. BUT, there is more! What Arthur witnessed is just the beginning of the shrouded mystery that is Here Be Monsters. You will learn about the other strange creaturs that populate the world of Ratbridge such as Cabbage Heads, Freshwater Sea-Cows, Rabbit Women, Trotting Badgers, Pirate Rats, and the mysterious Man in the Iron Socks. Why are cheeses being herded? Who is Snatcher and what is his connection with Grandfather. Will Arthur retrieve his wings in time to help save Ratbridge from Snatcher's evil plot to take over the world?

Pick up this book and read it! Pass it along to other parents. You will not be disappointed. Adults will enjoy it as well and also get a chance to check out the website online: www.here-be-monsters.com. It is filled with animation of teh characters from the book via Flash. You can also get a glimpse of test stop motion animation of box trolls by Ardaman Animation (Creators of Wallace and Gromit/ Chicken Run/ Creature Comforts) which Ihope will lead to a movie of this book. You will also be able to view maps of Ratbridge, creature bios from the book, you can download screensavers and download you own toy theater to print out and make your own shows.

The book is harcover, priced at 17.95 here in the US. You can purchase you copy at Amazon. Com, BN. com

Visit Anthony at MySpace for an occasional blog.

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