Product Description

Beware! Only those who are McFearlessly brave may read from the pages of these monstrous memoirs. Crack open the “creature-skin” cover—if you dare—and enter the monsterminating world of 11-year-old Minerva McFearless, her brother Max, and their mysterious coyote friend, Mr. Devilstone, as they battle the evil army of the king of all monsters—the dreaded Zarmaglorg! This one-of-a-kind novel features full-color illustrations throughout and offers “scientific” data on all the terrifying things that go bump in the night, as well as recipes for keeping the bloodthirsty beasts at bay. First-time author Ahmet Zappa delivers a horrifying and hysterical tale that will be sure to bewitch readers of all ages.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #175502 in Books
• Published on: 2006-07-25
• Released on: 2006-07-25
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 224 pages

From School Library Journal
Grade 4-6–When 11-year-old Minerva McFearless and her younger brother, Max, discover that they are the latest generation in a family of monster-hunters, their widowed father forbids them to learn anything about his dangerous occupation. Nonetheless, the siblings soon come upon Ms. Monstranomicon, a monster-hunter's manual that is a monster herself, and find themselves pursued by the minions of the vile Zarmaglorg, king of the monsters, who kidnaps their father. Zappa has written a passable first novel whose roots aren't hard to see–Ms. Monstranomicon bears strong similarities to one of Harry Potter's textbooks, for example. But the sardonic back-and-forth between Minerva, Max, and their know-it-all guide, Mr. Devilstone, is amusing, as are the photo-illustrations and the nature guide pages describing the disgusting creatures that they encounter and the often-disgusting formulas that the monster-hunter employs to defend against them. The protagonists are engaging, but the plot is fuzzy and the villains are stock. Still, children will enjoy the story, which ends, unsurprisingly, with the promise of a sequel.–Walter Minkel, New York Public Library
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From AudioFile
Minerva McFearless knows her family is different, but "monsterminators"? Katherine Kellgren rollicks through Zappa's text, giving life to 11-year-old Minerva, her brother, Max, and the zany cast of monsters seeking to end the McFearless era of monster-domination once and for all. Imagine a 1940s detective radio show complete with a full range of sound effects meeting a 1960s "Addams Family" sitcom told by a current-day ramped-up adolescent. Kellgren's narration is energetic and infectious, the voice of a kid with an amazing story to tell. Zappa's original theme song brings the story to a close, and its catchy tune sticks in your mind like a slug of monster glue. D.J.P. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

From Booklist
Gr. 4-7. Minerva (Mini) and Maxwell McFearless, ages 11 and 9, respectively, have a grand adventure involving myriad monsters when they set out to rescue their kidnapped father. The McFearlesses come from a long line of monsterminators, and Mini is fluent in both written and spoken Monstrosity, the secret language of monsters. The book Ms. Monstanomicon contains descriptions of all types of monsters (mostly human-eating), along with extremely gross monster-repelling recipes. The kids are aided by Mr. Devilstone, a one-eyed coyote who wears the Enotslived Diamond, which works as a monster alarm, around his neck. The book is lavishly illustrated with the author's drawings of monsters and black-and-white photographs of scenes sculpted by Clay Sparks. Lemony Snicket fans who relish the strange and yucky will find Zappa's barf-filled romp, the first in a series, monstrously entertaining. Zappa is the son of Frank Zappa, which should draw attention. Walt Disney Pictures and Jerry Bruckheimer Films have already acquired the film rights. Diana Herald
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

Lavishly Illustrated, Delightful Little Book
In this delightful book, Minerva McFearless discovers that her family has been monsterminators for generations--fearlessly fighting evil so that children can sleep safely in their beds. Naturally, she and her younger brother Max want a piece of the action, but their dad think they are too young for such dangers. So, behind his back they secretly study the Monstranomicon and learn all they can about the horrible monsters and how to battle them.

And thank goodness they do, because the more than vile Zarmaglorg has his minions kidnap their dad and only Minerva and Max can save him! Well, with some help from Ms. Monstranomicon and the mysterious Mr. Devilstone.

While there are spots in this book that might be more trite than others, the author's enthusiasm fills it so full that one can't help but enjoy it. His subtle (and not always so subtle) puns, plays on words and borrowing from other authors (I'm sure Lovecraft would have to have loved the Monstranomicon) make it a treat for adults reading it, while the descriptions of the monsters and the monster repellents in the Monstranomicon have to be enjoyable for everyone.

The real gem of the book, though, it's crowing glory is the illustrations. Every page is illustrated lushly, well amusingly anyway, with childlike drawings of monsters, sepia photographs of the action, and various detritus from like moths, rocks, monster blood and gumballs. I couldn't wait to turn the page to see just what would be on the next two pages, and would it have anything to do with the plot, and if so, what? Again, I have to say that Zappa's love for his project is so obvious and his love , and the incredible amount of work that went into the illustrations, glosses over any small faults that The Monstrous Memoirs of a Mighty McFearless does have and rounds it out to a 5/5 reading experience.

Probably better read than listened to
Here's a word of warning to anyone over the age of 12 - I would not recommend the audio version of this book. It's fine to a point, but they introduce a character about half-way through that speaks with a slurping sound... and the narrator does a great job of doing just that. Imagine speaking while inhaling through a mouthful of jello, and I think you can image what the character's voice sounded like. It was so bad that not only did it make me cringe, but at some points I could not even understand what the character was saying! A younger person might enjoy this depth of characterization - or you might - but I thought I'd put it out there as a warning to some who, like me, would be put off by it.

Voice talent aside, the storyline was a lot of fun. It was imaginative and engrossing, though some of the cut-bits (reading from the book) were a little tedious (again, the problem with the audiobooks, no ability to skim!). I liked the characters, and the plot was... not exactly believable in the context of the real world, but eminently believable in the context of the story. I'd probably liken it to the Spiderwick Chronicles. If you liked those, you'll probably like this.

Great for my 10 year old...
I heard about this book in a magazine and thought it sounded like a really neat story. My 10 year old opened it Christmas morning and started reading. Leaving a few other things unopened. It seemed to hook him in straight away.

I gave four because I have not read it yet. That and I think my son already loaned it out to friends. :) So, based on him, and the pile he left unopened, it must be a good book...