Literature is extra fun when it's spooky! This illustrated compendium of 25 of the spookiest and most nefarious monsters from classic literature-from Dracula to the Jabberwocky-includes a playful retelling of each monster's story accompanied by full-color illustration and sidebars about its literary origins, including authorship and genre. For ages 8-12.

Literature is extra fun when it's spooky! This illustrated compendium of 25 of the spookiest and most nefarious monsters from classic literature--from Dracula to the Jabberwocky--includes a playful retelling of each monster's story accompanied by full-color illustration and educational sidebars about its literary origins, including authorship and genre. For ages 8-12.

"A thrilling gallery of boojums from the pages, scrolls, and clay tablets of literary classics...Readers on the lookout for something wicked this way coming will be terrified, grossed out, delighted." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"Johnson offers entertaining insights into each monster’s origin story, while suggesting that great literature creates characters that can truly take on lives of their own—and what’s scarier (and cooler) than that?" —Publishers Weekly

"Readers prepared for a big scare with a side order of literary history will love this collection...Johnson's casual descriptions of horrifying tales will delight middle grade readers while he successfully lures them to grander-scheme ideas. A must-have for middle school libraries and those whose readers seek out the creepy and the scary." —School Library Journal, starred review

"Perfect for Halloween and beyond, this is a ready-made syllabus for an engaging literature course that will have readers shrieking—with delight!" —Booklist, starred review

"[This book] will leave you jumping at the sound of a cricket or the tapping of a tree branch." —TIME for Kids