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Editorial Review 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. ... Read more Customer Reviews (18) 
10yr old son read it for HOURS!
When my 10 year old son told me he'd rather read his book than watch TV I was curious--that just wasn't typical Timmy behavior! He LOVED this book! He read for hours and excitedly told me what it was about. He said "I definitelywant to read more from this author!" Any book that captivates, engrosses and entertains my son like that gets 5 stars from me! Bravo Ahmet Zappa!
My son couldn't put it down.
I gave this to my son (age 9) for Christmas. I was a fan of Frank Zappa and thought it would be fun to give my son something that Frank's son created. I didn't know what to expect, because I didn't read it myself. Well, my son started reading and was done in a couple days. He read for hours at a time (he doesn't even do that with Harry Potter). And he LOVED it. He told me all about it while he was reading and then asked me to read it when he was done. Which, I'll do. So 5 stars for a book my son devoured. I hope Ahmet does continue the series, that would make at least one young reader very happy.
The kids loved it!
I purchased this book at a school book fair.It was to be a read in the car book.Well, we started it out that way.It was a difficult book to read aloud, but the kids enjoyed listening to it.Their imaginations could really take off with the story.
I took it along on a field trip I chaperoned with my 2nd grade son.Reading aloud to him in a noisy school bus, I realized how quiet it had gotten.Several students all stopped to listen to the story.They were really engaged in the story.Even when I stopped, a few girls whined for me to read more, and asked to borrow the book, so they could read.
We enjoyed the "extras" that were included.The making of monster repellent recipes and brief descriptions of the monsters.The "Book" (Monsterminicon) which is what I referred to her as I read aloud was really full of good information.
I would recommend this book to young advanced readers... as it is full of made up words.Any age group could sit and listen to it, though, and throughly enjoy it.
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.
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