Readers will relish every gross and hilarious entry in this monstrous menu of misadventures, from the towering appetizer concocted by Frankenstein—a green-skinned Fred Gwynne in Rex’s detail-rich, superbly over-the-top illustrations—to the Japanese-inflected closer, “Godzilla Pooped on my Honda.” Interlaced with repeated appearances from an increasingly frantic Phantom of the Opera (who can’t get a succession of pop tunes out of his head), the verses and accompanying art go from suggesting unfortunate results when “The Invisible Man Gets A Haircut,” to making lurid allusions to the contents of “The Lunchsack of Notre Dame.” They range from why “The Yeti Doesn’t Appreciate Being Called Bigfoot,” to tracking the Mummy’s reluctance to bed down: “Here’s his new excuse: / He wants cookies with his juice. / But he won’t get far— / that’s his stomach in that jar.” Making Judy Sierra’s Monster Goose (2001), illustrated by Jack E. Davis, look like an exercise in restraint, here’s a read-aloud candidate sure to elicit loud screams—but not of fright. (Poetry. 6-10)
