How To Kill a Monster - (children's chapter book by R. L. Stine)
Written: Oct 07 '07 (Updated Oct 17 '07)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Creepy, swampy fun
Cons: Not for a timid child.
The Bottom Line: Stay out of the swamp, until you read this book!
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| CopeSullivan's Full Review: R. L. Stine - How To Kill A Monster |
* This review contains a few plot details and events from the story, but does NOT reveal the ending.
Gretchen and Clark, step-sister and brother, were being forced to stay with their Grandparents, because their parents got called out of state for emergency work. For most kids, this would probably be fun. But not for them. You see, their Grandparents live smack dab in the middle of a creepy swamp!!
Gretchen is a typical 12 year old girl who is easily annoyed by her 12 year old step-brother. Clark has himself a grandiose imagination. To top it off, he loves scary monster comic books. Gretchen just thinks he's "stupid"!!
On the ride to their Grandparent's house, their parents car gets a flat in the swamp. To bide time, Gretchen, Clark, and their dog Charley get out to explore. Was someone… something watching them? Was something lurking in the mist? Or was it just Charley, panting and rustling in the bushes. Were Clark's "stories" getting to Gretchen?
The Grandparent's house wasn't what they expected. A stone castle in the middle of the swamp, with only three tiny windows! It gets worse. Grandpa was hard of hearing, Grandma was old & frail and had an obsession with baking pies and cooking huge amounts of food. They both smelled funny, and the house smelled even worse. Dark, dank, dusty, and old…. everything was so old! They didn't even have a phone.
Loud shrieks, groans, and howls echoed through the swamp. Charley acted strange, not his usual happy-go-lucky doggy self. Something was spooking him. There was a presence in the house… but what was it? And why did Grandma always cook so much food? Was there someone else there? And what was so special about the 3rd floor? Why was Grandpa carrying the left-over pancakes up there?
There was something strange going on, and they had to find out what. They would soon regret that they had!! When Grandma and Grandpa left to go into town, Gretchen and Clark unlocked a mysterious door on the third floor…. revealing the most hideous swamp monster. The horror had begun!
They ran in fear, racing through the house, trying to escape the terror. No matter what they did, the monster was hot on their heals. They couldn't get away! They were trapped. All the windows and doors were locked from the OUTSIDE! There was No phone to use, to call for help. They were all alone and helpless!!!
How could their Grandparents do this to them? Lock them in the house with a ferocious, hungry monster?
Could they get away? Could they kill the monster before IT got them? Or would they be the swamp monster's main course for dinner……
…. The answer lies within the pages of How To Kill a Monster by R. L. Stine!!
Yet another wonderful, thrilling book from a great author. How To Kill a Monster is # 46 (of well over 80 books) in R. L. Stine's Goosebumps series. One of my favorite series of children's chapter books, and also one of my son's favorites. He took a liking to Goosebumps near the end of the school year, last year, and has been hooked on them ever since.
One of the best aspects about the Goosebumps series is that each book is a new, fresh story. Unlike other series of books, where you have to start with #1 and read consecutively through them from there, these can be read in any order (with the exception of a few mini-series, within the series).
How To Kill a Monster reads easily and keeps you glued to the story. Geared for children 3rd to 6th grade, it's a bit more complicated than an "early reader" book, but not too hard for a grade-schooler. Some of the vocabulary may be a bit difficult for younger children; words like enormous, cypress, hideous, or dumbwaiter for example (most 3rd graders would have no clue what a dumbwaiter is!!) . My son is in the 3rd grade, and was able to read this with ease (but I did have to tell him what a dumbwaiter was).
This isn't just a great read for kids, either. I was hooked as soon as I picked this book up. Any adult looking for a quick, suspenseful, thriller will love this story.
How To Kill a Monster was one of the first Goosebumps books that my son read. And I have to say, it sparked my son's imagination so much, that he's gone on to eagerly read many, many more Goosebumps stories!! (Which is quite a feat for a child who typically isn't interested in reading!!)
Take a gander at How To Kill a Monster. And, as R.L. Stine himself says: "Reader beware, you're in for a scare…."
. . .
Recommended for kids grades 2 - 6 (depending on reading ability)
How To Kill a Monster is #46 in the Goosebumps Series.
Published by Scholastic Books Inc.
Copyright: 1996 - First published by Scholastic books, August 1996
The majority of the Goosebumps Series, by R.L.Stine, was originally copyrighted and published in the 1990's - by Scholastic Books. Books in the series have been frequently re-published, at various times over the years, by Scholastic Books Inc.
R. L. Stine's Official Website: (It's pretty cool, check it out)
http://www.rlstine.com/#nav/home
The Scholastic Store.com
http://store.scholastic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/HomeView?storeId=10052&catalogId=10051
Scholastic Bookclub flyers that come home from school, with your child:
(They're often offered at reduced prices, and it's a great way to help your child's teacher earn books for the classroom… ask you child's teacher about Scholastic Book Flyers)
http://WWW.Scholastic.com/bookclubs
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More Goosebumps books, by R. L. Stine:
Monster Blood
Monster Blood II
Monster Blood III
Say Cheese and Die
Calling All Creeps !
The Blob That Ate Everyone
The Curse of Camp Cold Lake
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This is an entry into msmorvay's 5th Annual Resurrecting the Oldies Book Write Off
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
CopeSullivan
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Member: Danielle
Location: Ahm from th' Bawstin arear.
Reviews written: 203
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"Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers over all wrongs." ~Prov 10:12
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