Coville, Bruce: The Monsters of Morley Manor

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Add water to a box of five-inch-tall frozen monsters and--as Anthony and Sarah, the sibling protagonists of Bruce Coville's The Monsters of Morley Manor discover--surprising things can happen. Monsters is full of the creepily appealing: the aforementioned reanimated creatures--including a vampire, a modern-day Medusa, and their lizard-headed brother, Gaspar--the monsters' haunted mansion of a home (complete with laboratory), disembodied grandparents, ill-intentioned, scaly aliens, malicious monkeys, interplanetary travel, magic, and, naturally, a plot to take over the world. The result is a captivating and well-written book, happily lacking the bland prose that one often finds in novels written for this age group: "'I can have a midlife crisis or a midlife monkey,' she [the protagonists' mother] announced on her fortieth birthday. 'I've decided to go for the monkey.'" (Gaspar's speech, often unusually formal--he is older than he looks--is particularly charming: "'I must get to a lawyer immediately. They may be a vile species and the curse of humanity, but they're our only hope for the moment.'") The Monsters of Morley Manor is a good book to read aloud, and its plot is intricate enough and the story serious enough in parts that it may prompt interesting discussions. Parents and children will both enjoy it.