Read This: Bone Soup

The monster love is showing no visible signs of waning anytime soon around here.  Zombies, vampires, witches, skeletons, oogley-boogly sorts of monsters are all equally adored and appreciated for their individual merits.  Blood-suckers, brains-cravers, bony or warty noses--we are equal-opportunity monster fans.    So you can see how this book--Bone Soup by Cambria Evans--would fit right into our little library.

I admit though, part of what attracted me to this book is that it is a spooky little twist on the classic Stone Soup story I grew up reading--except so much more fun when a town full of monsters are tricked into adding their most prized ingredients to the soup--you know, like spider eggs, toe nail clippings, stewed eyeballs and similar delicacies.

Of course, really, what is best about this book are the wonderful creepy-cute illustrations--just enough spook but still enough sweet to appeal to the under-10-set without creating nightmare-fodder.  I mean, I would happily give any one of the monsters in this book a hug--or even spend the night in their wonderfully realized homes with secret-cupboards, cobwebby cellars and cracked mirrors.  Or maybe even design a plushie inspired by one of the monsters--you know, something itty bitty that might be able to live in a matchbox or something?  Hmmm...

But really--check out Finnigin the skeleton with his gigantic eating mouth and his very tasty bone soup recipe.  Guaranteed to please and nourish.  Get a copy here--or from your local library.