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The Gruesome Guide To World Monsters
Written by: Judy Sierra
Illustrated by: Henrik Drescher
Candlewick Press, 2005
ISBN: 076361727-X

Planning a trip?  If your tiny world traveler is also an aspiring folklore expert and a budding horror buff, you're definitely going to need to search for the perfect guide as a vacation treat. Lucky for you, we've found a phenomenal book to end the search, and send you hunting for (or running from) some of the worlds greatest monsters.

The Grusome Guide not only has descriptions of some of the worlds most impressive monsters of folklore, but also a rating system detailing just how dangerous these fiends are, and helpful survival tips in case you may find yourself face to face with one.

These baddies and boogeymen come from all over the globe. In North America, we start off with one of the good old standards: Bloody Mary, the evil spectre that appears in the mirror when you chant her name several time. She's rumoured to reach out, grab her victims, and try to pull them back into the mirror with her, but only if you see her first. She's also rated as Very Dangerous.

Moving on to Africa, you can see the dreaded Nundu. This monster takes the shape of a Lion or a Leopard until it comes closer. When it reaches its intended victim, it opens its mouth to the size of a cave and swallows the victim whole. Survival tips include...well...there are no tips, as a meeting with this particular bit of business is deemed "Fatal".

Other places in the world covered include Central and South America, Europe, and Asia and the Pacific.

The illustrations in this book are intense and terrifying. Rendered in mixed media, they're incredibly colourful, inventive, and...well, terrifying. I wouldn't want to roll over at night and face any if these illustrations staring me down. Not...at...all.

Check this book out when you're on your next family vacation. If not to find out where to go, at least to figure out where you don't want to travel. Oh, and if we may make a suggestion, New Zealand has a particularly nasty monster called Maraki-Hau that haunts the seas around there. Do yourself a favour and stay on dry land.