Review Detail

While this book in occupied by a cast of monsters, it is far from scary. It is also not solely for Halloween. The moral lessons and problem solving displayed by Felipe Femur, the cute poncho-wearing skeleton protagonist, is entertaining and engaging year round. In fact, I read this book several times to my niece and nephew in June. Can’t get much further away from autumn than that. They (and I) loved the toothless werewolf and the witch made my niece want to make a potion drink, a recipe for which we found from the related website that is mentioned at the end of the book (www.felipefemur.com) under recipes. Witch’s punch or something to that order. The vampire was my favorite and the illustrations of the sun-loving vampire made the kids and me laugh.

Only issue I found was with the printing quality. For the print version you can see the print pattern around the edges. No one else seemed to notice, but I have an eye for these things and it bothered me a little. If you have an e-reader, it may be best to stick with that.

As for the rhyming story, which I think was done well enough it never feels forced as is too often an issue with rhyming books, is a combination of an ironic monsters and problems that need solving. The repetition was great for my young nephew (4) My niece and nephew appreciated the colorful stylized illustrations and the author's sense of humor; and I imagine most any young readers will. Recommended particularly as a Halloween or campfire story for the youngest, but like I said, just because it’s a story with monsters and a skeleton doesn’t mean they don’t have a lot of heart. Still, it is a perfect picture book read for those who love Halloween, monsters, and autumn. Think Aaah! Real Monsters; not Goosebumps. I would not consider it even the least bit scary for a bedtime story as the monsters are all friendly and nothing scary happens.

5 out of 5 from me and my niece and nephew. Cute monsters, fun story, and a fun related free website. Really an interactive book in that respect. I dig it.