| ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. | |
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| OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. | |
| NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Parents need to know that everyone is sure to get caught up in the boogie fever of this madcap monster ball. Despite a few slightly spooky-looking characters, all is fun and excitement in this story, told in loose rhyme speckled with puns and other silliness.
Noise from the Monster Ball fills the castle, awakening the seven sleeping knights who, one by one, go down to investigate and end up dancing the night away.
When the castle comes alive with the rock-n-roll sounds of monster melodies, everyone gets involved. Before they know it, even the seven snoozing knights and the little prince are bouncing, bopping, and otherwise swinging to the beat. Told in playful rhyme, the story follows a technique familiar to many nursery rhymes and songs as one knight after another peels off to investigate. Each ends up at the dance "while upstairs, unawares," the repeating refrain reminds us, the others still snore away. First there were seven, then six, and so on.
Playful language and energetic charcoal and pencil illustrations create a party atmosphere that makes the Madcap Monster Ball look like so much fun. Who wouldn't want to join werewolves doing the hustle, zombies the bustle, mummies dancing the mambo and serpents the samba? Certainly the cleverly named knights Sir Veillance, Sir Prize, Sir Loin, Sir Round, Sir Cumference, Sir Ender, and Sir Vivor could not resist.
Families can talk about, and try out, the different dances that the monsters and ghouls enjoy: the hustle, samba, mambo, waltz, twist, and, of course, the conga line. Which is your favorite? Also, why are the names of the knights funny? What puns do you know?
| Author: | Lisa Wheeler |
| Illustrator: | Mark Siegel |
| Book type: | Fiction |
| Genre: | Holiday |
| Publisher: | Atheneum |
| Publication date: | August 5, 2008 |
| Number of pages: | 40 |
| Hardcover price: | $16.99 |
| Publisher's recommended age(s): | 4 - 7 |
| Read aloud: | 4 |
| Read alone: | 8 |
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