Common Sense Media Review
Madcap monster ball is silly, wiggly-giggly fun.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 4+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
What's the Story?
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.
Is It Any Good?
Told in playful rhyme, this amusing story follows a technique familiar to many nursery rhymes and songs as one knight after another peels off to investigate. 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. 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.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
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?
Book Details
- Author :
- Illustrator : Mark Siegel
- Genre : Holiday
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Atheneum
- Publication date : August 5, 2008
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 4 - 7
- Number of pages : 40
- Last updated : July 13, 2017
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