Common Sense Media Review
By Mary Eisenhart
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Friendly monsters help boy in quirky, wildly whimsical tale.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 8+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
What's the Story?
One night in the polluted, dystopian town of Ratbridge, an oddly dressed boy named Arthur, who lives with his grandfather in the tunnels beneath the city, emerges looking for food. Things quickly go awry; he can't get home again because all portals to the underground world have been glued shut by villains up to no good. But, fortunately, he soon falls in with a friendly, if peculiar, collection of characters, from retired lawyer Willbury and inventor Marjorie to the various dwellers of the underground, including boxtrolls and cabbageheads as well as a crew of rats and men who, due to a downturn in the pirate business, support themselves by taking in laundry. Together they must get Arthur home to his grandfather -- and foil a plot that seems to involve the torture and killing of sheep-like cheeses.
Is It Any Good?
HERE BE MONSTERS is a wild concoction of whimsy, satire, creepiness, and slapstick. At 544 pages, it may seem alarmingly hefty, but author Alan Snow propels things at a fast clip with a deftly crafted narrative and plentiful illustrations. Many of the elements here are well worn -- intrepid kid! Pirates! Weird inventions! Fiendish villains! Dystopian worlds! Evil greed! -- but they all come together here with a madcap Roald-Dahl-meets-Monty-Python sensibility.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about why stories about friendly monsters are so popular. Do you like them better than stories about scary monsters? What are your favorite stories with monster characters?
Do you know any other stories about inventors whose clever creations are hijacked for evil purposes? How do they turn out?
Do you think the pictures help tell the story here? Would it be as fun without them?
Book Details
- Author :
- Illustrator : Alan Snow
- Genre : Fantasy
- Topics : Adventures , Friendship , Pirates
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Atheneum
- Publication date : July 1, 2006
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 8 - 14
- Number of pages : 544
- Available on : Paperback, Nook, Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : October 1, 2025
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