Monsters Under Bridges: Pacific Northwest Edition

PreS-Gr 2—With tongue firmly in cheek, this guidebook playfully introduces youngsters to a panoply of monsters that inhabit the areas around, atop, and under the bridges of the Pacific Northwest. Each spread features an individual or group of monsters (Weasloes, Grubbels, Flixies, and various beasts beneath Seattle's Aurora Bridge) with tidbits about their habits as well as the geographic area or bridge and its design. Readers discover the monsters' sizes in relation to a typical kid, likes and dislikes, diet, and even what some of them smell like ("seaweed and wisdom"). The creatures are all good-heartedly silly-at most they might pilfer your lunch. The colorful, free-wheeling illustrations echo the whimsical descriptions with creative depictions of the beasts breezily rendered in full color. While this compendium is less of a guidebook than a goofy monster celebration, children and families will still enjoy using it to explore the many structures linking islands and spanning rivers in the Northwest. For fans of monsters under bridges as well as kids who dream of travel.—Marge Loch-Wouters, La Crosse Public Library, WI