Official Review: The Monster Hotel by Susan and Mark Kibbe

[kandscreeley]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Monster Hotel" by Susan and Mark Kibbe.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Old Carnie is a crow who wants to tell us about an interesting hotel. This isn't any normal hotel. Oh no! It's a hotel full of monsters. Even the bellboy is a ghoul. Read The Monster Hotel by Mark and Susan Kibbe to learn more about this fun and spooky place.

Illustrated by Lianna Witherspoon, the drawings are colorful and fun. Hand-drawn, they would interest any child. The illustrations are simplistic, but this would make them appeal more to children, as they could easily be imitated. With one drawing per page, the ratio of drawings to words is perfect for early learners. My favorite illustration was of the hotel itself. It's eerie, and I could easily picture this broken-down building existing in real life.

As far as the font, it was a simple, black, typewritten style. With such colorful illustrations in the background, it's not overly problematic. I do believe it's a small missed opportunity, though. Some of the backgrounds are more beige in color, so a spooky, colorful font would add to the mystery of the story.

The vocabulary might be a bit advanced for the recommended age range. Words like "pate" and "hullabaloo" would need to be explained by an adult. Each line rhymes, which makes the book wonderful for reading aloud. This was my favorite aspect of the story, as I enjoy reading aloud.

As for editing, there were errors within the book. Most of these were punctuation issues. For example, a comma is placed where a semicolon should be. There were also a couple of capitalization errors. In addition, though not counted as an error, the spacing was sometimes off. Several times, it looked like there was more than one space in between words, but I think it was simply a different font. I'm not sure children would notice these errors, but it's my opinion that kid's books should be perfectly proofread, which is why this is my least favorite aspect of the book.

Any parent, educator, or child that's looking for a fun, rhyming Halloween-themed story should consider this book. I rate The Monster Hotel 3 out of 4 stars due solely to the errors. Elementary age children would be the most appropriate audience for the story; however, as I stated above, adults might need to help with the more obscure words. This would make a great story for a teacher to read out loud to a classroom of children or a family to read together near Halloween. I'm looking forward to seeing what other children's books the authors produce.

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The Monster Hotel
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

[Christabel Uzoamaka]

Haha! Your review really seems like you’re talking to me! I find that delightful. As an adult, I still find children’s book enjoyable, so I might take this one up.

You’ve done a great job on this review.

[Ellylion]

I absolutely agree with you - children's books should be edited flawlessly. But the idea of a crow telling spooky stories still seems to be fascinating! Thank you for a great review!

[Saint Bruno]

I wish the author works on the errors you mentioned. Thanks for a wonderful review and recommendation.

[kandscreeley]

Haha! Your review really seems like you’re talking to me! I find that delightful. As an adult, I still find children’s book enjoyable, so I might take this one up.

You’ve done a great job on this review.

I think we all need to be children every once in a while. This is such a cute book, and I loved how the lines rhymed. Thanks for commenting.

[kandscreeley]

I absolutely agree with you - children's books should be edited flawlessly. But the idea of a crow telling spooky stories still seems to be fascinating! Thank you for a great review!

I'm always a bit harder on children's books than adult books. Adults know the difference and don't care if there's an extra comma or two. Children can't tell and need to learn. Still, especially if you read the book aloud, they'll still never know! Thanks.

[kandscreeley]

I wish the author works on the errors you mentioned. Thanks for a wonderful review and recommendation.

I hope so as well! Thanks for commenting.

[Josephe-Anne]

The concept of this story is very similiar to the Hotel Transylvania movie series. It definitely sounds like the ideal type of story to read around Halloween. It's too bad about the errors though.

Thank you for a well-written review!

[Luluwa79]

A book with colourful pictures attract children, but making it easy to read for them is also a plus.
A nice review.

[kandscreeley]

The concept of this story is very similiar to the Hotel Transylvania movie series. It definitely sounds like the ideal type of story to read around Halloween. It's too bad about the errors though.

Thank you for a well-written review!

I haven't seen that, but from what I know of it, you're right about that. It's cute, nonetheless. Thanks!

[kandscreeley]

A book with colourful pictures attract children, but making it easy to read for them is also a plus.
A nice review.

It was fun to read, even for me as an adult. Thanks.

[Rashida10]

I must confess that I didn't see this coming. A children's book? A mysterious title, an appealing storyline. You chose a good book.

[Maria Esposito]

Halloween is approaching, this might be the perfect read for kids! Your observation about difficult words is very helpful, and hopefully the author will consider replacing them with easier ones. Great review!

[kandscreeley]

I must confess that I didn't see this coming. A children's book? A mysterious title, an appealing storyline. You chose a good book.

It's an interesting children's book. With Halloween around the corner, it's one that would be good to pick up. Thanks!

[kandscreeley]

Halloween is approaching, this might be the perfect read for kids! Your observation about difficult words is very helpful, and hopefully the author will consider replacing them with easier ones. Great review!

Thanks! It's an interesting premise, which I know many children will enjoy.