Perhaps because of the wisdom received from our Romantic forbears about the purity of the child, depictions of children as monsters have held a tremendous fascination for film audiences for decades. Numerous social factors have influenced the popularity and longevity of the monster-child trope but its appeal is also rooted in the dual concepts of the child-like (innocent, angelic) and the childish (selfish, mischievous). This collection of fresh essays discusses the representation of monstrous children in popular cinema since the 1950s, with a focus on the relationship between monstrosity and "childness," a term whose implications the contributors explore.
Make room in your suitcase for this monstrously entertaining guide to fantastic creatures around the world — and how to elude them. I did not make any of this up. Do you know why you should have baby teeth handy when visiting the Midwest? Or why you should bring a cucumber with you when swimming in Japan? How good are you at solving Russian riddles? From Boston to Bejing, from Moscow to Mali, any place you visit has its own terrifying tales of very real creatures. Complete with handy "gruesomeness ratings," this guide offers all the important facts on some sixty-three folkloric monsters and how (if possible!) to survive an encounter with them. Meticulously researched by Judy Sierra and illustrated in grotesque detail by Henrik Drescher, here is the ultimate resource for any world traveler, armchair or otherwise, hoping to make it home alive.
The monstrous child is the allegorical queer child in various formations of horror cinema: the child with a secret, the child 'possessed' by Otherness, the changeling child, the terrible gang. This book explores the possibilities of 'not growing up' as a model for a queer praxis that confronts the notion of heternormative maturity.
“A humorous—and richly illustrated—book full of quirky monsters. SanCartier’s creatures are somehow both cute and terrifying.” —USA Today Meet the world’s most unusual monsters in this darkly funny collection of creatures and cryptids from folkloric history. Illustrator Emma SanCartier captures the bizarre and hilarious elements of seventeen monsters from around the world in a light, tongue-in-cheek tone, from the Japanese dream-eater Baku and the Persian carnivorous unicorn Shadhavar to the Eastern European Shurale, a literal tickle monster. Illustrated in lush watercolor, Monsters You Should Know is a perfect primer for the many strange, frightening, and compelling things that go bump in the night. “An important book on monsters you should know about, mostly because it turns out they’re really cute.” —Buzzfeed
Welcome to Spring Crescent Middle School.It's an overachieving, high-scoring institution, and all the grownups say you're lucky to be there.Sure you are.You're the new kid.With a troublesome monster for a best friend.And some of those teachers sure have been giving you funny looks.Don't you feel lucky?Curriculum of Conspiracy is a complete game setting and adventure for the roleplaying game Monsters and Other Childish Things. Curriculum of Conspiracy features dozens of enemies and potential allies, all of them alternately entertaining and creepy, and plenty of opportunities for monstrous action and suspense.There's the bell -- time for home room. Have a nice first day at school.
Focusing on narratives with supernatural components, Karen J. Renner argues that the recent proliferation of stories about evil children demonstrates not a declining faith in the innocence of childhood but a desire to preserve its purity. From novels to music videos, photography to video games, the evil child haunts a range of texts and comes in a variety of forms, including changelings, ferals, and monstrous newborns. In this book, Renner illustrates how each subtype offers a different explanation for the problem of the “evil” child and adapts to changing historical circumstances and ideologies.
Misfits are often confused with outcasts. Yet misfits rather find themselves in-between that which fits and that which does not. This volume is interested in this slipperiness of misfits and explores the blockages and the promises of such movements, as well as the processes and conditions that produce misfits, the means that enable them to undo their denomination as misfits, and the practices that turn those who fit into misfits, and vice versa. This collection of essays on misfit children produces transmissible motions across and engages in scholarly conversations that unfold betwixt and between in order to make rigid concepts twist and twirl, and ultimately fail to fit.
An ordinary bubble may seem pretty harmless to you. To the monsters of La La Land, however, a fragile, shimmering bubble is an object of terror, and when the frightening habits of bubbles are detailed by a fear-mongering monster, Yerbert, Froofle, and Wumpus run away and cry. But with encouragement from the narrator and from readers—“Go on, Wumpus, you can do it. (Tell Wumpus he can do it.)”—the three learn to confront their fears and triumph over the bubbles! An original, offbeat, and giggle-inducing take on conquering fears from the New York Times best-selling team responsible for the groundbreaking Those Darn Squirrels! books.
The sweeping romance of Passenger meets the dark fantasy edge of This Savage Song in this stunning contemporary fantasy debut from Vanessa Len, where the line between monster and hero is razor thin. Don’t forget the rule. No one can know what you are. What we are. You must never tell anyone about monsters. Joan has just learned the truth: her family are monsters, with terrifying, hidden powers. And the cute boy at work isn’t just a boy: he’s a legendary monster slayer, who will do anything to destroy her family. To save herself and her family, Joan will have to do what she fears most: embrace her own monstrousness. Because in this story…she is not the hero. Dive deep into the world of Only a Monster: hidden worlds dwell in the shadows, beautiful monsters with untold powers walk among humans, and secrets are the most powerful weapon of all.
A bone-chilling read about creating monsters, sisterhood turned toxic, and secrets that won't stay buried, perfect for fans of The Night She Disappeared, Wilder Girls, and The Blair Witch Project. Sixteen-year-old Skye is done playing the knight in shining armor for her insufferable younger sister, Deirdre. And moving across the country seems like the perfect chance to start over as someone different. In their isolated new neighborhood, Skye manages to fit in, but Deirdre withdraws from everyone, becoming fixated on the swampy woods behind their house and building monstrous sculptures out of sticks and bones. Then Deirdre disappears. And when something awful comes scratching at Skye's window in the middle of the night, claiming Skye's the only one who can save Deirdre, Skye knows she will stop at nothing to bring her sister home. A great buy for readers who want: young adult horror books the teen girl book best sellers of 2018 creepy stories Praise for Here There Are Monsters: "Thick with atmosphere and tension, Here There Are Monsters does what fairy tales do: it edifies as it terrifies."—Foreword *STARRED REVIEW* "Seamlessly executed... an intricate, subtle, and deeply unsettling read."—Kirkus "Dark and eerie with just the right amount of creepiness...perfect for any fan of young adult horror."—School Library Journal "Everything and everyone reeks of malice while nothing and no one can be trusted—perfect conditions for a compelling YA horror."—Shelf Awareness "The horror of this creepy tale rests upon an increasing sense of inevitability and powerlessness against the spirit entities that inhabit the woods."—BCCB Also by Amelinda Bérubé: The Dark Beneath the Ice
