CHILDREN'S BOOK REVIEW BY LORRIE LAYTON
A Babysitter’s Guide to Monster Hunting By Joe Ballerini , illustrated by Vivienne
To Think The Last Kids on Earth meets Goosebumps. The first book in this new series introduces us to a secret society of super-babysitters who protect kids from the monsters that really are under their beds or in their closets. On Kelly Ferguson’s first babysitting job, she discovers that monsters truly are real when Jacob (Kelly’s babysitter) is kidnapped from right under her nose by none other than the Boogeyman himself. (Well, technically there are seven Boogeymen, but who’s counting?) In order to rescue Jacob, Kelly turns to The Babysitters for help. These Babysitters take their job seriously. Not only are they professionals when it comes to changing diapers and mollifying fussy little ones, they dive right in when dealing with a monster. A Babysitter’s priority is to keep children safe and to rescue those who fall into the wrong (monstrous) hands.
When dealing with a new monster, a Babysitter’s go-to reference material is a manual entitled A Babysitter’s Guide to Monster Hunting. This manual contains data on all the monsters this group has ever encountered, including a physical description, likes and dislikes, strengths and weaknesses, and smell. Yep, smell. If a Babysitter encounters a monster he’s seeing for the first time, the manual even includes a decision tree to help determine the type of monster he’s facing. Of course, Kelly’s first time babysitting is on Halloween when this particular Boogeyman plans to transform our world into anyone’s worst nightmare full of the worst monsters from all of our nightmares – with the unwilling help of the child Kelly is babysitting. Absolutely no pressure there! Kelly and The Babysitters reminded me of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and her gang – although this series is written for a slightly younger crowd.
Our thanks to Brace Books for providing these book reviews!
24
October 2020
