Monsters from folklore and literature are given star treatment by Governor General’s Award winner Arthur Slade. Profiling the monsters for height, birthplace, fashion rating, favourite movies, and high school memories, and offering capsule interviews with them on their ambitions and pet peeves, Slade romps sardonically through the villains of works such as Frankenstein, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and Dracula, also incorporating figures like the Nordic Loki and Yiddish golem.

Despite these weighty literary associations, Monsterology wears its learning lightly, with information about the origins of each monster tucked offhandedly into Cool Fact footnotes. While the 15 monsters profiled come from the Western tradition, their homes range from ancient Egypt to Russia to Haiti, with an occasional nod to Asian and North American native traditions as well.

Monsterology caters cheerfully to its readers’ fascination with smelly feet, bad breath, and other problematic aspects of the human body that can make us seem, or feel, monstrous. Medusa’s perpetual bad hair days, not to mention the hairiness of the Sasquatch and the female werewolf, are exploited with glee, and a recurring editorial comment is “Gross!” People-eating, vampirism, and similar types of bad behaviour are cited with relish in a comic tone. For example: “How to fly: First you need a pailful of toad excrement. Toad excrement! Never mind, take a plane.”

Derek Mah’s accomplished and creepy illustrations work well with Slade’s text. The full-page pictures show with panache the attraction of a Medusa, Dracula, or Loki, while the more repulsive monsters are depicted humorously rather than frighteningly. There is a darkness in the shading of the portraits and expression of the characters that indicates “something of the night” about them. Witty drawings inserted into the text reinforce the sense, however, that this is a book that aims to amuse rather than frighten.