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Summer Reading Is Killing Me! Contest Winner

So, we have reached the end of June. Actually, the beginning of July. That means your chance to win a copy of Summer Reading Is Killing Me! by Jon Scieszka has passed- and we have a winner!

Karen, who is reading The Help this summer, is our winner! Karen, you can email us at monsterlibrarian@monsterlibrarian.com with your address and we’ll get your copy out to you shortly.

Everybody, keep reading! And find a child to read with some time this summer, too!

Contest: Win a Werewolf!

Okay, not an actual werewolf. But in honor of Werewolf Month, HalloweenCostumes.com has offered to give away two Full Moon Werewolf Costumes, which include a shirt with attached fur and a Motion Mask- the mouth and lips move when you do, from their collection of werewolf costumes. Here’s the costume description:

Howl at the moon all night long in this full moon werewolf costume! The scary costume includes a full, realistic werewolf mask. The mask is covered in faux grey fur and is made from polyester. It has a plastic interior while the exterior is covered in a rubber foam like material. The mask’s jaw moves when you move your mouth. If the mask is too large, foam blocks are included to enclose the gaps and create movement. An adjustable velcro strap on the interior secures the mask in place and slits for the eyes provide unrestricted vision. The white, black and green flannel shirt is made from polyester and has shredded edges for a worn appearance. Padding fills the shoulders for a full look and fur emerges from the chest, torso and sleeves to complete your transformation. Bring this full-moon legend to life in this great costume!

Words don’t do it justice though- even if you aren’t interested in owning a werewolf costume, you should still go watch the video– it mesmerized my five year old.

So… The contest. Tell us what your favorite werewolf moment is, in fiction, television, movies, or video games. Post below and I’ll pick winners randomly at the end of July.

Oh, I should add that this contest is open only to US residents, and, of course, that we are not being compensated in any way for holding it. We just like werewolves.

A Look Into the Mind of Shaun Tan

In May, artist Shaun Tan won the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, a sort of equivalent to winning a Nobel Prize in picture book illustration. I can see why.

Shaun Tan is an amazing illustrator. I first came across his work while reading Kelly Link’s short story collection Pretty Monsters, reviewed here, and loved his illustrations so much that I tracked down some of his other works, including Tales from Outer Suburbia and the incredible graphic novel The Arrival. If you aren’t familiar with The Arrival, you should be. There are no words.

And that is what is coolest about this interview he did for Der Spiegel. Rather than giving lengthy, wordy answers to the questions they posed, he sketched in his answers. I love this approach to interviewing an illustrator, and particularly to interviewing Shaun Tan, who expresses himself so beautifully without any exposition at all.

Congratulations, Shaun. I look forward to seeing what you come up with next.