 |
Third graders and best friends Jorey, Porto, and Timmy cannot contain their excitement for their Friday evening horror movie. Internally, however, The Werewolves' Revenge has Jorey anxious and looking for a way out that isn't going to come. Just as the friends get settled into their beanbags and prepare to be scared senseless, Jorey's older brother walks in with a dog bite. What ensues is a byproduct of the delightfully wild imagination of a child upon seeing his brother growing hair on his lip combined with Jorey's genuine determination to help his brother from evolving into a ravening beast.
Mounteer explores that most fruitful and heartwarming aspect of childhood, the unbridled imagination. The malleability of a child's mind is never more apparent than in the author's portrayal of Jorey transposing his experience with the film into a real-life notion that his brother is turning into a werewolf. The naive but authentic compassion of the characters drives them to hide silverware and give Jorey's brother, Jaden, garlic—despite knowing garlic is for vampires.
Mounteer successfully brings out each of the characters' personalities through this experience while instantly connecting with young readers everywhere with the movie night, a setting that most children are likely to have experienced. Catering to students who are shifting away from picture books and immersing themselves into text-based chapter books, Mounteer does a commendable job of keeping the plot simple without compromising the depth of characters and the excitement and anticipation of the horror movie experience. Refreshingly authentic, the author's story is one that will likely resonate with new chapter book readers.