Monster Mash

In this homage to the 1962 classic Halloween song, a blobby scientist is working in his lab when his Hollywood-style Frankenstein’s monster starts dancing the Monster Mash. Soon he’s joined by Wolfman, Dracula, guitar-playing skeletons (the Crypt-Kicker Five), and creatures with an assortment of tentacles, pincers, horns, and eyes. Catrow’s outlandish aesthetic is well suited to the absurdity of the song’s lyrics, and he doesn’t hold back—his oozing, decaying, sharp-fanged creations may well prove too scary for more timid readers. Braver kids, though, should still find it a graveyard smash. Ages 3–8. (July)