Frightlopedia

An Encyclopedia of Everything Scary, Creepy,

and Spine-Chilling,from Arachnids to Zombies.

by Julie Winterbottom

illustrated by Stefano Tambellini 

Workman Publishing

Frightlopedia is an encyclopedia about not only ghosts, haunted houses, monsters and mummies, but also about killer bees, rats, sharks, UFOs, catacombs, flesh eating plants, and more. Each entry has a score from 1 to 3 in the "fright meter" to let you know how scary it is, so you can decide if you want to read it, or maybe just skip it. So while the fear of being buried alive is a 3, fake wounds are only a 1.
The approach of the author is that it's fun to be a little scared when we know you are not truly in danger, but being too scary is not funny at all, and it is also unnecessary. The text is also humorous, making the whole experience less scary. At the same time we tend to be less scared of things when we know more about them, and understand better when a fear is actually unreasonable, and also how we can avoid situations that are potentially dangerous.
The book is thoroughly illustrated, and it counts with "Horrifying how-tos", which are little projects like make the house look haunted, paint a vampire bite in your neck, or write your own ghost story.

Age range: Although the writing can be perfectly understood by a 8 years old kid, it also depends on how easily the kid gets scared. In the overall I would say that the goal of the book is not to terrify the reader, and most of the kids won't. But I understand parents should asses if their kids might find it enjoyable or not. I read many entries with my 8 years old daughter, and she found the book amusing.


I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.