Meet the Werewolf (Eerie Series)

Rating:
Summary: An ideal choice for your kid's first book on Werewolves
Review: "Meet the Werewolf" has some less than stellar cover art of what I assume is a werewolf with red eyes straddling a yellow faced corpse. However, both the drawings by Stephen Gammell and the information provided by Georgess McHargue inside this volume in The Eerie Series are pretty impressive. McHargue begins with the historic origins of the word "werewolf" and then provides some nice tongue in cheek information on how to tell a werewolf when you see one, how to become a werewolf, and the more practical topic of how to get rid of a werewolf. After looking at some of the shape-shifting relatives of the werewolf, the book relates some of the "real" stories about werewolves (or supposed werewolves) in history, such as Jean Grenier, the original "Teenage Werewolf," Gilles Garnier, the Werewolf of Dole, Peter Stump and Others.

McHargue ends by looking at the roots of the werewolf legend, including both the idea of "outlaw" wild animals and the victims of hypertrichosis, and then telling what he considers the worst werewolf story of all. In addition to Gammell's appropriately eerie arts, there are historic prints from various cultures throughout history depicting werewolves (e.g., Maurice Sand's drawing of French werewolves and a gathering of Japanese were-foxes). The end result is an excellent little book on werewolves that simply surprises you by taking such a detailed and serious look at the subject. Not only will young readers learn a whole lot about werewolves, they will also learn to appreciate what you can come up with when you take a topic like werewolves and treat it seriously.

Rating:
Summary: An ideal choice for your kid's first book on Werewolves
Review: "Meet the Werewolf" has some less than stellar cover art of what I assume is a werewolf with red eyes straddling a yellow faced corpse. However, both the drawings by Stephen Gammell and the information provided by Georgess McHargue inside this volume in The Eerie Series are pretty impressive. McHargue begins with the historic origins of the word "werewolf" and then provides some nice tongue in cheek information on how to tell a werewolf when you see one, how to become a werewolf, and the more practical topic of how to get rid of a werewolf. After looking at some of the shape-shifting relatives of the werewolf, the book relates some of the "real" stories about werewolves (or supposed werewolves) in history, such as Jean Grenier, the original "Teenage Werewolf," Gilles Garnier, the Werewolf of Dole, Peter Stump and Others.

McHargue ends by looking at the roots of the werewolf legend, including both the idea of "outlaw" wild animals and the victims of hypertrichosis, and then telling what he considers the worst werewolf story of all. In addition to Gammell's appropriately eerie arts, there are historic prints from various cultures throughout history depicting werewolves (e.g., Maurice Sand's drawing of French werewolves and a gathering of Japanese were-foxes). The end result is an excellent little book on werewolves that simply surprises you by taking such a detailed and serious look at the subject. Not only will young readers learn a whole lot about werewolves, they will also learn to appreciate what you can come up with when you take a topic like werewolves and treat it seriously.

Rating:
Summary: Cool Book
Review: As the title say this is a very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very erie book.

Rating:
Summary: A good book for those interested in the supernatural
Review: I have an old copy of this at home that I found when I was about 8. The book contains numerous ancient stories and accounts, eerie illustrations, and a wealth of obscure information on werewolf lore.

For example, it lists old cases of men and women with lycanthropy and how their mental illness led others to believe they were werewolves, often with very tragic endings. The book also elaborates on the condition known as lycanthropy, and lists several other mental and physical disorders which have helped perpetuate the werewolf legends.

Old folk stories are included as well, such as the story of a man whose friend comes to visit his cottage in the woods and tells the tale of how he was attacked by a large, vicious wolf. His friend tells him of how he managed to lop off the beast's paw and drive it away, keeping the amputated limb as a trophy. When he pulls the paw out of his bag, however, the man sees his friend holding a human hand with his wife's wedding band on it. When he goes to check on his wife, he finds her in hte bedroom nursing a bloody stump where her left hand was.

Other bits of obscure folklore are included, such as the concept of using silver to kill werewolves is a myth. It describes how werewolves can be good, evil, or even detached from human morality all together depending on which region of the world they come from and who tells the tales. It dedicates a space to other shapeshifters as well, such as the werefox witches of Japan.

Overall, a very informative and creepy book. I highly recommend it for those interested in finding a spooky little read late at night to teach you a few things you might not have known before.