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Monster Moon: Curse at Zala Manor
It's almost Halloween, and twelve-year-old AJ Zantony's world is threatened by an ancient curse that releases wicked pirates who had been trapped for centuries in his Aunt Zsofia's creepy mansion, Zala Manor.
The pirates--a vampire count, a pegleg skeleton, and a zombie--have three to find a lost treasure, unleash the restless dead from their graves, and to settle a very old score by destroying the Zantony bloodline.
AJ has to stop them before midnight during Aunt Zsofia's annual Halloween party. Except he has a big problem--monster phobia! He's scared to death of monsters. But if he doesn't act fast, the streets of Craggy Cove will be crawling with zombies.
Will AJ overcome his fear and stop the monsters or bail out? Will Craggy Cove become Zombie Central? Who will be alive when midnight tolls?
The pirates--a vampire count, a pegleg skeleton, and a zombie--have three to find a lost treasure, unleash the restless dead from their graves, and to settle a very old score by destroying the Zantony bloodline.
AJ has to stop them before midnight during Aunt Zsofia's annual Halloween party. Except he has a big problem--monster phobia! He's scared to death of monsters. But if he doesn't act fast, the streets of Craggy Cove will be crawling with zombies.
Will AJ overcome his fear and stop the monsters or bail out? Will Craggy Cove become Zombie Central? Who will be alive when midnight tolls?
- GenresYoung AdultFantasy
192 pages, Hardcover
First published September 15, 2009
About the author
B.B.H. McChiller
2 books3 followersBBH McChiller is the pseudonym for three Southern California writers. The Monster Moon series began one Halloween as a discussion about their greatest fears and ended up being one of their most rewarding experiences. (www.monstermoonmysteries.com)
Lynn Kelley worked as a court reporter for 25 years. Her ebook, Trio of Haunting Tales - Spooky Short Stories, is available for 99 cents. She authored a picture book, Merry as a Cricket (WhipperSnapper Books). Her story, "The Jobo Tree" won her Highlights For Children's Author of the Month award. She has written for the Highland Community News and is currently working on a young adult novel, a chapter book for ages 7 - 10, and the next Monster Moon book. She's a big scaredy cat and is afraid to watch horror movies. Visit her website at www.lynnkelleyauthor.com and her blog at (http://lynnkelleyrandomactsofwriting....)
Kathryn Sant is a retired Obstetrician who has witnessed the births of thousands of future readers. She has published a middle-grade novel, Desert Chase (Scholastic), and written for the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrator's newsletter. She is currently working on a middle-grade boys' adventure novel and the next Monster Moon book. Her interest in adventure, accurate research, and genealogy has led to a love of world travel, but she also enjoys quiet evenings, reading, with her dogs at her side.
Maria Toth has a background in journalism. Her work, including children's stories, has appeared in The Los Angeles Times and the San Bernardino Sun. She is a Reading Buddy at local schools and has appeared on Storytime, a children's television program. Her novel Butterfly Hollow is scheduled for release in 2012. Her favorite holiday is Halloween. She enjoys ghostly tales and reading epitaphs at historic graveyards.
Lynn Kelley worked as a court reporter for 25 years. Her ebook, Trio of Haunting Tales - Spooky Short Stories, is available for 99 cents. She authored a picture book, Merry as a Cricket (WhipperSnapper Books). Her story, "The Jobo Tree" won her Highlights For Children's Author of the Month award. She has written for the Highland Community News and is currently working on a young adult novel, a chapter book for ages 7 - 10, and the next Monster Moon book. She's a big scaredy cat and is afraid to watch horror movies. Visit her website at www.lynnkelleyauthor.com and her blog at (http://lynnkelleyrandomactsofwriting....)
Kathryn Sant is a retired Obstetrician who has witnessed the births of thousands of future readers. She has published a middle-grade novel, Desert Chase (Scholastic), and written for the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrator's newsletter. She is currently working on a middle-grade boys' adventure novel and the next Monster Moon book. Her interest in adventure, accurate research, and genealogy has led to a love of world travel, but she also enjoys quiet evenings, reading, with her dogs at her side.
Maria Toth has a background in journalism. Her work, including children's stories, has appeared in The Los Angeles Times and the San Bernardino Sun. She is a Reading Buddy at local schools and has appeared on Storytime, a children's television program. Her novel Butterfly Hollow is scheduled for release in 2012. Her favorite holiday is Halloween. She enjoys ghostly tales and reading epitaphs at historic graveyards.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
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June 22, 2010 In the vein of “The Goonies” and There's a Batwing in My Lunchbox by Ann Hodgeman comes Monster Moon: Curse at Zala Manor, the tale of AJ and Emily, two friends who get caught up in a centuries old pirate curse cast on AJ's family line. This book has it all- secret tunnels and talking animals, mad science and real monsters. This is the perfect Halloween themed book for in class reading in elementary schools and early middle schools. Equal parts scary, mysterious, gross and silly, it's pure fun. It's definitely recommended for all collections aimed at fostering a love of reading.
Review by Michele Lee
Review by Michele Lee
January 30, 2014
http://noranydroptoread.com/2014/01/3...
Lilah and I had a blast reading this funnier-than-scary homage to children’s horror/gross-out books. AJ Zantony is staying at his great-aunt Zsofia’s house, the Zantony ancestral home, Zala Manor, while his parents are away (“McChiller” seems to revel in the thinness of the excuse to get the parents out of the way). His stay coincides with Zsofia’s annual Halloween party, which raises funds to keep the crumbling old manor intact, and Halloween this year occurs at the blue moon. AJ is a typical twelve-year-old, plagued by the school bullies, and is not thrilled when a girl is assigned to be his science partner. Worse, Emily is the Scully to AJ’s Mulder, insisting that the odd occurrences plaguing Zala Manor must have logical explanations.
As midnight on the Halloween/blue moon convergence approaches, AJ and Emily must juggle party duties, dodge zombie, vampire, and skeleton pirates, and…oh, no! Did the bullies show up to the party?! Zala Manor is the sort of house I dreamed about as a child: hidden staircases, secret passages, tunnels, creepy crypts. And, of course, the talking rat (really a parrot trapped in a rat’s body) who helps AJ and Emily figure out how to stop the pirate spirits.
I recommend this funny, scary, high-interest chapter book for reluctant readers and boys in particular, but Lilah and I both enjoyed it. When we reached the end and saw the teaser for the next book in the series, SECRET OF HAUNTED BOG, she was ready to read that one, too.
Source disclosure: I received an e-galley of this title courtesy of the publisher.
Lilah and I had a blast reading this funnier-than-scary homage to children’s horror/gross-out books. AJ Zantony is staying at his great-aunt Zsofia’s house, the Zantony ancestral home, Zala Manor, while his parents are away (“McChiller” seems to revel in the thinness of the excuse to get the parents out of the way). His stay coincides with Zsofia’s annual Halloween party, which raises funds to keep the crumbling old manor intact, and Halloween this year occurs at the blue moon. AJ is a typical twelve-year-old, plagued by the school bullies, and is not thrilled when a girl is assigned to be his science partner. Worse, Emily is the Scully to AJ’s Mulder, insisting that the odd occurrences plaguing Zala Manor must have logical explanations.
As midnight on the Halloween/blue moon convergence approaches, AJ and Emily must juggle party duties, dodge zombie, vampire, and skeleton pirates, and…oh, no! Did the bullies show up to the party?! Zala Manor is the sort of house I dreamed about as a child: hidden staircases, secret passages, tunnels, creepy crypts. And, of course, the talking rat (really a parrot trapped in a rat’s body) who helps AJ and Emily figure out how to stop the pirate spirits.
I recommend this funny, scary, high-interest chapter book for reluctant readers and boys in particular, but Lilah and I both enjoyed it. When we reached the end and saw the teaser for the next book in the series, SECRET OF HAUNTED BOG, she was ready to read that one, too.
Source disclosure: I received an e-galley of this title courtesy of the publisher.
October 2, 2013
Moon was written by three authors, it is very much 4th and 5th grade material. Nice plot, nice pace, a bit on the corny side but at 70 who am I to know the current crop of 9 to 11 year olds? Wonderful use of a classic haunted house, secret passages and such. The real kicker is the 300 year old rat with the brain of a parrot. Gotta read it!
January 7, 2017
Title: Curse at Zala Manor - Monster Moon Mystery Book 1
Author: BBH McChiller
Published: 9-30-2016
Publisher: Craggy Coves Press
Pages: 188
Genre: Children's Fiction
Sub Genre: SciFi & Fantasy; Paranormal; Horror; Magic
ISBN: 13: 9780615855479
ASIN: B005ML9T0O
Reviewer: DelAnne
Reviewed For: NetGalley
Rating: 4.5 Stars
I received a copy of "Curse at Zala Manor" from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.
Description from the Publisher:
Description from the Publishers:
It's almost Halloween, and twelve-year-old AJ Zantony's world is threatened by an ancient curse that releases wicked pirates who had been trapped for centuries in his Aunt Zsofia's creepy mansion, Zala Manor. The pirates--a vampire count, a pegleg skeleton, and a zombie--have three goals: to find a lost treasure, unleash the restless dead from their graves, and to settle a very old score by destroying the Zantony bloodline. AJ has to stop them before midnight during Aunt Zsofia's annual Halloween party. Except he has a big problem--monster phobia! He's scared to death of monsters. But if he doesn't act fast, the streets of Craggy Cove will be crawling with zombies. Will AJ overcome his fear and stop the monsters or bail out? Will Craggy Cove become Zombie Central? Who will be alive when midnight tolls?
My review of "Curse at Zala Manor"
Do you enjoy reading a book that can send chills up your spine, but doesn't gross you out with lots of gory details? With a well planned plot and bold adventurous characters, "Curse of Zala Manor" more than fits the bill. Moving at a fast pace this story holds the interest of the reader from beginning to the very end. My rating is 4.5 out of 5 stars.
Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005ML9T0O/...
Barnes and Noble link: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/curse...
GoodReads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7...
The Reading Room link: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.ph...
Author: BBH McChiller
Published: 9-30-2016
Publisher: Craggy Coves Press
Pages: 188
Genre: Children's Fiction
Sub Genre: SciFi & Fantasy; Paranormal; Horror; Magic
ISBN: 13: 9780615855479
ASIN: B005ML9T0O
Reviewer: DelAnne
Reviewed For: NetGalley
Rating: 4.5 Stars
I received a copy of "Curse at Zala Manor" from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.
Description from the Publisher:
Description from the Publishers:
It's almost Halloween, and twelve-year-old AJ Zantony's world is threatened by an ancient curse that releases wicked pirates who had been trapped for centuries in his Aunt Zsofia's creepy mansion, Zala Manor. The pirates--a vampire count, a pegleg skeleton, and a zombie--have three goals: to find a lost treasure, unleash the restless dead from their graves, and to settle a very old score by destroying the Zantony bloodline. AJ has to stop them before midnight during Aunt Zsofia's annual Halloween party. Except he has a big problem--monster phobia! He's scared to death of monsters. But if he doesn't act fast, the streets of Craggy Cove will be crawling with zombies. Will AJ overcome his fear and stop the monsters or bail out? Will Craggy Cove become Zombie Central? Who will be alive when midnight tolls?
My review of "Curse at Zala Manor"
Do you enjoy reading a book that can send chills up your spine, but doesn't gross you out with lots of gory details? With a well planned plot and bold adventurous characters, "Curse of Zala Manor" more than fits the bill. Moving at a fast pace this story holds the interest of the reader from beginning to the very end. My rating is 4.5 out of 5 stars.
Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005ML9T0O/...
Barnes and Noble link: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/curse...
GoodReads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7...
The Reading Room link: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.ph...
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October 2, 2020My son read this book and gave it a high thumbs up. His review was that it was one of the best books he had ever read and it deserved five stars. He told me to hurry up and get the next book. When I asked him to describe it for me he said, "fantastic, amazing, fun, mysterious, and compelling." Although it's not among the AR books, ultimately it is about getting kids to read, so his teacher was willing to give my boy credit for reading this book anyway. Upon completion he had a choice of writing a one page summary or taking an author generated test based on the book. Because he was so absorbed by the story he got every question right. That's saying a lot for a kid whom I have to push to get interested in a book. I would recommend this book in a heartbeat.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews