The Creepy Case Files of Margo Maloo: The Tangled Web (The Creepy Case Files of Margo Maloo, 3)

About the Author\nDrew Weing lives in Athens, GA with his wife, cartoonist Eleanor Davis, and too many cats. He makes comics for print and online, among which are the nautical graphic novel Set to Sea, the infinite canvas webcomic Pup, and the early reader comic Flop to the Top, which he co-authored with his wife.\nIn the third volume of this beloved graphic novel series The Creepy Case Files of Margo Maloo: The Tangled Web, Drew Weing delivers a fresh and funny take on the age-old battle between kids and closet-dwelling monsters.\nAs the assistant to Margo Maloo, Charles has gone on assignment in some pretty interesting locations. He's been to a vampire's lair, an ogre's den, and even a monster grocery store! But he's never been to the Downside, Echo City's underground monster metropolis that is super mysterious and DEFINITELY off-limits to kids. But a settlement of giant spiders is about to be dynamited by unwitting construction workers―and, coincidentally, one of those giant spiders "accidentally" bites Charles. His cure and the spiders' salvation lie in the Downside―if Charles and Margo can make it in time.\nFrom School Library Journal\nGr 3–6—The members of S.M.O.K.E. (Secret Monster Organization for Kids Everywhere) continue to investigate monsters and blog about their findings, so that other kids know what to do if they run into one. Charles, who is white, and Kevin, who is Black, have a reluctant expert ally in Margo Maloo, who is brown. Her investigation into underground monster society reveals the dangers of a human construction project that could harm and displace many monsters, especially a spider colony. The three main characters are spunky and adventurous, while Charles's parents are trusting and supportive. A scene with Margo's loving uncle provides some tantalizing, though cryptic, backstory about her Indian roots. Weing continues to take full advantage of the wide-page format, filling each one with exciting angles, brilliantly detailed highlights, and broad establishing shots that cluster the remaining panels alongside or beneath them. VERDICT Monsters and monster enthusiasts alike will adore reading about the latest adventures of Margo and her friends.—Thomas Maluck, Richland Lib., SC