My son and I just got finished reading this. He's in kindergarten and is thrilled to be reading "chapter books".

My daughter introduced me to Selznick’s work and I hope it never goes out of print! His illustrations and story line are fantastic. Evaluating it against character education guidelines was simple http://www.litland.com/reviews_9-12/b... This title should sound familiar to parents belonging to the Baby Boomer and Generation X eras. Younger parents may recognize it as well, particularly anyone with a love of classic film. It is a take-off of the name given to the famous actor, Lon Chaney, who was

Read with my granddaughter Aniyah. We will read The Houdini Box next in preparation for the journey into The Invention of Hugo Cabret. This was a great story. Beautiful illustrations and a fine tale to go with them. Aniyah loved it.

Fun and Fantastic. You can see the genius of Brian Selznick. A great little mystery with some creepy. A fun little story and again, like Hugo Cabret, he is going into the movie history of the great horror movies of Old Hollywood. Lon Chaney and Wolfman are in the book. It makes me wish he had made this a much longer, involved book. it was a lot of fun set around Halloween. It was also a lovely twist at the end I didn't see coming which is a feat for a children's book. A must read for any Brian S...

A delightful, heartwarming and nostalgic little story, with beautiful illustrations and words. A short but rich book that made me remember the wonders of childhood and the magic and love I once had for horror cinema. Made me weep like hell.

And to think I never knew Brian Selznick wrote a book about me. If only it were longer!

Author/illustrator Brian Selznick can do no wrong. I'll keep this title in mind as a library recommendation for reluctant readers; especially young boys with active imaginations and a healthy interest in monsters, both real and imagined. What other children's book has a full-page photo of Lon Chaney's Phantom of the Opera and the most famous (if questionable) Bigfoot and Loch Ness Monster photos? Unlike a lot of children's book makers, Selznick believes in the intelligence of his audience.

This book is about a boy who doesn't have a lot of friends.One day he takes a picture of himself in a costume and sends it to a tv show.Then everyone would talk about this scary picture of a beast.The boy wonders what the picture shows.When he saw the picture it surprised him.This book can be for people who never realy was popular but one day was.

Excellent! Sort of spooky, but not too much. And after we read this, the kids did movie make up for us

Alonzo King wants nothing more than to be the Boy of a Thousand Faces. He loves to watch old black-and-white horror movies featuring Lon Chaney, an actor who was called the Man of a Thousand Faces because in every movie he was dressed up to look scary in a completely different way. Alonzo tries to create his own one thousand scary looks with props and makeup, but he's only come up with 23 so far. Meanwhile, a rumor has spread that there's a Beast terrorizing the town, and Alonzo finds himself th...

I found this rather lame and it didn't have a very good plot.The illustrations are wonderful, but creepy. Not the monster illustrations, but the illustrations of humans - specifically the face of Mr. Blake. It gives me the heebie-jeebies. It's just the smiling face of an older man, but for some reason I shiver every time I see it. Not pleasant.And the story doesn't make any sense. Nor is it particularly compelling.Alonzo is a boy who loves monster movies. He was born on Halloween. He wants to be...

Alonzo King loves monsters, horror films, and disguises. It could be because Alonzo was born on Halloween or it could simply be that he likes spooky things. He avidly watches Monsters at Midnight on channel 37- a T. V. show hosted by Mr. Shadows and featuring all of the best old-time horror movies. Alonzo’s favorite is Phantom of the Opera with Lon Chaney- “The Man with a Thousand Faces.” Inspired by Chaney’s career, Alonzo hopes to be called “The Boy with a Thousand Faces” one day. So far, he’s...

This would have creeped me out a ton when I was a kid. It has an "if Stephen King wrote a book for elementary schoolers" kind of feel. The ode to old monster movies is a cool vibe.

Author / Illustrator: Brian SelznickFirst published: 2000I was wary that this would be a scary book, but it is typical of Selznick's other works - taking real world people and events and twisting them into a fantasy from a child protagonist's pov. In this case, Selznick takes horror movies and actors and allows 10yo Alfonso to embrace them. The joys and fears of believing in the unknown is beautifully expressed through Selznick's wonderful pencil drawings and engaging narrative. The illustration...

SUCH a cool book. It's a little book, one to read at bedtime. Just the right amount of mystery and monsters to make it intriguing, but not nightmare inducing for the 4 year old. Alonzo King loves old monster movies. He wants to be like Lon Cheney and have a thousand disguises. He writes a letter to Mr. Shadows, the host of his favorite monster movie program. Then a Beast comes to town and everyone is talking about it. Alonzo and his neighbor and friend solve the mystery of the Beast and the id

This was the first book by Selznick I found and could not recommend it highly enough, or often enough, to kids at my library! It was loved to death quite frequently! Story and illustrations were fabulous!

I love how brilliantly creative Brian Selznick is. The Boy of a Thousand Faces is an early reader "Horror" or "Thriller" story. I personally don't read a lot of horror, so I don't have much to compare it to. But, I did think it was brilliant. Alonzo King was born on Halloween and LOVES monsters. He reads books, watches movies, and listens to radio dramas. He even takes photos of himself dressed in horror makeup. Alonzo wants to have 1,000 photos of himself in this makeup, just like Lon Chaney (t...

We bought this book in 2003, when Brian Selznik came to the Reading Reptile bookstore to give a talk. The owners of the store, as is usual with their high quality business, put on a little play beforehand that had to do with monsters. So, we got, not only the opportunity to meet such a wonderful writer and illustrator, but also to see an original and scary play.After the play, Mr. Selznick talked about how he come to be a writer and how he took his time doing the illustrations on his books. Not

Like his other books, The Boy of a Thousand Faces is about a boy who is obsessed with the supernatural. This boy in particular wants to be a young Lon Chaney, The Man of a Thousand Faces. Charming as this story is, I did wish for a little bit more substance to the story. But alas, it is a kid's book, and it was actually fun to suspend my disbelief and enjoy the ride. As with any of Selznick's books, the real joy is in experiencing his awesome illustrations that tell the story that the words leav...

Quirky story about a boy who loves monster movies and has a goal to create a thousand different monster faces. Each time he finished transforming himself with paint, makeup and tape; he takes a picture of himself and puts it in a special notebook.Will he be able to reach his goal? What secrets are Mr. Blake the local postman hiding? What happens when one of his monsters, The Beast, starts appearing for real?Find the answers to these and more in the last book written and illustrated by Brian Selz...