TW: bullying, pardoning bullying, bad parents, accurate portrayal of teachers who don't listen, other stuff.

This is the first book in the Magic Shop series, of which Mr Elives is the mysterious proprietor. His shop sells exceedingly magical supplies, and the books are about the children he sells to for whatever they have in their pocket at the time. It's always because they need it. The second book in the series, "Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher" is my favorite, and is wildly different than the others in terms of quality, depth, and tone. The third book was when I stopped reading. This first book...is a good introduction to the -series- typical quality, depth, tone and worldbuilding. The illustrations are always marvelous. All the books can be read as standalones. They don't foreshadow or refer to one another in any way. The only exception is the two rats that show up in every one except "Dragon Hatcher." I keep emphasizing the differences because they're so blatant. "Dragon Hatcher" has the same worldbuilding, shop proprietor, illustrations and...that's it. Back to this one.

When I was a kid, I was blown away by this. I wanted a ring that would turn me into a mermaid or fierce faery. Dragons weren't so interesting to me to turn into, and I thought Russell had turned into a dragon. He doesn't; he's a winged, scaly beast though. With horns and no fire-breathing. So, that established, onward. This is...a weak book on its own, but -incredibly- when compared to "Dragon Hatcher." This book is about bullying, teachers who won't listen, and parents who are the awful balance of helicopter (the mom in this case) and absent (the dad who cannot shut up and does not care if anyone is listening, to kind of an extreme in this story). I do not engage with stories that have these elements. This one did, but I'd wanted to reread it as an adult. I remembered most of the book and was surprised by that. I was surprised at how underwhelmed I was, and so surprised at how much I'd hoped this would be on the level of "Dragon Hatcher." "Dragon Hatcher" is about friendship and the "if you love them, let them go"; and this...is "save your bully from big bullies." The ending made sense, was interesting, and also a little weird. I do hope people write fanfiction about it so I can examine the ending further; I don't have it in me and I write for a different fandom.

I am glad I got to reread this and realize how my opinions and expectations had changed. I'm glad for the Mr Elives Magic Shop series. Hopefully others will get more out of this particular book than I did. ( )

I love this series and found it interesting how this book looked at aggression in kids without getting dark about it. The protagonist isnt a bad person deep down or whatever he is just a frustrated and scared kid and expressing his feelings through an old fashioned Halloween rampage.

A note for this and all the books in this series; do yourself a favor and get the audiobook. Its worth it for the full cast narration. ( )

This is great fun, though not the best of the Magic Shop books. Still a good read. ( )

Reviewed by Sarah Bean the Green Bean Teen Queen for TeensReadToo.com

Poor Russell Crannaker is being bullied. He's being bullied at school by Eddie, and he feels bullied by his parents when he can't seem to get a word in at home.

When Russell is running away from Eddie one afternoon, he stumbles upon a mysterious shop: Mr. Elives magic shop. It's here that he finds the monster's ring. The ring Russell has just purchased is more than a ring -it can transform Russell into a monster. Russell loves monsters, so he enjoys becoming one with the turn of his ring. Plus, Halloween is coming up and transforming himself into a monster would be the best costume ever.

But being a monster is dangerous, and when Russell dares to turn the ring and transform into a monster again and again, he gets much more than fur and horns!

I have been a big fan of Bruce Coville since I was a child, so I was excited to see this series re-released. This book is the first in the MAGIC SHOP books and is the perfect treat for a funny, spooky read. The story was short, but it had just the right amount of humor and mystery. At the end, the book included a note from the author in which he mentioned he wrote THE MONSTER'S RING so he would have a great Halloween read.

I agree - this is the perfect Halloween, or anytime, read! ( )

This book is about a boy named Russel that gets bullied all the time.But one day he found a magic store and bought a ring that can tranform into a monster. It was close to Halloween in the middle of a school year when the boy finally decide to use the and ring and get his revenge.but then he gets a monster attitude.After using the ring too much,he stays being a monster,but at the end the magic store manager helps and turned him back,but Russel was a monster every full moon.He never used the ring afterwards.I recommend this book for people that like monsters, magic and fantasy. ( )