The most, and best, (pop-up) haunted house in decades.
Fond of house tours? Considering what lurks behind every door, drawer, and flap, here’s the Airbnb from, literally, hell.
“Oh, and one piece of advice,” purrs the partly human guide waiting at the door, “don’t touch a thing.” Viewers valiant (or unwise) enough to ignore that warning are in for a rare screamfest, as every subsequent, dimly lit room is scattered with flaps and pull-tabs that invariably reveal arrays of leering ghosts, hideous monsters, skeletons, imps, or shelves filled with bottles of poison or other portents of doom. Not to mention the raging fire glaring from the pop-up fireplace, the load of disgusting glop sucked into a monstrous mouth, the glutinous thing rising from the bathtub…and so much more. Perrin adds bits of all-too-suggestive patter (“Our cook has been sharpening her knives. You know, some people would kill for a morsel of her tasty creations!”) and lovingly embellishes walls and floors with eerie detail. Unfolding a huge pair of hairy arms reveals a climactic view of assembled boojums beneath an “Abandon hope all who enter here” banner—just the thing to send the never-seen visitor scurrying (“Wait! Where are you going?”)…and probably coming back around to the front for a repeat visit. Not since Jan Pienkowski’s Haunted House (1979) has a pop-up treatment of the theme been so satisfying.
The most, and best, (pop-up) haunted house in decades. (Pop-up picture book. 6-9)Pub Date: April 7, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-776572-74-8
Page Count: 10
Publisher: Gecko Press
Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2020
Fiber artists beware! Unnerving artistry and reality TV mix and meld in this fantastic cautionary tale.
Obsession claims an unlikely victim when a young mole gives absolutely everything for a chance at glitz and glory.
Nine-year-old Winona Mole is passionate about crocheting. Her favorite television program is an Is It Cake?–like show called Yarn Is Everything!, in which contestants create realistic replicas of objects through stitch alone. After a trip to a woolen arts museum, Winona sees the mysterious Spirit Hook, rumored to bestow powers “upon those willing to pay the price.” Later, Winona finds a seeming replica of that same crochet hook in her bag. Suddenly, her skills accelerate fantastically. Yet when she gets a chance to compete on Yarn Is Everything!, what starts as a passion turns into something darker. Reynolds walks that thin line between kid-appropriate and chilling with an aplomb worthy of his Twilight Zone influences. Winona’s descent into unhealthy fixation is matched by Brown’s telltale yarn fragments, trailing eerily from objects that should not be yarn-based. Crafters may find it odd that Reynolds opted for crocheting, not the more common knitting, as Winona’s métier. Even so, this lends the usual homey arts an effective creepiness, even as the increasing ridiculousness of the crocheted objects makes it sublimely silly as well.
Fiber artists beware! Unnerving artistry and reality TV mix and meld in this fantastic cautionary tale. (Chapter book. 6-9)Pub Date: July 14, 2026
ISBN: 9781665961141
Page Count: 104
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 4, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2026
Disconcerting and possibly deadly dealings are afoot; certain to charm younger fans of the macabre.
In the latest installment of the delightfully disturbing chapter-book series, the mundane once more takes on supernatural qualities, this time in the form of veggies.
With this follow-up to Troubling Tonsils! (2025), our host, Jasper Rabbit, once more channels Twilight Zone creator Rod Serling. As Jasper narrates, we meet our heroes: fourth graders Thaddeus Badger and Oliver Possum, who love nothing more than eating junk food, particularly the hamburgers at Hurt-A-Burger (a mildly brilliant corporate name on the author’s part). When Oliver’s parents trick the two into a dinner of salads at their favorite fast-food joint, Thaddeus feels betrayed, but Oliver experiences something a little more dire. Soon after, Oliver starts acting strangely, and his parents begin behaving even more oddly. What’s going on? And does it have anything to do with the full moon? Tone is the true star of the show in this series; the mystery unspools thanks to the buildup of unnerving moments. Reynolds combines suspense with a keen ability to artistically frame both sunny innocent sequences and those rich with dark foreboding. Notably, this is no morality tale about eating your vegetables—this tale is fully on the side of its child readers. Brown’s black-and-white images, punctuated with eerie pops of green, heighten both horrifying and comedic moments.
Disconcerting and possibly deadly dealings are afoot; certain to charm younger fans of the macabre. (Chapter book. 6-9)Pub Date: Feb. 3, 2026
ISBN: 9781665961110
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2025
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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