Soothing rhythm and rhyme for anyone who dreads bedtime.
All week long, a child imagines different scenarios to explain eerie nocturnal sounds coming from the bedroom walls.
“Each night I hear noises—and I don’t mean Dad’s snores. My imagination takes flight, and quickly it soars.” On Sunday, a “BOOM! BASH! BAM!” is surely the result of a “donkey kicking a pan!” On Monday, the youngster hears a “SLITHER! SCRAPE! SCRATCH!” But don’t worry; it’s just a “snake, and it’s lighting a match!” Walton’s painterly artwork initially sets an eerie tone; the tale opens on a bedroom dominated by blue, the sole contrast coming from beneath the coverlet: the young narrator’s pale face, red hair, and round white eyeballs. But the child’s fantasies are entirely goofy: The donkey sports a mustache and a chef’s cap; the bowtie-clad serpent lights a candle while gazing at a plate of spaghetti. Finally, at breakfast on Saturday, the child opens up about the strange sounds. The rest of the family begins hearing them, too, and after Dad and the protagonist investigate, they find the true culprit, bringing the tale to a satisfying conclusion. Walton’s chipper text will have kids happily anticipating the refrain (“What’s that in the wall?”). Alternating fearful moments with sillier ones, Walton acknowledges that nighttime can be unnerving for youngsters while encouraging them to face their anxieties head-on.
Soothing rhythm and rhyme for anyone who dreads bedtime. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: July 14, 2026
ISBN: 9798890632432
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Clavis
Review Posted Online: April 20, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2026
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.
A ghost longs to be scary, but none of the creepy personas she tries on fit.
Misty, a feline ghost with big green eyes and long whiskers, wants to be the frightening presence that her haunted house calls for, but sadly, she’s “too cute to be spooky.” She dons toilet paper to resemble a mummy, attempts to fly on a broom like a witch, and howls at the moon like a werewolf. Nothing works. She heads to a Halloween party dressed reluctantly as herself. When she arrives, her friends’ joyful screams reassure her that she’s great just as she is. Sadler’s message, though a familiar one, is delivered effectively in a charming, ghostly package. Misty truly is too precious to be frightening. Laberis depicts an endearingly spooky, all-animal cast—a frog witch, for instance, and a crocodilian mummy. Misty’s sidekick, a cheery little bat who lends support throughout, might be even more adorable than she is. Though Misty’s haunted house is filled with cobwebs and surrounded by jagged, leafless trees, the charming characters keep things from ever getting too frightening. The images will encourage lingering looks. Clearly, there’s plenty that makes Misty special just as she is—a takeaway that adults sharing the book with their little ones should be sure to drive home.
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2024
ISBN: 9780593702901
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A top-grade creepy/funny addition to the spooky-picture-book canon.
Is a cute kitty built in a castle’s laboratory responsible for the bad things that start happening?
“Here is a tale to chill the blood and thrill the soul—a tale of spooky paws and eerie claws.” The disembodied talking skull who narrates this story is alluding to Frankenkitty, who was engineered out of multiple cats, with visible stitches to show for it. As the house ghouls look on, Frankenkitty’s inventor laments, “I’ve created a monster!” Sure enough, bad things start happening: The mummy begins to unravel. Kitchen mice terrorize the cook. Certainly, Frankenkitty must be to blame. But after the butler, who resembles Frankenstein’s Monster, tosses Frankenkitty outside into the snow, where he looks forlorn and adorable, the skull has second thoughts: “Wait! Did we get it wrong?” It’s up to readers to make the call. Powell-Tuck goes all in with her spoof of old-time horror tropes, although kids needn’t know who Boris Karloff is to be tickled. For the book’s every scare (a severed foot and hand, their bones visible), there’s a wink (in a bit of metafictive fun, the skull urges readers to opt for a story about “unicorns, beasts, or bears”). Grey, a glutton for detail, leans on menacing reds and sickly greens to capture the frights, which include, in a line for the spooky-story ages, “walls as gray as old underpants.” Human characters vary in skin tone.
A top-grade creepy/funny addition to the spooky-picture-book canon. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: July 7, 2026
ISBN: 9781664300972
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: March 23, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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