I DARE YOU!

A furry spider, a snake with a sticky tongue, and other tactile bugaboos are only preludes to a glimpse of…the scariest monster of all!

Sporting bulbous bodies and—even the shark—fairly blunt teeth, the critters that Maubert dares diapered literati to touch or, in the case of the witch with slick plastic warts, kiss (bleh) are at worst more yucky than frightening. If even the creature lurking beneath the fuzzy blanket and the wolf with pop-up jaws snapping shut fail to terrify, one last turn of a heavy-duty page reveals a reflective square that puts some of the previous monsters, at least, to flight. Although the jocular “Don’t forget to say hello to the ghosts in your room!” partway through may plant notions better left unsown, for the most part, the terror will be more feigned than real, so the outing will have more appeal for young and/or sensitive souls than eerier touchy-feelies such as Steve Cox’s Is That You, Wolf? (2012).

Light on the frissons and, except for the pop-up, durable enough to survive repeated darefests.