An entertaining and accessible start to a spooky-funny early-reader series.
The creators of the Goosebumps and Arthur books launch a new series centered on a certifiably nonthreatening monster duo.
Winks, who resembles an amber-colored plushie with horns, is just trying to build a block tower when his bigger and wilier friend Tiddly, who looks like a green Muppet with the reddish hairstyle of a punk rocker, jumps out and yells “BOOO!” Winks’ blocks go tumbling. It’s the first of Tiddly’s efforts to “teach” Winks how not to be scared: “You will get it sooner or later, Winks.” They go outside, where it’s Tiddly who proves to be the scaredy-cat: “Oh no! A SPIDER?” he yelps. “Run for your life, Winks!” Once the terrified Tiddly has fled, readers learn that the spider is actually Winks’ pet, Slippy, and that Slippy and Winks had joined forces to teach Tiddly a lesson of their own. Stine and Brown’s book is fueled by personality dynamics more interesting than what’s typically found in early-reader fare: Tiddly is like a domineering older sibling who’s not so tough on the inside, whereas Winks, stuck in the subordinate role, ends up turning the tables by using his wits. As in his Arthur books, illustrator Brown keeps things congenial, presenting monsters who may have snaggleteeth and unkempt fur but are clearly pussycats underneath.
An entertaining and accessible start to a spooky-funny early-reader series. (Early reader. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2026
ISBN: 9780063482951
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: June 1, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 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
Chilling in the best ways.
When a young rabbit who’s struggling in school finds a helpful crayon, everything is suddenly perfect—until it isn’t.
Jasper is flunking everything except art and is desperate for help when he finds the crayon. “Purple. Pointy…perfect”—and alive. When Jasper watches TV instead of studying, he misspells every word on his spelling test, but the crayon seems to know the answers, and when he uses the crayon to write, he can spell them all. When he faces a math quiz after skipping his homework, the crayon aces it for him. Jasper is only a little creeped out until the crayon changes his art—the one area where Jasper excels—into something better. As guilt-ridden Jasper receives accolade after accolade for grades and work that aren’t his, the crayon becomes more and more possessive of Jasper’s attention and affection, and it is only when Jasper cannot take it anymore that he discovers just what he’s gotten himself into. Reynolds’ text might as well be a Rod Serling monologue for its perfectly paced foreboding and unsettling tension, both gentled by lightly ominous humor. Brown goes all in to match with a grayscale palette for everything but the purple crayon—a callback to black-and-white sci-fi thrillers as much as a visual cue for nascent horror readers. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Chilling in the best ways. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 23, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5344-6588-6
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 24, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2022
PERSPECTIVES
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