MONSTERS IN THE MOONLIGHT

On the Persian holiday known as Yalda Night, two naughty divs try to live up to their monstrous reputations by ruining a family’s celebration.

In a shadowy cave with spiders and bones, Mother Div explains to young Choori and Shooli that “all divs are born to make the winter solstice as dark and cold as can be.” Though they’re monsters, the divs look cuddly, with plump bodies and fluffy violet hair. Even the scenery is full of round shapes and cozy light; as the night’s snow falls, it piles atop picture-perfect evergreens like soft-serve ice cream. After the pair venture out, a rosy-cheeked grandmother beckons them into her luminous home, where they proceed to “STOMP, STEAL, and RIP APART”—to “DESTROY THEIR YALDA NIGHT!” To the divs’ great frustration, however, the family cheerfully agrees to eat apples when the divs demolish their watermelons, to recite poetry from memory when the divs rip up their poetry book, and to sit around the fire after the divs break their heater. Finally, Choori and Shooli prepare to head home in defeat, only for the grandmother to console them. They decide that the family’s celebration is “actually…kind of nice” and join the merriment. “Every year, some divs try to ruin Yalda Night’s celebrations, but there will always be many who will protect it,” Merabian concludes. Her gentle tale balances moments of mischief with good cheer, making for an enchanting holiday tale.

Warmhearted.