Sure to inspire future slayers to take on the monsters in their closets (thankfully readers’ monsters won’t be real).
Even future vampire slayers can be afraid of the dark.
Eight-year-old Buffy is afraid of sounds coming from her closet at night. She invites her friends Willow and Xander to sleep over. They have a great night—but can’t bring themselves to open the door to the noisy closet. They ask school librarian Giles for help, and he tells Buffy that someday she’ll be a great warrior; for now, if she acts bravely, the monsters will be scared. Xander and Willow stay over again, and the trio find a closet full of smiling monsters (that every fan of Buffy’s TV show will recognize, although none of them are likely in this book’s target audience). Buffy attacks, and the monsters are cowed…and join the party—until Mom comes in. Though Buffy couldn’t have been friends with Xander and Willow at 8 according to the extensive mythos of the series/movie/comics (she moved to Sunnydale in high school) and turning some of the horrifically violent monsters into doe-eyed, glorified teddy bears is kinda creepy, Rekulak’s newest nostalgia-inspired picture book has fantastic comic-style, action-filled, colorful art by Smith and a fine (but not preachy) lesson that even rockin’ (female) heroes can be afraid sometimes. Caregiver fans will enjoy sharing their obsession with a new generation, who will enjoy reassurances that the monsters in the closet aren’t a threat. Buffy and Co. all present white, but they have some diverse classmates.
Sure to inspire future slayers to take on the monsters in their closets (thankfully readers’ monsters won’t be real). (Picture book. 4-9)Pub Date: Sept. 4, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-68369-069-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Quirk Books
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2018
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
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
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