SQUASHED

Two siblings experience spooky consequences after taking a strange pumpkin home from the woods in this text-light, Halloween-themed graphic novel for middle-grade readers.

A young girl is playing Poohsticks on a bridge when her older sibling and their friend steal her teddy bear out of her backpack. She chases the pair into the nearby woods, where they encounter an odd trio of scarecrows. The sibling then discovers a pumpkin that shakes, is covered in goo, and is warm to the touch. The friend leaves, deciding that the situation’s too weird, but the siblings decide to take the pumpkin home. Teddy bear forgotten, the two siblings lug the pumpkin back to their house and find a warm spot for it atop the clothes dryer. Halloween is the next day, and at midnight, something magical happens in the woods; one of the scarecrows comes alive, realizes that the pumpkin is missing, sees the teddy bear, and tracks the children to their home. Illustrator Meaghan Tosi amps up the scares in this section; although the scarecrow won’t be too creepy for middle graders, the images of its angry eyes and clenched fists ratchet up the tension as its inevitable meeting with the children approaches. The result, however, is unexpected, with a sweet plot twist that’s reminiscent of other monster-subverting tales, such as Jorge Aguirre and Rafael Rosado’s Giants Beware (2012). The illustrator uses a subdued color palette to effectively communicate the different seasons (and, later, the spooky Halloween night). The story was originally the basis of a film written by author Thomas Tosi, and it translates beautifully to paneled storytelling; the illustrations capture the pacing perfectly, creating consistent suspense. The limited text requires readers to follow the art to understand the story, but Meaghan's clear, straightforward panel work flows cleanly across the pages. The simple vocabulary and brief dialogue exchanges make it accessible in a way that denser comics aren’t, making it a good selection for reluctant readers who like eerie adventures.

A shiveringly good tale for ghost-story enthusiasts who like happy endings.