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Posted on October 31, 2015

The Dark Art of Halloween (updated for 2015)

October is but a mere few hours away from November’s hostile takeover and I’ve yet to post reviews of new Halloween books for 2015, mostly because I have only one. I’m sure there are more, but I’ve been bereft in my picture book trolling. Nevertheless, Leo: A Ghost Story is a gooder and I am happy to add it to my list of BOOtiful Halloween confections. And so, I bring you my annual celebration of the macabre, the creepy, and the deliciously twisted in children’s literature. Yes, this is a re-hash of previous Halloween posts and ghosts of Halloween’s past (CLICK on the links for longer reviews):

“Gary, I’m scared!”

This rather amusing statement initiates a series of events in Leo: a Ghost Story (Mac Barnett and Christian Robinson/Chronicle Books) resulting in a young ghost-boy leaving his home and venturing far afield in search of a more welcoming abode. Young Leo is self-entertaining house ghost occupying an old dwelling on the edge of the city. When a new family moves in, his friendly overtures are less than well received. The family calls in a scientist, a clergyman and a psychic to de-ghostify the house, which Leo believes is a waste of money. He knows he is unwanted.

“I have been a house ghost all my life. Maybe I would like being a roaming ghost for a while.”

Leo says farewell to his home and ventures into the city. Judging by his Little Lord Fauntleroy attire, he is about a hundred years old, and the city looks very different to him. He is quickly lost in the bustling urban setting. The first person to ‘see’ Leo is a little girl named Jane, who invites him to play Knights of the Round Table. Jane takes Leo home, where both the girl and her parents assume he is imaginary. When Jane discovers he is a ghost, she’s pretty cool with it. In fact, she’s a pretty cool girl. Her games are imaginative and inclusive, and it’s wonderful to see her calmly accept Leo for who he is – a ghost in need of a friend.

I am familiar with Mac Barnett of Sam and Dave Dig a Hole fame but had not heard of Christian Robinson until his name started popping up on the internet in gleeful anticipation of Leo: a Ghost Story. A previous winner of the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor for Josephine: the Dazzling Life of Josephine Baker, Robinson’s newest book retains the old-timey simplicity of form but introduces a minimalist and much bluer palette. The San Francisco-based artist uses acrylic paint and cut out construction paper to create his humourous and playful illustrations. Leo is a blue outline, but no less substantial than the rest of the characters – just a little more see-through. The use of varying shades of blue is a nice way to bring diversity to the page without being overt. Leo: a Ghost Story is also beautiful. The colours, though limited to blue, black, and orange (on the cover), are stark and chilly. A little haunted, but invitingly so. I’m with Jane on this one – I would share mint tea and honey toast anytime with Leo.

My only quibble – the title. Personally, I would have gone with Gary I’m Scared, or I See Blue People

Published in 2014, the truly scary WHAT THERE IS BEFORE THERE IS ANYTHING THERE by the Argentine cartoonist Liniers. This beautifully illustrated book is wildly funny, and surprisingly disturbing. As a former scaredy-cat kid, I can relate to the lad’s nightmarish visitations when the lights go out. Liniers balances humour with creeptastic (and yet somehow affable) creatures that do nothing but stare at the boy – until the thing that is there before there is anything there arrives. Yikes!

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Posted on October 29, 2014

The Dark Art of Halloween (updated for 2014)

UPDATED for 2014: Beautiful, chilly, fattening October. Here again, and happily so. Along with the usual waterfall of dead leaves, fun-sized chocolate bars by the bagful, and if the drop in temperature is any indication, snow, I bring you my annual celebration of Halloween books. Yes, this is a re-hash of previous Halloween posts, but for this year~a few gorgeously ghoulish additions for your reading and visual pleasure, along with the ghosts of Halloween’s past (click on the links for longer reviews.)

New For 2014, the truly scary WHAT THERE IS BEFORE THERE IS ANYTHING THERE by the Argentine cartoonist Liniers. This beautifully illustrated book is wildly funny, and surprisingly disturbing. As a former scaredy-cat kid, I can relate to the boys’ nightmarish visitations when the lights go out. Liniers balances humour with creeptastic (and yet somehow affable) creatures that do nothing but stare at the boy – until the thing that is there before there is anything there arrives. Yikes!

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Posted on October 28, 2014

What There Is Before There Is Anything There

I spent most of my childhood scared stiff. As the youngest in a family of seven (five kids), I was first to bed. There were no bedtime stories. I don’t recall being tucked in. It was ‘get to bed’ and that was it. Light on in the hallway. Door open. Once I was under the covers, I did not move a muscle or shift a single finger, for fear that I would disturb whatever or whomever was lurking in the shadows. It didn’t help that I would often smell fried baloney in the downstairs kitchen, as if the party started once I went to bed. Otherwise innocuous early 70s television theme songs like Mission Impossible wafting up the stairs deepened my anxiety, becoming synonymous with my banishment. Forty years later I no longer remember what I was afraid of, just a vague recall of the anguish bedtime represented.

What There is Before There is Anything There, the newly translated book by the Argentine cartoonist Liniers, is a perfect reflection of that nameless fear. The boy in this story, like every similarly afflicted kid, knows that once the lights are turned out and ‘the ceiling disappears’, the dark is not empty. Indeed, as he lay in bed, the first in a series of strange little creatures descends from above – on an umbrella. It stands at the foot of his bed, staring and silent, and yet its lips are pursed, as if whistling. One by one, the rest of the creatures appear, surrounding the boy’s bed. None of these ghouls are particularly scary, and in fact are rather whimsical, but their wordless vigil is incredibly unnerving. Once all the creatures have gathered, the dark void takes shape, transforming the bedroom into a nightmarish wood. Gorey-esque branches surge toward the child, and a face appears in the murk.

The boy runs to his parents’ bedroom, where he is the recipient of that time-honoured parental admonishment – it’s just your imagination. When you’re a kid, there is no room for subtlety. It’s all real. Unlike so many ‘scary’ kids books, Liniers does not rationalize, dismiss, or even resolve the boy’s fear. It is what it is. Indeed, when the boy is allowed to sleep with his parents ‘for the last time’, the creatures follow him (or at least the little guy with the umbrella) to bed. It is a devilishly mischievous ending, and it made me giggle.

Individually, these nightly visitors are not particularly threatening, and in a less menacing context they could be the boy’s imaginary playmates (with the exception of that, um, bit of weirdness in the dark). Liniers is, after all, a cartoonist, and while the story may be nightmarish, his gorgeous watercolour and pen illustrations (in particular his characterizations of the boy and his bedtime crew) are little gems of wicked humour and expert draftsmanship. What There is Before There is Anything There is a validation of the imaginative mind, regardless of where it leads. As the title suggests, making something out of nothing, literally pulling it out of the darkness, is the very essence of imagination.

Some children (and adults) might think this book too scary, but others will find the boy’s predicament familiar (as I did), and therefore reassuring. Most will appreciate the humour. As Liniers is keenly aware – it’s fun to be scared, and What There is Before There is Anything There is a lot of fun.

Liniers (full name Ricardo Siri Liniers) is an internationally well-known Buenos Aires-based cartoonist, whose daily comic strip Macanudo has run for over ten years in Argentina’s La Nación. His work has appeared in newspapers, books, and magazines, including The New Yorker and Rolling Stone. Liniers’ first North American picture book, The Big Wet Balloon was named a Parents Best Book of the Year. On the dedication page of What There is Before There is Anything There, Liniers states, “…to my parents, who turned out my light and lit up my imagination.” Perhaps, just perhaps, What There is Before There is Anything There is not just a quirky picture book, it is also an autobiographical story of a kid who grew up to be a brilliant artist.

What There is Before There is Anything There by Liniers (translated by Elisa Amado). Published by Groundwood Books, 2014

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Posted on October 22, 2013

Here Be Monsters

The title of Jonathan Emmett and Poly Bernatene’s new book Here Be Monsters is a play on Here Be Dragons, an admonishment printed in the corners of medieval maps to prevent seafaring types from wandering into uncharted territory. Ascribing evil to the unknown is common enough even today, but back then, it seemed reasonable to personify fear as a fire-breathing dragon. We now know these fears were unfounded. There are no dragons, no monsters. Good news if you’re a pirate, and an island of giant gemstones lay concealed in the murky mist of a faraway, uncharted land. Here be monsters, indeed.

Captain Cut-Throat is the ‘meanest mariner to sail the Seven Seas’, guilty of ‘countless crimes of downright dastardliness and despicable dishonesty’, or so the Wanted Dead or Alive poster tells us. The peg-legged, pointy-nosed fox leads a crew of equally unsavoury characters, all of whom are wanted for various crimes, including ‘mean misconduct and monstrous mischief’ (Blue-Bottomed Bart, a mandrill), and ‘reprehensible rudeness and repulsive roguery’ (Quilly Von Squint, a raven), among other alliterative (and hilarious) misdeeds. As befitting a pirate of the highest order, Captain Cut-Throat likes treasure. Loves it in fact, refusing to heed his crew’s misgivings as he sets sail for the mysterious island of gems. Calm seas prevail until the ship enters the mist, where strange noises can be heard. One after the other, the crew plead with the captain, only to be plucked off the ship in spectacular fashion by, in turn, a giant, teeth-baring parrot and a multi-eyed serpent. Thinking his ‘yellow-bellied’ crew have abandoned ship, the captain remains steadfast in his goal, oblivious to what actually transpired on his ship. The bejeweled island emerges out of the mist, and Captain Cut-Throat greedily sets paw and peg on land to claim his reward. And he gets it. Boy, does he get it. These gems don’t just sparkle, they bite.

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Posted on October 01, 2013

Ghosts

October has arrived, wind-swept and leaf-strewn; a seasonal reminder that it’s time to bone up on my ghosts. Like the would-be spectre dragging a ball and chain in Sonia Goldie and illustrator Marc Boutavant’s newly translated book Ghosts, I am poorly educated in the ectoplasmic sciences. No matter, with the help of this extraordinary (and extrasensory) book, I can now distinguish between the winter-loving ghost who lurks behind curtains drawing pictures on frosted window panes, the soot-covered Chimney Ghost, and of course, the oft-maligned Night Ghost. I’ve much to learn, and many preconceptions that barely scratch the surface of this delightful and diverse society of apparitions.

Originally published in 2001 in France, Ghosts is a whimsical introduction to the domestic variety of ghost populating the bedrooms and kitchens of our homes in (apparently) great multitude and variety. Leading the tour is a tiny bear-like ghost named Toasty, and his protege, an old-fashioned fellow from the ‘sheet’ and ‘boo’ era who may or may not be a real ghost. Wishing to dispel the myth that ghosts live only in old castles and haunted houses, Toasty invites his new friend to a party for all the household ghosts, who are introduced one by one. Turns out, we corporeal types are far from alone, and as I’d always suspected, not solely responsible for the mess and mayhem in our homes. There are mischief-makers in our midst.

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Posted on October 21, 2012

The Dark Art of Halloween 2012/13

UPDATED for 2013: Beautiful, chilly, fattening October. Here again, and happily so. Along with the usual waterfall of dead leaves, fun-sized chocolate bars by the bagful, and if the drop in temperature is any indication, snow, I bring you my annual celebration of Halloween books. Yes, this is a re-hash of previous Halloween posts, but for 2012~a few new gorgeously ghoulish additions for your reading and visual pleasure, along with the ghosts of Halloween’s past (click on the links for longer reviews.)

New for 2013 and fresh off the high seas, the wickedly funny HERE BE MONSTERS by the great Argentinian illustrator Poly Bernatene (swashbuckling rhymes by Jonathan Emmett.) Previous conspirators on The Santa Trap, this brilliant twosome have created a pirate tale like no other. Beware of hidden treasure folks, this beautiful and deadly tale of Captain Cut-Throat and his unfortunate crew will leave you laughing (and running for shore.) Arrrrrrr…..

Also new for 2013, the deliciously witty GHOSTS (Sonia Goldie/Marc Boutavant.) Courtesy of a couple of affable spooks, the record is finally set straight with regard to ghosts, specifically house ghosts. Apparently, we’ve been mislead. True ghosts inhabit every corner of our homes, and nary a one would be seen dead (well, you know) in a sheet, or utter a single ‘Boo.’ Boutavant’s gorgeously illustrated book is packed with every type of apparition; library ghosts, television ghosts, and of course, that big fellow who lives under your bed. Supernatural fun.

CREEPY CARROTS (Aaron Reynolds/Peter Brown, 2012)-Absolutely the best and most beautiful book on haunted root vegetables in print. Poor Jasper Rabbit, with his instatiable taste for carrots. Who will believe that he is being stalked and tormented by garden vegetables? Not his friends, not his parents. Jasper is forced to act alone, and his ingenious, and somewhat over the top solution may be the answer to more than one problem.

THE INSOMNIACS (The Brothers Hilts, 2012)-An amazing discovery on the shelves of my local bookstore, The Insomniacs is not so much a Halloween story as an appreciation of all things that go bump in the night. The Insomniacs are a strange little family, recently displaced, who just can’t get their circadian rhythms to play nice, until…they discover the dark secrets of the world at night. Lots of quirky touches, like the star-gazer mother, the upside-down Humpty Dumpty father, and all the odd, nocturnal creatures that populate this unnamed town on the ocean.

The Dead Family Diaz~P.J. Bracegirdle/Poly Bernatene (Dial, 2012)-No Halloween celebration is complete without at least one ghostly visitation from the great beyond, and in this sense, what could be more Halloween than El Día de los Muertos, or the Day of the Dead? Yes, it’s a Mexican festival, it’s celebrated on November 1, and no-one sits in a pumpkin patch waiting for the Great Pumpkin, but in both traditions, skeletons and other assorted dead folk roam the streets in search of a party. In The Dead Family Diaz, young Angelito Diaz is about to walk among the Living for the first time in his life, I mean, death, and he’s a little frightened. The living have ‘big red tongues and bulging eyes,’ his sister teases. Angelito meets a boy (of the living variety) named Pablo, and even though he calls Angelito a popsicle and tries to remove his skeleton ‘mask’, the gruesome twosome strike up a friendship.

The Dead Family Diaz is another stunning example of the genius of Poly Bernatene, the Argentinian artist at the heart of When Night Didn’t Come, The Santa Trap, and 60+ other children’s books. Working digitally, his colours seem newly invented, with an inner luminescence that makes each page glow. In The Dead Family Diaz, the candy-coloured swirl of cars, buildings, skeletons and sombreros mirrors the exuberance of the festival both in real life (or so I understand), and as written by P.J. Bracegirdle. While Bernatene takes us to a darker, stranger place in The Dead Family Diaz, the vividness of his palette remains, as does his ability to turn a visually chaotic scene into a beautifully balanced illustration. This is not to suggest that some of the artwork, especially the close-ups of the skeletal Angelito, are not disturbing; they are, but not overly so. In word and image, The Dead Family Diaz is a celebration.

THE MONSTERS’ MONSTER (Patrick McDonnell, 2012)-A sweet treat for Halloween. Don’t let the presence of Frankenstein fool you, this book is more about gratitude and friendship than terrorizing hapless villagers. As Grouch, Grump and little Doom & Gloom discover, monsters do not always act as planned. From the artist who brought us the cartoon strip Mutts, and the perennial Christmas favourite-The Gift of Nothing, comes a most unusual, and funny tale of a kindly monster in search of…jelly doughnuts.

Scary Poems for Rotten Kids (Sean O’Huigin/Anthony LeBaron)-They don’t make kids books like this anymore, at least not without warning labels. This collection of deliciously creepy poems is trying very hard to scare kids, and according to the friend who brought this book to my attention, it was fantastically successful in this regard. A truly warped sense of humour is behind The Day the Mosquitoes ate Angela Jane, Acid Rain (hello 1982), Bye Bye (about a spider…a really, really big spider), and my particular favourite, The Body-a boneless beast who lives behind the walls and eats the flesh of little kids~

“…so don’t in darkness close the lids upon your eyes or you might find your body’s just ‘the body’s’ kind.”

Hmm. The newer edition of Scary Poems for Rotten Kids has a friendlier cover and interior illustrations that are far less sinister than the original black & white artwork by Anthony LeBaron. Presumably, this is an attempt on the part of the publisher to make O’Huigin’s nightmarish words more palatable to the modern child who is perhaps less rotten and a tad more sensitive than kids 25 years ago. The cartoonish drawings are no match for LeBaron’s ink-stained malevolence. Wonderful.

Jeremy Draws a Monster-Peter McCarty (Henry Holt 2009)-Like The Monsters’ Monster, there is nothing scary about this book, other than McCarty’s genius with a bit of ink and a coloured pencil. His finely detailed illustrations are so exquisite, I find myself staring at them in a (failed) attempt to decipher the secrets of his paintbox. In Jeremy Draws a Monster, an isolated and lonely kid draws himself a blue, horned beast for company. To Jeremy’s frustration, his new buddy is a bit of a nightmare, demanding all sorts of drawings to fufill his escalating list of monster comforts, including sandwiches, hotdogs, a soft chair, and finally, a big pink hat to wear ‘out on the town.’ When the monster returns, and takes over Jeremy’s bed, the worn out kid draws a bus and a bus ticket and bids farewell to his friend. While waving goodbye, Jeremy strikes up a conversation with the neighbour kids, who invite him over to play. Not particularly Halloweeny, but a beautifully illustrated paean to the power of imagination.

The Monster Returns-Peter McCarty (Henry Holt, 2012) Uh oh, he’s baaack! This time, however, Jeremy is prepared. Our little artist enlists his friends to draw their own monsters as c0mpanions for his monster. Very clever, Jeremy. Incredibly, with all the colourful new beasts, this sequel to Jeremy Draws a Monster is even more beautiful than the original. Lest you think Peter McCarty capable of only one style of illustration, check out Hondo and Fabian, one of my all-time favourite picture books. McCarty has a very elegant touch, with an eye for detail that is nonpareil.

On a related note, I picked up The Monster Returns on September 15th, 2012. It is the last book I will ever purchase from Greenwood’s Bookshoppe, a local independent bookstore in the city that closed two weeks ago. Heartbreaking. Such a great kids section, and many of books reviewed in this blog have come from Greenwood’s. You will be missed, and thanks for all the great books!

And now…HALLOWEEN treats (excluding those horrible molasses things) from the archives~

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Posted on October 08, 2012

The Monsters’ Monster

I bring you greetings from the Patrick McDonnell fan club, and by ‘fan’ I mean rampant (but respectful) follower, admirer, and student. I am in awe of this man, and my heart swells when he publishes another book. Just in time for Halloween, Mr McDonnell has given us The Monsters’ Monster, a terrifying tale of science gone awry. Um, no. More Zen than Karloff, this Frankensteinian monster is the epitome of reverence, kindness and gratitude, a philosophy McDonnell has been quietly and humourously articulating through his art for many years.

“He’s alive, ALIVE!”

And isn’t that…just great?

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Posted on October 01, 2012

Blue Moon

And there it was. Tucked between the banal and the forgettable on the shelves of my local bookstore. The Insomniacs, by Karina Wolf, with illustrations by The Brothers Hilts. The Brothers Hilts? Never heard of ’em. My first impression? Wow. My second impression, well, I didn’t have second impression. I was too busy walking up to the till. When I see a book like this, even just a few pages, it’s like stumbling upon a box of jewels. There is no question I’m taking it home with me. And so, I did.

The Insomniacs is a story of jet-lag gone awry. When Mrs Insomniac gets a job as an astronomer, she and her somewhat oddly-constructed family set sail on a ship to their new home ’12 time zones’ away, and subsequently experience great difficulty adjusting to the shift in daylight hours. With bags under their eyes and slumped shoulders, mother, father (who looks like Humpty-Dumpty with an upside down face), and daughter Mika shuffle through their daily routines, unable to sleep at night in spite of the hot baths, numerous cups of milk, and meditation. In a last desperate attempt to find a way out of their predicament, the family go in search of hibernating bears to learn the secret of their season-long slumber. Wandering through the dark woods at night, they discover an entire world of nocturnal activity, and a light goes on, figuratively and literally.

Yes, The Insomniacs is indeed a box of jewels, but this night-time story is all sapphire.

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Posted on September 16, 2012

Creepy Carrots

One does not usually think of carrots in the same breath as ‘scary’ or ‘unsettling’, unless they are cooked English-style, which is to say, boiled until they are mush. Tasty, yes, but boring. Bereft of personality, you would think, but…you’d be wrong. In Aaron Reynolds and Peter Brown’s new book Creepy Carrots, we are introduced to the other side of this most unassuming of vegetables, the side that is capable of all sorts of mayhem. Tread carefully in your garden, folks. The carrots are watching.

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Posted on October 13, 2011

The Dark Art of Halloween

Ah…Halloween again. As mentioned in a previous post, October is one of my favourite months. Autumn colours and bags of fun-sized chocolate bars make me happy in a very, very deep place. As a picturebook aficionado, I love the months that bring out the seasonal collections. Christmas, Easter…even within this narrow field, it’s fascinating to see how many picturebook variations there are on Jesus (well, not that many), a Christmas tree, or a gourd. Some are better than others, and in that spirit, I will be making recommendations for Halloween based on previous posts in this blog. But first…a little Halloween treat from my youth.

While this blog is devoted to picture books, occasionally a novel bubbles to the surface, or in the particular case of this novel, boils and bubbles to the surface, demanding inclusion in spite of the dearth of illustrations. Such is The Little Leftover Witch, by Florence Laughlin.

One of the most memorable books of my childhood, The Little Leftover Witch is a short novel about a seven year old witch named Felina who breaks her broom on Halloween night and is unable to fly. In spite of her protests, the stubborn and disheveled girl is taken in by a family, where she is gradually made to feel at home in a non-magical world. What I remember most is the way she is cared for by the mother. Her long hair is brushed and brushed until it is shiny and all the knots are gone, her dirty black dress is washed and ironed, she has a bubble bath for the first time in her life, and instead of bat soup and jibbers’ gizzards, she is fed chicken and dumplings, peach cobbler, ice cream, and big glasses of ice-cold milk.

Felina resists the kindness of the family, but eventually succumbs. The Little Leftover Witch resonated with me as a child. As the fifth girl in a family of limited means, the nurturing was a little thin, but I did have my school library, where I found this book, and many others. Coincidentally, I found it again the first day I started working in the children’s section of a bookstore. Different cover, same book. The simple, pen & ink illustrations are just as evocative as they were decades ago, as is the story of a lost little girl. The jaded adult in me wonders why Felina wasn’t allowed to retain her true witchy self and is instead persuaded to follow the conservative values of her adopted family. Luckily, a good story and pretty pictures never fail to knock me off my portable soapbox. The Little Leftover Witch is a book about love and transformation, and on that level, it succeeds beautifully. And what could be more ‘Halloween’ than a story of transformation…from summer to autumn, light to dark, jibbers’ gizzards to chicken dumplings. Although I believe the book is currently out of print, I was more than a little surprised to read that Chris Colfer from Glee is making a movie out of The Little Leftover Witch for the Disney Channel. Looks like the book is about to undergo…a transformation.

And now…a few more Halloween treats (excluding those horrible molasses things) from the archives~