Shhhhh! Dad said not to make a peep, so that he could get some sleep. But what if something is wriggling, sniggling, and slithering in the shadows? And did that floorboard just creeeeeak? Each ghoulish possibility seems worse than the last, until--what was that? Oh no, not . . . !
Richard Michelson’s zinging rhymes and Adam McCauley’s moonlit illustrations will transport readers beyond the bedroom walls to a magical nighttime world where imagination rules.
An older brother "reassures" his younger sister about all the creatures that she imagines lurking in the dark bedroom, but his words only scare her more.
What creepy, crawly, ghoulish creatures are lurking in the bedroom shadows?
RICHARD MICHELSON is a prizewinning poet and author of several other picture books, including Ten Times Better, illustrated by Leonard Baskin. He is the owner of R. Michelson Galleries and lives in Northampton, Massachusetts.
ADAM McCAULEY has illustrated many other books for children, including the Time Warp Trio series by Jon Scieszka and Martin MacGregor's Snowman by Lisa Broadie Cook. He lives in San Francisco, California.
In Michelson's (Happy Feet ) prime example of the powers of suggestion, a boy consoles his timid sister before bed: "It's only wind./ Ignore that sound./ You're safe./ There are no ghosts around." She protests ("Oh no, not ghosts!"), so he gamely puts on a werewolf mask to chase the ghouls away. "Oh no, not werewolves!" she squeaks, as her imagination summons slavering wolves, a cackling shadow-witch and a skeleton in the closet. McCauley (Mom and Dad Are Palindromes ) tweaks the intensity with sharp-edged, high-contrast linocuts. In his endpapers, a leafy blue-on-blue wallpaper pattern resolves into bats and faces, the perfect way to open and close this feverish, funny tale. Readers wishing to counter the scaredy-cat-girl clich should try Jarrett J. Krosoczka's Annie Was Warned , or McGhee and Bliss's A Very Brave Witch (reviewed below). Ages 3-7. (Sept.)
[Page 204]. Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
Gr 1-3 Two siblings are supposed to be settling down to sleep, but their imaginations run wild. Big brother increases his sister's mounting anxiety with dodgy reassurances such as, It's okay that you're small and weak/Be smart! Just make a high-pitched Shrieeek/ I've seen a teeny demon frighten/the biggest, meanest, greenest titan. She replies: Demons? Oh no, not demons! In rhyming verse, he slyly details how he would scare away such intruders as goblins, giants, and skeletons. His teasing has little sis cowering behind the covers until their fuming dad appears. McCauley's mixed-media illustrations feature dark, atmospheric backgrounds. Pointy-toothed werewolves cast eerie shadows on the bedroom wall, and a giant's foot has nightmarish proportions. This slightly spooky title offers lots of bewitching fun.Linda Ludke, London Public Library, Ontario, Canada
[Page 93]. Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
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