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Part 1 of 2 or 3. I'm glad that my 265 books in 2019 goal inspired me to read more picture books, because it's scratching that autumn/Halloween/advent of the spooky season itch—more effectively than trying to read a horror novel might. Most speculative or gory horror relies on visual descriptions, which my aphantasia makes inaccessible. I have to search hard for horror with more dimension or with psychological elements that don't slip into the thriller territory, since I don't love thrillers. And I've been finding some, but! picture books have pictures! the onus of visualization is on them, the visuals are ideally their strength.
Not all of these have been successful, but some are, and there's a cumulative effect in dozens of miniature spooky or spoopy or autumnal stories.
That said, CW for spanking in Bedtime for Frances below.
Title: Lenny and Lucy
Author: Philip C. Stead
Illustrator: Erin E. Stead
Published:
Rating: 2 of 5
Page Count: 40
Total Page Count: 332,620
Text Number: 1191
Read Because: from this list of scary picture books, hardback borrowed from the Wilsonville Public Library
Review: I feel like I should have liked this more. It has the right elements: shadowy, sketchy art and the haunting woods over the bridge; the unaddressed pretend elements could work, the ending has a cozy, autumnal warmth. But this never got its teeth in me, never felt particularly haunting or cozy. Maybe I do need the pretend elements to be weirder and more present—the emphasized power of the imagination might also bring the woods to life.
Title: Bedtime for Frances (Frances the Badger Book 1)
Author: Russell Hoban
Illustrator: Garth Williams
Published: HarperFestival, 1995 (1960)
Rating: 1 of 5
Page Count: 30
Total Page Count: 332,650
Text Number: 1192
Read Because: from this list of scary picture books, hardback borrowed from the Wilsonville Public Library
Review: I was on board with the sympathetic, deceptive power of the imagination and the balance of haunting to cute to relatable. But this falls apart when "your only worth lies in your job/social obligations" is followed up by ( spanking reference ) There's plenty in children's literature that hasn't aged well, and some of it I imagine can still work if provided in context or as a teachable moment; alternately, creative editing could rewrite the spanking mention. But, frankly, why bother when it's such a big part of the text and there are so many other books of equal quality.
(What really flabbergasts me is that this was on a modern recommendation list without any caveats! What the fuck!)
Title: The Wolves in the Walls
Author: Neil Gaiman
Illustrator: Dave McKean
Published: HarperCollins, 2003
Rating: 3 of 5
Page Count: 55
Total Page Count: 332,925
Text Number: 1195
Read Because: from this list of scary picture books, hardback borrowed from the Wilsonville Public Library
Review: I love McKean's art: unrestrained by proportions or logic, it creates immersive dreamworlds. The narrative is similarly unexplained, never make-believe, more of an extended metaphor. When those elements work well, they're remarkable—particularly the building tension of the hidden wolves. But when the wolves show up this takes a turn, in sketchy art and comic tone, towards a low-stakes resolution. It feels like an intentional decision to make this more child-friendly, which is an understandable and regrettable impulse. I wish Gaiman stuck to his guns re: writing horror for children, because his kid's books can be so good—and there is a perfect book hidden in the walls of this one, but it's not allowed out.
Title: The Dark
Author: Lemony Snicket
Illustrator: Jon Klassen
Published: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2013
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 40
Total Page Count: 332,965
Text Number: 1196
Read Because: from this list of scary picture books, hardback borrowed from the Wilsonville Public Library
Review: The use of repetition to build tension and the use of negative space—particularly placing the dark's dialog in ... the dark—is effective and satisfying. This is also one of the rarer creepy picture books that doesn't resolve itself completely: rather than breaking the tension, it smoothly channels it into character growth. I have nitpicks (like the affected, unproductive ink splatters) and this isn't as remarkable or memorable as the best of children's literature. But it's successful, and the sort of thing I'd hope for from Lemony Snicket.
Title: It's Halloween!
Author: Jack Prelutsky
Illustrator: Marylin Hafner
Published: Greenwillow Books, 1999 (1977)
Rating: 2 of 5
Page Count: 55
Total Page Count: 333,020
Text Number: 1197
Read Because: from this list of Halloween books, paperback borrowed from the Wilsonville Public Library
Review: I prefer these poems when they're Halloween- or spooky-adjacent rather than literally being about something like trick-or-treating. The issue poems don't age up well for an adult reader, but poems like "Countdown" or "The Goblin" age better, stand alone better, and maintain that charming Halloween vibe while also being quietly but sincerely haunting. The accompanying sketchy art and autumnal palette is effective but unremarkable.
Not all of these have been successful, but some are, and there's a cumulative effect in dozens of miniature spooky or spoopy or autumnal stories.
That said, CW for spanking in Bedtime for Frances below.
Title: Lenny and Lucy
Author: Philip C. Stead
Illustrator: Erin E. Stead
Published:
Rating: 2 of 5
Page Count: 40
Total Page Count: 332,620
Text Number: 1191
Read Because: from this list of scary picture books, hardback borrowed from the Wilsonville Public Library
Review: I feel like I should have liked this more. It has the right elements: shadowy, sketchy art and the haunting woods over the bridge; the unaddressed pretend elements could work, the ending has a cozy, autumnal warmth. But this never got its teeth in me, never felt particularly haunting or cozy. Maybe I do need the pretend elements to be weirder and more present—the emphasized power of the imagination might also bring the woods to life.
Title: Bedtime for Frances (Frances the Badger Book 1)
Author: Russell Hoban
Illustrator: Garth Williams
Published: HarperFestival, 1995 (1960)
Rating: 1 of 5
Page Count: 30
Total Page Count: 332,650
Text Number: 1192
Read Because: from this list of scary picture books, hardback borrowed from the Wilsonville Public Library
Review: I was on board with the sympathetic, deceptive power of the imagination and the balance of haunting to cute to relatable. But this falls apart when "your only worth lies in your job/social obligations" is followed up by ( spanking reference ) There's plenty in children's literature that hasn't aged well, and some of it I imagine can still work if provided in context or as a teachable moment; alternately, creative editing could rewrite the spanking mention. But, frankly, why bother when it's such a big part of the text and there are so many other books of equal quality.
(What really flabbergasts me is that this was on a modern recommendation list without any caveats! What the fuck!)
Title: The Wolves in the Walls
Author: Neil Gaiman
Illustrator: Dave McKean
Published: HarperCollins, 2003
Rating: 3 of 5
Page Count: 55
Total Page Count: 332,925
Text Number: 1195
Read Because: from this list of scary picture books, hardback borrowed from the Wilsonville Public Library
Review: I love McKean's art: unrestrained by proportions or logic, it creates immersive dreamworlds. The narrative is similarly unexplained, never make-believe, more of an extended metaphor. When those elements work well, they're remarkable—particularly the building tension of the hidden wolves. But when the wolves show up this takes a turn, in sketchy art and comic tone, towards a low-stakes resolution. It feels like an intentional decision to make this more child-friendly, which is an understandable and regrettable impulse. I wish Gaiman stuck to his guns re: writing horror for children, because his kid's books can be so good—and there is a perfect book hidden in the walls of this one, but it's not allowed out.
Title: The Dark
Author: Lemony Snicket
Illustrator: Jon Klassen
Published: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2013
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 40
Total Page Count: 332,965
Text Number: 1196
Read Because: from this list of scary picture books, hardback borrowed from the Wilsonville Public Library
Review: The use of repetition to build tension and the use of negative space—particularly placing the dark's dialog in ... the dark—is effective and satisfying. This is also one of the rarer creepy picture books that doesn't resolve itself completely: rather than breaking the tension, it smoothly channels it into character growth. I have nitpicks (like the affected, unproductive ink splatters) and this isn't as remarkable or memorable as the best of children's literature. But it's successful, and the sort of thing I'd hope for from Lemony Snicket.
Title: It's Halloween!
Author: Jack Prelutsky
Illustrator: Marylin Hafner
Published: Greenwillow Books, 1999 (1977)
Rating: 2 of 5
Page Count: 55
Total Page Count: 333,020
Text Number: 1197
Read Because: from this list of Halloween books, paperback borrowed from the Wilsonville Public Library
Review: I prefer these poems when they're Halloween- or spooky-adjacent rather than literally being about something like trick-or-treating. The issue poems don't age up well for an adult reader, but poems like "Countdown" or "The Goblin" age better, stand alone better, and maintain that charming Halloween vibe while also being quietly but sincerely haunting. The accompanying sketchy art and autumnal palette is effective but unremarkable.
