The Ghostly Carousel

July 2, 2018
Author-illustrator Brown (Polkabats) offers 17 poems that are wickedly humorous and gently eerie. Topics of focus include a zombie family reunion, a canoe commandeered by vengeful canaries, a mysterious “creeping crud” that invades a house (“arriving precisely/ at midnight on Fridays”), and unruly trick-or-treating leprechauns. Narrative drives many of the verses: “The village of Glumm/ is gloomy and grim/ for miles in all directions./ A grisly, ghastly, ghostly place/ except for these exceptions.” Other poems address more relatable childhood frights, such as when a child gazes fearfully at the darkened shapes of shelved toys: “I’m not afraid/ of bats or bee stings,/ but late at night/ I think I see things—/ spooky silhouettes.” In acrylic and gouache paintings, Brown brings his distinctive ghoulishness-meets-folk-art sensibility to his monstrous menagerie, and again captures the fun to be found in things sinister and strange. Ages 6–10.

July 1, 2018

Gr 2-5-Brown (Hallowilloween) produces another humorous collection of nightmarish verse that introduces readers to such playful and lurid figures as Joel the zombie, Dublin's notorious goblins, Fritz the undertaker, and Medusa's hairstyling team. "The Jekyll Lantern" cleverly alludes to Robert Louis Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde with discerning wordplay. Deliciously rich words like repugnant and fiend sparkle in this poem and others, incorporating rhyme and a steady meter perfect for reading aloud. Each poem uses literary devices such as alliteration and puns to enhance and balance the creepiness with comedic twists. Brown's acrylic illustrations are slyly sinister and satisfyingly gross. Readers will delight in cannibals dipping toes into fondue and Hank's insect pie recipe filled with plenty of creepy-crawlies. Although most of Brown's spooky poems lean toward the fantastic, it's his last poem that is most relatable: "I'm not afraid/of bats or bee stings, /but late at night/I think I see things-/spooky silhouettes." For in spite of all his wild imaginings, it's the fear of the ordinary becoming the extraordinary that truly terrifies. VERDICT A highly recommended purchase for Brown fans and those who relish poems that go bump in the night.-Rachel Zuffa, Racine Public Library, WI

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 15, 2018
An offbeat menagerie of spooky light-verse poems.Brown's 17 tightly rhymed poems, presented in mostly double-page spreads, feature all kinds of otherworldly creatures and things. Witches and warlocks, the "Creeping Crud" and a cannibal's fingery fondue, fictional characters such as Dr. Jekyll and Medusa, Brown's boldly illustrated subjects--all are painted with his signature childlike detail in rich, earthy oranges, purples, greens, and black, and they engage in some icky escapades to which children might yet relate. For instance, a "zombie named Joel" attempts to dig himself deep into a literal hole, desperately trying to "escape / from the family reunion," where his "zombified aunts, / lost in a trance," and laden with "scorpions, / leeches, / and slugs" are "lurching / and searching / for hugs." Another "big, big fan / of the dark and dank" is Hank. "A deep thinker, / Hank the spelunker / is entranced by caves" and summed up as being a "funny little dude" who thinks "grubs and larvae / make marvelous food"; the page turn then reveals Hank's stomach-churning recipe for "Insect Pie." Employing clever puns and unexpected end rhyme, Brown creates as engaging an aural experience as a visual one.Brimming with macabre portraits and gross humor, Brown's carousel emboldens young readers to find fun in things that go bump in the night. (Picture book/poetry. 6-10)

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