Two for Tuesday

In our last Halloween-themed post,we meet cuddly monsters and vampires sure to impress little ghouls with their charming ways.

First up is Fred, by Kaila Eunhye Seo (Peter Pauper Press, $15.99, 40 pages, ages 4-8), a story about a young boy surrounded by amazing creatures only he can see. That is, until the real world starts to eat away at Fred’s free time – between school, and new (human) friends Fred grows up, and slowly forgets about his old pals, who wait patiently for the day that he sees them again. Kaila’s debut picture book tackles growing up with an unexpected airiness and humor. Her pen and ink renderings of big-eyed, fuzzy monsters aren’t intimidating in the least, and captures the wacky, wonderful world of a child’s imagination.

If you’ve ever opened a jam jar only to find it totally empty, perhaps your pantry was visited by a Jampire. In Jampires (David Fickling Books; $16.99, 32 pages, ages 3-6), writer/illustrator duo Sarah Mcintire and David O’Connell teamed up to confect a sticky tale of whodunnit. Sam won’t stand for dry doughnuts at breakfast, and convinced of thievery, lays a ketchup-laced laundry basket trap to catch the perpetrators. Turns out, the pointy-eared filchers are endearing, and take Sam to visit their sugary hacienda in the sky. Readers racked by a sweet tooth will savor this story and revel in the playful tricks and treats throughout.