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K-3
Melvina, who is afraid of everything, thinks she has found safety in her new house: "Until--BANG!" A series of vertical spreads invites readers to turn the book as Melvina's sense of security, and her house, are shaken by the appearance of "monsters and beasts and ghosts." But appearances can be deceiving (and not all the beasts appear that scary--see: giant duck). The illustrations, made with digital art "and ghostly visions," use their palette effectively to indicate when Melvina is frightened and when she isn't in this reassuring (if occasionally didactic) story.
Reviewer: Shoshana Flax
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
September, 2023