Who's There?

PreS—As night falls, BunBun goes back to his snug burrow and climbs into bed. "I am all tucked in when from down the hallway I hear, creak, creak, CRINCH," says the rabbit. Who's there? In the dark, with only Boo, his teddy bear, for comfort, his imagination gets the better of him. He pictures the sorts of things "that might come creeping along." Is it a "Crusty Dumply Ogre," a "Grimy Gooey Ghoulie," or a "Two-Headed Whiney Snoop"? Taking his cues from his teddy, BunBun sits quietly and waits. But when Boo falls off the bed, the action comes to a head and the bunny finds himself confronting the source of the noise. Ink and gouache illustrations create a rich setting replete with dark shadows, saturated color, and just enough dramatic detail. First-person narration is an unusual choice for this type of read-aloud, and it may throw off readers at first, but the book succeeds as a whole. The text and illustrations combine to make a tense, scary story lightened slightly by the humorous depictions of the imagined monsters and their preposterous names. A fun, spine-tingling read for children who aren't easily frightened.—Suzanne Myers Harold, Multnomah County Library System, Portland, OR