Week 19: Spooky Children's Books!

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I raided my daughter's reading pile for some new children's fantasy!

100 Cupboards trilogy, by N. D. Wilson

The 100 Cupboards trilogy has a typical-sounding plot--young boy discovers doors to other universes, finds companions, and battles evil witch who is trying to take over a world. But! The difference here is in the author's great writing style and creative use of the old tropes. I really enjoyed his writing, which is vivid and descriptive in a style that feels fresh and imaginative without being labored. Wilson takes his characters through traditional plot elements in a new way that makes the books hard to put down.




The Stone Child, by Dan Poblocki

This story is also a new interpretation of a traditional plot. Eddie moves to a new town and finds that its the home of his favorite spooky author, who disappeared years ago. The town is strange and may be haunted. Eddie and his new friends find an old coded manuscript and start to solve the mystery, and that's when the books start coming true...

This story features some odd takes on the old Lilith legend, and otherwise feels a lot like a John Bellairs story. It's pretty good.

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