Creepy

Co-creators Sensenbrenner and Roberts (My Begging Chart) open this charmingly eerie storybook for adults with a caption that reads, “Once there was a creepy, creepy, creepy lady.” The woman depicted in the accompanying full-page illustration has wavy blonde hair, and she’s driving a minivan through what appears to be an upscale neighborhood, which is not very creepy at all. The following scene finds her at the beach, watching happy families frolic in the sand. That’s more unsettling than creepy. So far, the creepiest thing about this book is the expressive style in which the illustration is rendered. In the next scene, the woman returns to her nice, suburban home. She goes into the kitchen, slips on a pink oven mitt and an apron adorned with a cute little heart, and cooks up a big pile of children’s ears. Because children’s ears, as it turns out, are all she ever eats. She steals them from children while they are distracted by their phones or tablet screens, so they don’t see her coming.

CORRECTION: This review has been changed to more accurately describe the artistic style.