cover image Hedgehug’s Halloween

Hedgehug’s Halloween

Benn Sutton, illus. by Dan Pinto. Harper, $9.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-06-196104-5

In Hedgehug’s second holiday-themed outing, after 2011’s Hedgehug: A Lesson in Love, he doesn’t have a costume for the big Halloween party. A ghost outfit makes him look like a slice of Swiss cheese, and when he dresses as a bunch of grapes, the purple balloons pop on his quills. But just as a despairing Hedgehug leaves the party, his friends surprise him with a costume that is just right. Pinto crafts a visually enigmatic woodland world of looming shadows and fluorescent backlight, with burlap textures adding warmth and dimension. A simple but satisfying tale of Halloween ups and downs. Ages 4–8. (Aug.)