The Squickerwonkers

Actress Lilly (Lost) dives into the dark and menacing in her first picture book. It stars a girl named Selma, who leaves a fairground and ventures into a lonely caravan. Inside, a clan of eerie puppets appears onstage as a disembodied voice introduces each one and his or her distinctive vice. Greer the Greedy “loves to pick pockets,/ Small purses and lockets/ And hide what she finds in her hair.” Fraser-Allen, a sculptor and visual artist for film, gives the marionette family wrinkled, dried-apple faces; dresses them in ragged formal wear; and puts coins where their eyes should be. Purposely provoking their young visitor, the puppets expose Selma’s own vice—she’s a member of the mysterious “Rin-Run Royals” and a spoiled brat. “I swear you will pay,/ For your childish display,/ For having your wee bit of fun!” she yells. Fraser-Allen’s grotesqueries are more of a draw than the sometimes-lumpy rhymes (“Then humming a tune/ They popped her balloon/ And stepped back to watch her unfurl”), but fans of Gris Grimly and other creators of gentle horror should find their imaginations piqued. Ages 5–8. (Nov.)