After Squidnight

by Jonathan Fenske, Jonathan Fenske (Illustrator)

Overview

From the creator of the award-winning A Pig, a Fox, and a Box comes a sly, silly picture book about artistic squids that will get every reader giggling!

Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor-winning author and illustrator Jonathan Fenske's appealing illustration style and clever text make this intriguing book a must-have for every young reader's shelf.

When the clock strikes midnight, a squad of squids creeps out of the ocean—and over to your house! Their mission? To leave their inky mark by drawing on walls, the floor, and even your toys. This rhyming tale showcases a crew of creative creatures as they make art (or maybe just a mess) and leave you to deal with the consequences!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781524793081
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	07/28/2020
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	9.25(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.37(d)
Lexile:	AD540L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Jonathan Fenske (he/him) is a Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor-winning author and illustrator who has created several Penguin Young Readers, including Love Is in the Air; Guppy Up!; Woodward and McTwee; A Pig, a Fox, and a Box; A Pig, a Fox, and Stinky Socks; We Need More Nuts!; and Please, No More Nuts! He is also the author and illustrator of I Will Race You Through This Book! He lives in Simpsonville, South Carolina.

Editorial Reviews

06/01/2020

Fenske (I Will Race You Through This Book!) opens with a scene straight out of a creature feature. Working in spooky grays accented with bright teal (a tip-off, perhaps, that there’s lightheartedness afoot), he shows an army of grim-eyed squids oozing their way from the water to a house where a child sleeps beside an open window (“From the surf/ a suckered hand/ drags itself/ onto the sand”). In a twist that’s funny and more than a little moving, the squids aren’t bent on terrorizing; they’re frustrated artists determined to leave an enduring mark (“In water, squid art/ does not stay./ Inky drawings/ drift away”). Covering the house’s surfaces with their art (even the sleeping kid gets a temporary tattoo), they evince a graffitist’s inventive sense of context: a fish is sketched to look like it’s being electrocuted by a wall outlet, a clothes hook turns cephalopod. The child is left to take the fall (“In houses, squid art/ cannot stay./ You have to wash/ it all away”), but there seems to be little resentment; in fact, the final image shows that insatiable creativity will always, eventually, find an appreciative audience. Ages 4–8. Agent: Carrie Hannigan, HG Literary. (July)

Publishers Weekly

PRAISE FOR AFTER SQUIDNIGHT

A 2020 Summer Okra Pick

"...the perfect slightly slimy thrill for fans of Aaron Reynolds’ Creepy Carrots and Creepy Pair of Underwear." —BCCB

"Funny, doom-filled bedtime reading at its best." —School Library Journal

From the Publisher

07/01/2020

PreS-Gr 2—Fenske (Barnacle Is Bored) brings his oceanic humor to a tale of inky squid mischief. Shortly after midnight, when everyone's asleep, squids creep from the ocean to find a place to leave their marks since, "In water, squid art does not stay. Inky drawings drift away." The squids want to bring their art to you the reader, so they sneak into your house, leaving humorous graffiti all over the house's hallway, bathroom, kitchen, and of course, your room. They make their marks on the walls, and on your toys. The second-person narration engages readers from the outset, and with quippy rhyming pentameter, makes for a fun read-aloud that begs to be voiced in an ominous tone. With bold lines, the illustrations play with perspective and shadow, and use a minimalist palette of black, grey, and turquoise. The squids' drawings add their own oily, meta three-dimensional quality to the book. Just as dawn arrives, the last squid is shown slinking out the window, leaving "you" as culprit of the inky crimes. VERDICT Funny, doom-filled bedtime reading at its best.—Danielle Jones, Multnomah County Lib., OR

School Library Journal

2020-03-25
Squids ink their way into an oceanside home.

Rhyming text sets the scene: “The sky is black. / The clouds are inky. / The salty air / is still and stinky.” A child sleeps with the window ajar. The page turn reveals an angry-looking squadron of squids creeping toward the house. Several tick-tocks of the clock cue midnight as “a suckered hand / drags itself / onto the sand.” The squids come closer and closer. The child sleeps peacefully. Despite their scowls, the squids come in peace. These “pale artists” want to “make their mark” with inky squid art. They leave a few masterpieces in the kitchen, on the hallway rug, and in the bathroom. Then they slide toward the child’s room, squeezing underneath the door. They draw on everything in sight—even the child! But still the child sleeps. And still the squids ink. When, at last, the sun rises, the squids “with glee / drag themselves / back to the sea.” but what of the art they left behind? The narrator’s direct address brings readers into this mock-horror tale, which, like Aaron Reynold’s Creepy Carrots!, illustrated by Peter Brown (2012), is more silly than scary. The grayscale cartoon illustrations with hints of teal effectively create a spooky atmosphere, and metered language produces a steady, tension-heightening rhythm. Unfortunately, the lack of character development or any real plot lessens the payoff.

Plenty of squid ink, cloudy on the substance. (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews