Back in October we took a closer look at MyLittleBigTown's new range of Tiny Twisted Tales. Penned and illustrated by the frenzied nibs of Calvin Innes (with e-books edited by Brett Innes), the first tale "Stuart the Bug Eating Man" got a favourable thumbs up from us.
Now the range has grown, and has a whole new set of funky colour covers to celebrate. Joining Stuart we also now have Pale Henry, and the kick-ass Jenny (the werewolf-hunter).
Starting with Pale Henry, the sad tale of a lad who just doesn't like going out, Calvin and Brett conjure up a story that could almost mirror my teenage years (go out and DO things? Are you crazy? I've got a ZX Spectrum at home, why on earth would I want to go out into the real world?) Henry soon realises that being pale, thin and wan isn't the be all and end all, and out there are trees to climb, people to meet and other kids to play with.
Jenny is a completely different character. She likes to go out - mostly at the stroke of midnight - and put the world to rights by largely ridding it of the all-too-well-known Werewolf menace (What's that? You didn't know the world was crawling with Loup-Garou? Perhaps you're in denial because you ARE one!) Jenny is like a one man (or should that be one-girl) Scooby Doo Gang, scared of absolutely nothing - even the biggest most slobber-chopped Werewolf in the world.
These bite-sized little rhyming story books (also available on Kindle as well as in print) are deliciously dark, reminding us of cool stuff by Charles Addams and Edward Gorey. If your children have a taste for the macabre or even the slightly icky, then they're going to love these a lot.
Charlotte's best bit: Jenny (naturally) who is a heck of a role model!
Daddy's favourite bit: Great format for little story books (the sort of thing I could well imagine toting around in a back pocket as a kid and pulling out during boring maths lessons - excellent!)