Georgia, one late October day, notices that things are moving about. They are even disappearing. Of course, our gal knows that this has a very logical explanation. Unlike others (especially at that time of year) who think things were moved about by something (or someone) spooky, she knows that ghouls are not mischievous, but the squirrel, the shadows, the cat, and dog all have something to do with it. Yet, maybe, juuuuust maaaaybe something else is going on? Afterall, Ella Bailey’s text is saying on thing, but their art is saying another.
And that art has a combination of “old school” (something you would have seen in the 1960s or even earlier) and modern. The classic and now forms makes it relatable, but also gives it a spooky look to it. It is “enough different” from the flashy computer style illustrations and bold, overwhelmingly bright images and details to make it feel ghostly.
This time, the illustrations were enjoyable, unlike when I was reading Baily’s When I’m Big. The identical look adds to the story, giving both a lighthearted approach, but with No Such Thing it gives it the cobweb-gray feeling of Halloween and autumn without being scary.
No Such Thing will be available in mid to late summer 2022, in time for you to be prepared for the Halloween surprise that might arise.
These two different books, with similar looks, makes me curious about Ella Bailey’s other authored and illustrated titles such as One Day on Our Blue Planet: In the Ocean, One Day On Our Blue Planet: In the Outback and the others in the One Day series. The Ocean book is a toddler title following an adventurous baby dolphin and its mother as they swim the wonders and dangers of the ocean. And Outback does the same with a baby joey and their mother. These are simple, but sweet, introductions to the big blue water on our big blue planet and he big, wonderful world of Australia (with dingoes and kolas, too), would be great for a read-aloud one-on-one, or for a classroom read. The end pages for both have the creatures mentioned or just seen on the pages of the story.
