THE NIGHT WE GOT STUCK IN A STORY

A tree becomes a portal to a magical land for 9-year-old Lana and her stodgy big brother, Harrison, in this second series entry.

Miller weaves a multistranded plotline containing multiple resemblances between characters and events in this world and the one the children discover when they climb inside the trunk of the Hollow Tree behind their grandparents’ house. On one side, a developer is threatening to demolish the beloved old tree and obliterate the population of rare spiders that dwell around it; on the other, the shape-shifting Spider Queen is out to destroy a human village that’s unwittingly menacing her own eight-legged subjects. Lana turns out to play a pivotal role in resolving both threats—though not before lots of adventures ensue, including spending a night in a beast-haunted meeting hall (she’s been listening to Nana read Beowulf), solving a riddle, and rescuing her brother from the queen’s sticky clutches. If the disparate elements don’t quite mesh into a coherent whole, the simply written narrative still offers plenty of action, a villain who’s not a nice person but not really evil, a talking bear, a unicorn, and a quiffed spider who’s aptly named Elvis. The intrepid, young, white-presenting hero appears at the head of a cast containing at least two characters who present Black. A few spider facts are appended. Naylor’s illustrations have a charming and comfortingly old-fashioned feel.

Untidy but uncomplicated, with eco-themes and occasional sly notes.