HEARING THINGS

A boy goes in search of spooky noises and finds them.

Tim loves walking around the neighborhood with his leashed cat, Frankie, collecting sounds on his portable recorder and microphone. When asked to listen in, older sister Martha declines, since she’s feeling down. Tim encourages her to recommit to a “creepy” song she’s been working on, but it’s missing something. To help, Tim goes in search of some matching sounds. Frankie jumps the fence around a seemingly abandoned old house, forcing Tim to follow. At first, the site is eerily quiet. Then Frankie implores the two skeletal residents to aid in making some “scary sounds,” so Tim (who can’t see the specters) can record a whole plethora of auditory shenanigans. There are no macabre vibes here, just some supernatural fun. The intentionally simple text leads to a few clunky dialogue scenes and some basic plot contrivances, but the overall story is entertainingly quaint. The art is reminiscent of classic newspaper comic strips—think hand-drawn lines, squat characters with round heads, and flat, layered colors—and will induce nostalgia in adult readers. Scenic details populate many panels, while the many onomatopoeias likewise establish a playful setting. Tim and Martha are both light-skinned.

A solid, spooky tale, with vintage-quality illustrations.