THE WITCH'S WINGS AND OTHER TERRIFYING TALES

Latine folklore takes center stage in this graphic-novel adaptation of a spooky kids show from the 1990s.

Like all members of the Midnight Society—a group of diverse kids who gather by a campfire in the woods to tell scary stories—newcomer Alicia must prove herself worthy of inclusion by giving them something better than the same old ghost stories they’ve heard lately. Alicia tells three tales; the first is about a boy who finds himself on the wrong side of the Lechuza, a vengeful owl-witch. In Alicia’s second story, a girl discovers herself aboard a haunted bus, and finally Alicia tells a hair-raising tale about an adopted stray dog with horrifying powers. Inspired by Nickelodeon’s Are You Afraid of the Dark?,this work maximizes the creep factor with disturbing imagery. The illustrators’ art varies in style (some are more free form, while others rely on sharp angles), but each artist’s work (or pair of artists, in the case of the Hernandezes) is well paired with the emotional depth and action level of their respective pieces. Mejia’s writing maintains a fast, cohesive flow through the different art styles, and Wu’s illustrations for the final tale are tied together with the frame story for a seamless and exciting ending. Alicia is brown-skinned; she and the characters in her stories are cued Latine.

A quick, compelling, and creepy collection that’s sure to be a reader favorite.