Spooky Friends by Jane Feder (review)

This easy reader recounts the adventures of Scarlet, a vampire, and Igor, a mummy, best friends who can't agree on anything. The first chapter introduces their bickering style ("If Scarlet said, 'Up!' Igor said, 'Down!' When Igor made a short snowman, Scarlet made hers tall") and ends with a compromise over sandwiches. In the second chapter, the two argue over what to name a new kitten that they discover in the attic. They come up with a list of eight names, which proves to be a good thing as it turns out the mama cat had not one but eight kittens. The final chapter finds the two friends arguing over art—Scarlet wants to draw while Igor wants to paint—and the two finally bring their pictures together in a mixed-media collage that satisfies both of them. The disagreements never move beyond light banter, so the stories are gently silly rather than quarrelsome. Underlying the disagreements is a real strength: while Scarlet and Igor are not good at agreeing, they are really good at resolving disagreements, and that is what carries their friendship. The illustrations are pen and watercolor, enhanced digitally, and the focus in each composition rests squarely on the twosome: Scarlet, a skinny-legged, green-faced, pointy-toothed vampire in a purple cobweb dress, and Igor, a slightly rotund mummy with only one eye and a corner of his expressive mouth peeking out from under his wraps. Plenty of repetition, picture clues, and extensive spacing between lines make this an ideal choice for beginning readers, and with only two or three sentences per page, the narrative itself is very accessible—even Scarlet and Igor can agree on that.