After Squidnight

In this rhyming tale full of mischievous fun and humor, a child sleeps safely in bed as a squad of squids emerges menacingly from the ocean and makes its way toward the child’s home. The squids’ intent is a harmless night time doodling session, but since in “water squid art / does not stay,” the squids “will bring the inky / art to YOU!” They start in the kitchen, drawing on cupboards and fridge doors, before leaving a unique inky path of bear, deer, dog, bird and even tire tracks down the hallway. The doodles culminate in the child’s bedroom, where everything from the walls to pajamas, toys, and curtains gets tagged by the artistic sea creatures. As morning dawns the squids disappear back to the ocean, while the child is ordered to clean up the inky mess. With a terrific color selection of blacks, grays, and turquoise and oozing title text, Fenske draws on familiar classic horror tropes to set the stage for an ominous night time scare, though the tension is quickly relieved when the squids’ true intentions are revealed. Yet while humor and fun are the theme of the night, Fenske continues to include clever moments of would-be terror, like a squid shadow that looms forebodingly on the wall and squid eyes that shine in the dark under the bed. While the otherwise original story resolves a bit flat and anticipatable, the true delight of Fenske’s work is to admire the countless clever and hilarious details included in the squids’ artwork, from bread popping up from the toaster to an octopus appearing from a double prong coat hook.