Aristide broie du noir #[nn]

From Delcourt Jeunesse, this 2008 French all-ages album pairs writer Séverine Gauthier with artist Jérémie Almanza for a story that balances the spooky and the sweet. The cover sets a wonderfully moody tone: a small, wide-eyed child clutches a tiny light and stands surrounded by a crowd of looming, glowing-eyed purple shadow-creatures in the darkness — somehow more melancholy than menacing. It's the kind of image that draws young readers in with its warmth hiding just beneath the shadowy surface.