Capucin #2

The second volume of Florence Dupré la Tour's whimsical Capucin series arrives with a cover that pulls no punches: a vast, gaping creature — all jagged teeth and lurid purple tongue — swallows the frame whole, while two small blonde children are nestled precariously inside its maw, surrounded by lumpy green organic forms and watched over by unsettling bug-eyed figures lurking at the edges. It's the kind of delightfully grotesque image that perfectly captures the series' blend of childhood wonder and genuine unease. Subtitled Pour quelques coups de baguette, this 2007 Gallimard/Bayou release promises exactly the sort of darkly imaginative storytelling fans of European all-ages fantasy will want to seek out.