By searching for other scary picture books for children in the Milner Library's Special Collections, I found something completely different to the scary books we have discussed before on this blog. I discovered the Nighty-Nightmare, written by James Howe and illustrated by Leslie H. Morrill, from 1987.
Nighty-Nightmare is scary, but in a completely other way than the Struwwelpeter
The story of Night-Nightmare is adventureous, not educative. The illustrations leave room for a lot of imagination instead of being cruel. And compared to the Struwwelpeter book, all illustrations are in black and white. It is a completely different style.
The horrifying man with the knife
Nighty-Nightmare is the forth part of the so-called Bunnicula Series. The plot is about the Monroes going camping out in the woods with Bunnicula (a vampire rabbit), Chester (an Orange Tabby cat) and Harold (a mixed breed dog). But it's not a normal camping night. It is the night before St. George's Day which is known for the prey of evil monsters and spirits. They meet two men with their dog called Teufel (German for "Devil"). One of them is always holding a knife which can be seen in one of the illustrations. Chester begins to think that the two men called Bud and Spud may plan to murder the Monroes. That's how the adventure in the dark woods starts. I don't want to spoil the story, so if you want to know more about the plot, read the book or find a summary here.
The Nighty-Nightmare illustrations enrich the story
In this book there is around a dozen of illustrations. They are all in black and white, except the one on the book cover. The animals dominate the pictures. The good ones build a huge contrast to the scary ones (take a look at the devil dog on the left). It can be seen that all the illustrations have many details. The illustrator brings the characters to life. Also the chaotic fire scene is very impressive. It is scary to see that everybody is trying to escape the fire. At the same time, the illustration shows the desperation. All in all, the illustrations totally enrich the story!About the illustrator Leslie H. Morrill
It is also interesting to see how Leslie H. Morrill, born in 1934, became an illustrator. He first wanted to be a dancer, but the physical issues made him switching to drawing and painting. He attended the Boston Museum School of Art, worked as a public school art supervisor for four years and as an assistant professor for two years. Then he realized that I could not unfold his real artistic work. He quit the job at college to become a freelancer in illustrating books. His first illustrations in The Sorcerer (1971) were a great success. Morrill worked on more than hundred books, most of them were children books. He was known for his animal illustrations that can also be admired in the Bunnicula Series. This preference goes back to his childhood. Morrill worked in an outdoor zoo near his home town. Besides book illustrations, he also illustrated some puzzles. For his book illustrations, Morrill won plenty of prizes, including two American Institute of Graphic Arts awards. Morrill died of cancer in 2003 in Washington. To learn more about the illustrator and to see his art work, there is also a pinterest page about Leslie H. Morrill.
Your way to the Milner Special Collections
By the way, if you want to see this first edition of the Nighty-Nightmare, the others we talked about or many others beyond our selection, go to the Milner Library of the Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois. Go to the 6th floor and wash your hands before entering the Special Collections. If you want to do some research before, use the search panel on the Milner page and filter for the location "Special Collections - Floor 6" on the right-handside of the main search content. Please don't forget to check the opening hours of the Special Collections. Enjoy the huge treasure at Milner Library's Special Collections!!
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