Don't Ever Look Behind Door 32

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
—
I was excited – yes, really – to get the email from TaleBlade asking if I'd like a copy of this book. Fegan/Wen's previous book, Henry and the Hidden Treasure, was one of my favorite books of last year. Could they live up to that one? Thankfully, they could at least come close.

In these pages, Mr. Nicholas Noo takes two children on a tour of “the magical Hotel of Hoo” showing them all the wonderful things in store and repeatedly warning them, “Don't Ever Look Behind Door 32.” He shows what's behind every other door in between the warnings, most of which is wonderful, some of which is just . . . odd (which I prefer, really). Unlike Disney's Beast, however, Noo does more than tell the children not to go somewhere, he ultimately tells them why they shouldn't go there.

I can't tell you what a pleasant change that is – even if this book is intended for kids – to get a book where a character just tells the others characters everything they need to know to react in a responsible manner. But this isn't the place for that rant (as tempting as it is).

This book isn't as good as last year's Henry and the Hidden Treasure but it's close – the last page or so of Henry was a sweet note, this ended with a reveal/punchline. Is it bad? No – not at all, it's just not as good in my eyes. That said, a punchline ending isn't going to satisfy even a 3-4 year old on the 32nd read through (at least not on its own), but Fegan and Wen don't rely on that – the book is full of jokes, clever lines, visual wonder, and lots of things to pay attention to along the way.

Sure, you want the book to be appealing to kids, but the real key to success for a kid's book is appealing to parents/grandparents/caregivers. They're the ones who have to read, reread, rereread, and rereread again these things. Dr. Seuss and Sandra Boyton enjoy long-lived success because adults enjoy reading them. I think I judge books like this on this standard, but I rarely do it self-consciously. This is one of those books that adults can have fun with even on the fourth “just one more time” of the night. Which has nothing to do with the big reveal at the end, but the trip you take along the way.

Wen's art is just delightful. Really – the colors are vibrant, the characters look great, there's something extra to grab your eye on every page. (which is also great for adult readers)

I'd say something neat about the typeface – it's part of the look of the book, it's fair game. But I say anything beyond “even the typeface is great looking” I'll show I have no idea what I'm talking about, so that's all I'm going to say there.

I can honestly say that I never envisioned having this much to say about a 32 page book, but once I got started, I couldn't really stop. I really dug this book, you will, too – especially if you have kids to read it to.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest opinions about this book.