Story by Colleen Wenn, illustrations by Daniel Wenn & Maciej Janczak
e-Book: 32 pages
Age Range: 4 and up
Publisher: Wenn Enterprises, Pty Ltd
What to expect: Aliens, Adventure, Problem-solving
Spookles: Astral & the Higgles is just one book in a series of twelve that can be downloaded from an interactive website dedicated entirely to the Spookles. The Spookles are an unusual bunch of characters that would never require changing outfits or looks for Halloween. Based on their quirky personalities and odd traits and the way each individual character is showcased on the website under “Meet the Spookles,” they could actually be friends with the Garbage Pail Kids (1980s favorites amongst children).
Astral, an alien (also known as an Astralite) loves to go on adventures and travel to faraway places in his spaceship. When he discovers Earth, he really likes the blue water and green trees; the only problem is that the people are afraid of him and run away screaming when he tries to say hi. Thankfully he discovers Spookleville where the people are unafraid of him. He decides to stay, but not before returning home to let his mom and dad know about Spookleville and to pack a bag with his belongings. This is when some excitement begins, as something (or some somebodies) unexpected hide away in Astral’s suitcase. These somebodies happen to enjoy eating leaves … and that could cause a problem in the town of Spookleville.
Adventurous children intrigued by otherworldly characters would most likely enjoy this little tale that involves some minor problem-solving. With 32 color pages, this story is professionally narrated and allows readers to click on a word to have it read back to them (a great learning tool for beginning readers). Parents can download two of the Spookle e-books for free, one of which is Spookles: Astral & the Higgles, and take the books and interactive website for a spin before committing to the rest of the series which can be purchased as individual titles or as an entire set.
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