Steam Park

Five youngsters get on a ride in Steam Park, and before they know it they're slaves in the park's creepy underground, forced to run the steam works that keep all the rides moving. Are they trapped there forever? An unexpected electrical short circuit brings to life a jack-o-lantern, a tipsy old clown, and some freaky little toys who band together to try to save the children. Author Filippo Neri and illustrator Piero Ruggeri tell this colorful, hair-raising story, perfect for late-night or Halloween reading, entirely in pictures.

Children looking for a day of fun at the amusement park find themselves captured and imprisoned by the park's villainous, hulking caretaker. In short order, a jack-o'-lantern, kick-started by an electrical accident, joins forces with a drunken clown and the living rides and mannequins in the park to save the children from being shackled to the machines that make the park run. This European picture-book-size import, told without a single word, unfolds in atmospheric illustrations reminiscent of Tim Burton's The Nightmare before Christmas. Melding a European aesthetic, an American backdrop, and familiar elements from old Scooby-Doo cartoons, Neri and Ruggeri have created a spooky, off-kilter adventure--part sf, part horror, and part dark humor. The occasionally scary images are balanced by events that are more playful than ghastly. Jesse Karp
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