What There Is Before There Is Anything There: A Scary Story - Hardcover

Praise for "The Big Wet Balloon: "
"An excellent example of how well comics can work for early readers, this warm and accessible story is sure to be a favorite." -- "Kirkus Reviews, " starred review
"The book is brilliant in its confirmation of an essential truth of childhood." -- "Kirkus Reviews"
"Fear is the new fun, and Jon Klassen and Lemony Snicket's The Dark has an impressive rival." -- "Publishers Weekly", starred review

"The book is brilliant in its confirmation of an essential truth of childhood." -- "Kirkus Reviews"

"Unsettling and bracingly honest, it's an unusual and noteworthy import for young readers." -- "Kirkus Reviews"

Praise for The Big Wet Balloon:
"An excellent example of how well comics can work for early readers, this warm and accessible story is sure to be a favorite. Kirkus Reviews, starred review"

"Fear is the new fun, and Jon Klassen and Lemony Snicket's The Dark has an impressive rival." Publishers Weekly, starred review
"This bravely existential picture book eschews cute monsters in closets to capture the true reality of night terrors." Horn Book
"The book is brilliant in its confirmation of an essential truth of childhood." Kirkus Reviews"

Every night when his parents turn off the light, strange creatures descend from the black space where the ceiling used to be . . . First comes one, then another, and then more and more. They stand all around him, staring, not saying a word. And then, worst of all, comes the dark, shapeless one that tells him, ?I am what’s there before there is anything there . . .” Liniers’ art, reminiscent of Hergé and other great comic book artists, feelingly portrays the little boy’s growing terror and his frantic dash for his parents’ bedroom. Combined with hand-lettering, it creates the feeling of a graphic novel for very young readers. Destined to become a classic about nighttime fears (like Paul Galdone’s The Teeny-Tiny Woman), this story resonates with young children afraid of the dark. They're reassured to see that, although the little boy’s fears don’t go away, he does find a way to cope with them.