Post by Automaton on Jun 6, 2023 1:12:34 GMT
I've been looking for a picture book I read in a UK primary school between 2003 and 2006, though I think there's a good chance it was much older than that (my school had lots of books from the 90s and 80s).
The story was about a normal boy with creepy parents who'd very reluctantly drag him along on spooky outings. His mum dressed in a witchy style and I think his dad might've had a Frankenstein's monster thing going on, but I'm less clear on what he looked like.
The main part I remember, and possibly the main focus of the story, was a family night out to a scary bar/restaurant. The clientele were creepy people similar to the boy's parents, and maybe some more explicit monster designs as well. There was a band setting up, with roadies hauling around huge boxes with the band's name stickered on the side. I'm fairly certain the band's name was "Jasper's [something]", or maybe that particular box belonged to a band member called Jasper?
The most striking visual I can remember was either driving to or from the restaurant. It was a view of the car from behind, with the boy peering out the rear window as a monster poked its head from a manhole beneath the car.
The art style was pastel and slightly washed-out, with sketchy linework that reminded me of other 90s books I read around the same time.
I think the story ended with the boy learning to accept his parents' lifestyle, or his parents learning to respect his own interests more often? It wasn't a long story either, so it must have been aimed at maybe 3 to 5 year olds. I found it quite scary at the time and for some reason I thought the band roadies were setting up a bomb - maybe this actually was a background detail in the artwork but I can't confirm that either.
I've posted about this on Reddit a few times and gotten no responses. I've extensively searched the Internet Archive library including relevant tags and I've had very little luck there either.
The story was about a normal boy with creepy parents who'd very reluctantly drag him along on spooky outings. His mum dressed in a witchy style and I think his dad might've had a Frankenstein's monster thing going on, but I'm less clear on what he looked like.
The main part I remember, and possibly the main focus of the story, was a family night out to a scary bar/restaurant. The clientele were creepy people similar to the boy's parents, and maybe some more explicit monster designs as well. There was a band setting up, with roadies hauling around huge boxes with the band's name stickered on the side. I'm fairly certain the band's name was "Jasper's [something]", or maybe that particular box belonged to a band member called Jasper?
The most striking visual I can remember was either driving to or from the restaurant. It was a view of the car from behind, with the boy peering out the rear window as a monster poked its head from a manhole beneath the car.
The art style was pastel and slightly washed-out, with sketchy linework that reminded me of other 90s books I read around the same time.
I think the story ended with the boy learning to accept his parents' lifestyle, or his parents learning to respect his own interests more often? It wasn't a long story either, so it must have been aimed at maybe 3 to 5 year olds. I found it quite scary at the time and for some reason I thought the band roadies were setting up a bomb - maybe this actually was a background detail in the artwork but I can't confirm that either.
I've posted about this on Reddit a few times and gotten no responses. I've extensively searched the Internet Archive library including relevant tags and I've had very little luck there either.
