Benita and the Night Creatures by Mariana Llanos (+GIVEAWAY)

Attention, Picture Book Builders People. My favorite month is nearly here!

In honor of October, I wanted to share a book that just might make you howl with delight. Benita and the Night Creatures is written by my pal Mariana Llanos and illustrated by Cocoretto.

Book Description:

Benita loves to read in bed but keeps getting interrupted by a whistling Tunche, a scary Supay and other spooky creatures from Peruvian lore. To the creatures’ disbelief, Benita is so absorbed by her book that she’s not the least bit scared of them. This humorous celebration of bedtime reading puts a global twist on taking the “scary” out of monsters.

Take a look at these reviews:

“Creatures from Peruvian folklore try, unsuccessfully, to haunt a young reader . . . An imaginative peek at colorful monsters.” – Kirkus Reviews

“Illustrating duo Cocoretto put their own bold folk art stamp on creatures of lore, while play-by-play text from Llanos establishes the child’s single-minded pursuit of reading and the beasts’ comic surprise.” – Publishers Weekly

“Young book lovers will relate to Benita’s devotion to reading and be amused by the friendly night creatures, who are all based on Peruvian legends.” – The Horn Book Magazine

Nice, huh?

I hereby give you Five Reasons Why I Think Benita and the Night Creatures is Spooktacular:

1–It is just-right-scary for a young audience. This kind of thing makes kids practically gleeful! (It also makes this 51-year-old pretty excited, too.)

2–It is a great read-aloud. Each creature that tries–and fails!–to scare Benita has its own creepy sound.

3–It is a celebration of reading! Not only does Benita love reading but she eventually ends up sharing her love of reading with a very unlikely audience.

4–It is FUNNY and funny picture books are my favorite.

5–It has wonderful back matter that includes the inspiration for the book, facts about Peru, and descriptions of the various night creatures.

Now go get a copy of Benita and the Night Creatures…if you dare! Mwah-ha-ha-ha-ha!

GIVEAWAY:

Mariana is giving away TWO signed copies of Benita and the Night Creatures. For a chance to win a copy, leave a comment. For a bonus chance to win, share the post on Twitter (YESSSS TWITTER) and tag @SauerTammi and @marianallanos.