Thirteen O'Clock Book

This is the story of a very normal girl on an almost normal night in a fairly normal house normal, that is, except for a not-so-normal clock whose numbers count not twelve but a spooky thirteen.

James Stimson's extraordinary book about the antics of a perky prankster in pajamas is a feast of words and pictures. Filled with sly wordplay, atmospheric illustrations, and a baker's dozen of spritely, spooky, spunky characters, it reminds readers that more fun than fright can be had from things that go bump, bong, groan, clatter, squeak, and gong in the night.

Publishers Weekly

What happens when the clock in an old house strikes thirteen? "Atop the mysterious old clock/ a hidden hatch flipped./ And upon the freaky 1st of thirteen o'clock's tones,/ from it sprang a spriteful fright." Newcomer Stimson (who worked on the animation for James and the Giant Peach) weaves wacky word webs as he calls the roll of 13 strange creatures that emerge from the clock. They move "sneaking sneakily.../ creeping creepily.../ to the small girl's room at the end of the hall." Is she in for a terrible shock? No! It's the creatures' turn to be frightened "when the ghoul crew realized that the uncanny culprit/ behind the bewildering plot/ was the prankster in pajamas, their small friend, not a fiend." Stimson's pencil illustrations appropriately take shape in shadowy black and ghostly white, with only shades of olive and brown for color. The creatures liberated by the clock appear as flat geometric shapes, big blockheads with dots for eyes and little sprites with antennas and stick feet. Whirling winds wail through the scenes, and plenty of typographical pyrotechnics-crooked typesetting, large and small fonts, and occasional hand-lettering-add visual punch. Stimson's free-associating free-verse and bold use of an eclectic, alliterative vocabulary ("Is it a peculiar pendulum with a precarious pivot?") make this a fine read-aloud choice-at any hour of the day or night. Ages 3-7. (Oct.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.