It all starts when a travelling circus arrives in a small village... Everyone is intrigued and excited to see the show, which is said to feature a terrifying monster. That evening, Otto, the narrator, takes a seat in the tent. But when the curtains open, the reader gets a big surprise: the monster on the stage is actually a human child, while the audience is full of terrifying, grotesque monsters! Otto, whose face is finally revealed, is also a hairy monster. Little by little, Otto and the human child get to know each other, and change the way they both look at the world.
A gorgeously illustrated middle-grade novel / graphic novel hybrid, set in a deliciously gothic world of monsters. Published by Pushkin Children's Books ( 12 Mar. 2026) Hardback.
Our village lay at the end of the world. Truly, the end of the world.
Beyond it was nothing, apart from the shadow cast by the mountains, a sea of dark mossy trees and lakes as deep as night.
The only way to reach our village was by a dusty, back-breaking track.
Meaning hardly anyone ever made it there. Sometimes, a blind peddler might pass by selling ointments and potions, or books nibbled at by rats. Sometimes, a few foolhardy walkers strayed this far: it was fun terrifying them, and they were gone in a flash. But it was rare indeed for anyone to venture along the treacherous stony path.
Pa, Ma and I lived in the house at the end of the village, by the silent road where only the dust danced.
Perhaps that’s why, on the day I was woken by the noise, I knew something unusual was afoot.
It sounded like tumbling stones.
Except it wasn’t coming from my dreams, or from the house. Although it felt that close.
I stood on my bed and pressed my nose against the cold windowpane.
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