Creepy Pair of Underwear Author Aaron Reynolds Shares His Top 10 Creepy Picture Books

Author Aaron Reynolds knows his creepy picture books. His hilarious book Creepy Carrots told the delightfully macabre tale of a rabbit named Jasper, whose obsession with eating carrots gets him into trouble when the carrots begin to retaliate (or do they?). With atmospheric illustrations by Peter Brown, a pitch-perfect comedic voice, and a gleeful surprise ending, Creepy Carrots is a modern classic. In Reynolds’ newest book, Creepy Pair of Underwear, Jasper Rabbit takes a trip to the underwear store and picks out a pair of creepy glowing underwear…or does the underwear choose him? Find out when the book comes out on August 15th—and in the meantime, enjoy this fantastic list of creepy picture books compiled by a master of the genre.

The Dark, by Lemony Snicket and John Klassen
A wonderfully eerie book about a boy who’s afraid of the dark, especially the dark that lives in the basement. There’s one page that gets a little explain-y, probably designed to diffuse your heebie-jeebies right at the peak of their heebie-jeebieness. But that page aside, this story has equal parts creepiness and heart.

The Spider and the Fly, by Mary Howitt and Tony DiTerlizzi
This highly stylized spookfest is DiTerlizzi at his most brilliant, made all the more creeptastic by the fact that it’s all in black and white.

The Gashleycrumb Tinies, by Edward Gorey
You asked for my top ten creepy picture books! So this definitely makes the list. Fair warning though . . . don’t give this ABC book to your toddler unless you want to pay for years of therapy. But this utterly macabre picture book will make older kids howl with laughter and squirm with fright.

The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip, by George Saunders and Lane Smith
It doesn’t technically qualify as a picture book. And it may not even seem creepy at first glance. But this highly illustrated story is a fantastic read aloud to kids. And a little girl’s goats being plagued by little spiky many-eyed creatures? Those creepy little gappers put this book at #4 on my creepy list.

Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich, by Adam Rex
Wonderfully weird and creepily kooky. A classic for every creepy bookshelf.

Bugs!, by David T. Greenberg and Lynn Munsinger
A poetry book about insects? Come on, Aaron. We asked for creepy! You’ll have to trust me on this. If you can get to the end of this book without your skin crawling, you’re a braver soul than I.

Boris and Bella, by Carolyn Crimi and Gris Grimley
No list of creepy picture books is complete without something illustrated by the gloriously ghoulish Gris Grimly. And Carolyn Crimi’s tale of a monstrous odd couple who fall for each other is sweetly disgusting…in all the right ways.

Zombie in Love, by Kelly DiPucchio and Scott Campbell
Another creepy-crawly love story, this tale of zombie romance will rip your heart right out of your chest. And possibly eat it for dinner.

A Monster Calls, by Patrick Ness and Jim Kay
Like The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip, this is not technically a picture book. But picture book or no, some stories were just made to be read aloud to kids. This spine-tingling story, loaded with spidery spooky pictures, cries out to be read aloud on a dark and stormy night.

Just a Minute: A Trickster Tale and Counting Book, by Yuyi Morales
When you first spy the decidedly non-creepy cover, you may think I’ve put this book on the wrong list. It’s not an overtly scary story. But there’s a fantastically subtle darkness to this story of Grandma Beetle who outsmarts Death on the day he’s come to take her away. Plus, Yuyi Morales’s illustrations scream to be seen by as many people as possible. They are simply gorgeous.