Midnight Manor Turns Bedtime into a Playful Halloween Adventure

Midnight Manor finds its Halloween fun in a simple reversal: just as children are settling down, the creatures in Sid Sharp’s manor are starting their day. They get dressed, eat breakfast, play games and head out into the night. When morning arrives, it’s their turn to wash up and go to bed. That familiar bedtime rhythm gives young readers a way into a world where almost everything else has a wonderfully odd twist.

Written and illustrated by Toronto artist Sid Sharp, the 36-page picture book is scheduled for October 2026 from Annick Press. It’s listed for ages 3–5, and carries ISBN 978-1834021195. Sharp, whose first graphic novel was The Wolf Suit, brings a distinctive visual sensibility to this story of witches, skeletons, goblins, banshees, Mothman and Bigfoot living together under one roof.

A routine with a monster-sized twist

The book borrows the reassuring sequence of a bedtime story, then swaps night for day. Manor residents wake, make their beds, dress and eat before setting off into their evening. Their everyday tasks invite children to spot the points of connection, while the details keep those routines deliciously strange. A six-legged resident has a pile of red socks to pull on; breakfast might mean tadpole pie, warm worms, mugwort jelly or cobweb cake. A basketball game comes with an unexpected kind of ball.

That mix of recognition and surprise gives the premise room to grow. Readers know what getting dressed or sitting down to eat looks like, even if these residents have more limbs, sharper teeth or less conventional appetites. The manor feels like a household with its own habits and characters, rather than a parade of spooky figures waiting to frighten anyone. A troll on the toilet and banshees playing music in the basement help set the tone: comic, busy and a little mischievous.

Illustration by Sid Sharp from Midnight Manor, written by Sid Sharp

Sharp’s verse adds movement to the manor’s nocturnal outings. One passage describes the residents stepping into the moonlight:

In the moonlight,

the walls are full of whispers

and our feet are full of jigs,

so we march

across the meadows

and we twirl

around the trees. (pg. 25)

The playful cadence gives the journey a sense of shared activity, and the rhyme and wordplay reward reading aloud. The language helps the book shift from the busy details of getting ready to the larger pleasure of moving through the night together. Then the cycle turns: with the sun up, the residents have a snack, bathe, exchange their “Good nights” and finally climb into bed.

Dark colours, welcoming faces

Sharp’s illustrations make the manor’s crowded rooms worth lingering over. The artwork combines traditional media with digital tools, using shadowy shades to suggest a mysterious old house while adding bold colour to catch the eye. The characters’ expressions give them warmth and personality, even when a grin comes with very sharp teeth. Small visual details—a witch trying on hats, a vampire adjusting a bowtie, a skeleton peeking from a closet—invite children to scan the page and notice what’s happening beyond the main action.

Illustration by Sid Sharp from Midnight Manor, written by Sid Sharp

The illustrations and text work as partners: the art supplies atmosphere and comic business, while the writing keeps the story moving through its reversed daily schedule. For adults reading aloud, the alliteration and puns add extra texture; for children, the page details offer plenty to point out, name and revisit. The Halloween setting makes the book an easy seasonal choice, though its appeal rests on the characters and routines rather than a single holiday reference.

Illustration by Sid Sharp from Midnight Manor, written by Sid Sharp

Midnight Manor looks suited to preschoolers who enjoy a gentle shiver, a lively read-aloud and pictures packed with things to discover. Its creatures may be unfamiliar, but their ordinary concerns make them approachable—and their unusual versions of dressing, eating and sleeping create the comedy. The book’s best trick is letting children recognize the shape of their own day inside a monster’s night. After sharing it, grown-ups may want to keep an eye on bedtime: the manor’s residents make staying up look rather appealing.