The Storyteller is every bit as weird and wonderful as its predecessors in The Riverman trilogy. In this final volume, Aaron Starmer hands over the narration to Alistair’s older sister, Keri. I’ll admit, I was initially wary of the move, but my frustration faded once the action picked up again. Under investigation for his friends Charlie and Fiona’s disappearances, Alistair seems to be slipping into madness. Meanwhile, Keri is compelled by some mysterious force to write fiction. Her stories, interspersed with diary entries, are dark and enigmatic. They also carry elements of Aquavania, the fantastical land where (according to her brother) kids’ imaginations reign free. As Alistair recalls his encounters in Aquavania, Keri must decide for herself what is true.

The Storyteller raises provocative questions about inspiration and the creative process, blurring the lines between fiction and reality. You won’t find clever resolutions or a comforting ending here. Instead, you’ll find bizarre tales and macabre metafiction. Up to the challenge?

Adam does not like Koala. It’s easy to see why. The stuffed animal is disheveled, expressionless, and there’s just something off about its lifeless little eyes. But no matter how hard Adam tries to get rid of Koala, Koala just keeps finding its way back. I Don’t Like Koala is a funny and surprisingly deep story about childhood imagination. Sean Ferrell has transitioned effortlessly from writing for adults, opting for a minimalist style—mirrored in the illustrations—that allows readers to realize much of the story for themselves.

When the Bunny family comes home one day to find a wolf pup on their doorstep, young Dot is the only one that’s suspicious. Her parents take Wolfie in and are “too smitten to listen” to her pleading refrain that “He’s going to eat us all up!” Dot’s frustration grows as her parents seem inexplicably blind to Wolfie’s voracious appetite or that fact that he follows her around, even occasionally drooling on her. But readers will soon see that Wolfie’s somewhat suspect behavior is actually just misinterpreted sibling affection—and that Dot is being a little too hard on her adopted brother. It’s a realization that only comes to her in the book’s exciting and hilarious conclusion, when the two kids make a trip to the local carrot co-op and have a run-in with another woodland animal with a big appetite of its own.

With stories like Little Red Riding Hood and The Three Little Pigs constantly in the story-time rotation, children learn from an early age to be wary of wolves—but that trope gets turned on its head here. Dyckman’s humorous text marries perfectly with OHora’s whimsical acrylic paintings to spin a delightful picture book about misconceptions, sibling rivalry, and unconventional families. I’d eat it up, I love it so.