Stine brings his characteristic humor and light scares to a reworking of Dickens-s A Christmas Carol, set at Oliver Twist Middle School. Twelve-year-old Rick Scroogeman relentlessly bullies his classmates, tormenting Josh Cratchitt, who has a stutter, and sabotaging the school play (thousands of ants are involved) after learning that he was denied a part because the other students are afraid of him. Stine sticks to the rough outline of the Dickens story line while including ample twists, chilling situations, and jokes: Rick is accidentally visited by Marley-s ghost, who is haunting the wrong house, and Rick-s version of the Golden Rule translates to -Do it to others before they do it to you.- The Ghost of Christmas Past, a hooded figure, whisks Rick to a long-ago school, where he gets a taste of bullying from students who mock him and trick him into diving into a pigpen. The Ghost of Christmas Present allows Rick-s peers to speak for themselves, and the final ghost offers Rick a vision of a terrifying, zombie-filled future. It-s eerie holiday fun, and Stine resists making Rick-s eventual turnaround too sugary-sweet. Ages 9-12. (Sept.)

Gr 4-7 Rick Scroogeman is a pathological bully, enjoying the harmful pranks he pulls on one and all. He has no clue that the "fun" he inflicts makes him the most hated kid in middle school. That is, until he is forced to see the error of his ways by the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future. At first, Rick makes light of being the target of bullies in the 1800s and the hardship of a modern family, but when he witnesses his schoolmates' disdain, he finally starts to get the message. However, Future Ghost hammers it home by dropping Rick off at Dead Middle School, where the zombie students try to pull him into his own grave. Scared straight, Rick does some good deeds and claims to be happier now that he's a good guy&30;although he still pulls a mean prank to end the book. Mild horror situations like zombie students and walking snowmen do not redeem the self-centered first-person narrative of this modern-day Christmas Carol . VERDICT Stine certainly has fans, but this labored effort is not his best and, honestly, the first 50 pages, in which Rick brags about his mean antics, are more horrifying than the ghosts and zombies. Not recommended. Anne Connor, Los Angeles Public Library