Bouncy cartoons and a lively page design add some zip to this collection of six short-short Halloween stories for beginning readers. The tone is more silly than scary, but the author uses rhyme and plenty of sound effects ("TAP! TAP! TAP!") to keep readers involved.

A good collection of poems and quick tales that packs a little Halloween chill. Adinolfi's ( Fred's Bed , 2001, etc.) art has the right mixture of daffy and spooky—eerie faces and clacking skeletons, in strong colors—to set the tone for these six stories, a couple of which have comical edges, but mostly have a solid, creepy quality. Two are cautionary tales: One involves a couple of girls who visit one house too many on Halloween night, the other an irresponsible bully boy who refuses to bring back a library book. One provides a shock: "Then Sally Bibble drew a little scribble / that looked a lot like Baby Bibble. / They never found her baby sister. / Sally Bibble hardly missed her." And a couple leave strange things unexplained, though older characters think they have figured out the queer happenings: a house that echoes even when it's not empty, and a mysterious tap tap tapping. The text is also pitch-perfect for beginning readers, with just enough challenge to the words and a narrative momentum that pulls readers right along. (Easy reader. 4-8)

K-Gr 2-A ghostly narrator tells six not-so-scary Halloween stories that beginning readers will enjoy. The first tale features two greedy trick-or-treaters who are tricked by a witch and a ghost. Next, sibling rivalry goes unchecked when Baby Bibble disappears as Sally Bibble scribbles the child's image with a special pen. In another selection, a tap-tap-tapping sound fuels the grim imaginations of two brothers until the elder boy removes a branch hitting the window, producing a temporary quiet. Librarians will rejoice in the story of mean Bill, who steals the book his sister is reading, and leaves it under his bed. Because it is haunted, it cries out to be returned to the library, prompting the boy to take it back the next morning, still in his pajamas. These charming tales conclude with the ghost requesting readers to share the book with a friend, and to write their own stories. Adinolfi's illustrations provide contextual clues with friendly cartoon fiends depicted in bright colors and a variety of skin tones. A treat for emerging readers.-Laura Scott, Baldwin Public Library, Birmingham, MI Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.