Starred Review Pearson has received well-deserved acclaim for his Hilda series, and each volume is a stellar example of sequential storytelling. In this installment, Hilda joins the Sparrow Scouts and sets out to win her camping badge. Following a lively, humorous montage, she's finally ready to head off, but once on-site, she is distracted by a homeless nisse, or house spirit. Every time selfless, brave Hilda tries to help the poor sprite, she gets in trouble. And that's not the only problem giant black hound has been stalking the Scandinavian city, and soon there are homeless nisses everywhere. Could the two mysterious occurrences be linked? Hilda seems to be the only one with the patience and sense of wonder to solve the mystery. In gorgeous, oversize pages filled with warm jewel tones, Pearson's varied panel layouts and detailed, purplish backgrounds artfully carry emotional weight and subtle humor in equal measure. The house spirits are all nose and hair, while the black hound looms as a menacingly large shadow in the forest. Hilda is, as always, a charming hero, from the top of her blue-haired head to the bottom of her slouchy red boots. Every volume of this fairy-tale-adventure series is a must-have.

Gr 3-5 While Pearson's wide-eyed, turquoise-haired protagonist goes about joining the Sparrow Scouts and learns some handy skills from building campfires to erecting shelters, a large, "wolf-like" creature prowls about Trolberg. People have gone missing, and a sighting of the hound ends Hilda's first camping trip. Back home, more mysterious happenings occur; all over town, Nisse (those furry-faced house spirits that live behind bookcases and the "gaps in the floorboards") are being tossed out in the street, forced to fend for themselves. After a face-to-face with the hound, Hilda sees an opportunity to earn her first scout badge, which thus far has eluded her. She visits the library, digs up newspaper articles, draws sketches of the creature, interviews townsfolk who may or may not have seen the creature, maps the locations of suspected sightings, and puts together a Common Coreworthy, book-length report earning her "Friend to Animals" badge. Unfortunately, the award ceremony is interrupted by the hound falling through the ceiling, but in the chase that ensues several mysteries are solved, including that of the Nisse's displacement. Sound like a lot of plot? It is, but Pearson pulls it off with aplomb. The full-size volume offers a minimum of 10 panels of varying sizes per page. Darker shades dominate when the beast lurks, and earth tones and reds and oranges when the characters go about their daily business. Touches of humor abound in both images and dialogue. A book sure to garner new fans for this feisty adventurer. Daryl Grabarek , School Library Journal