One Spooky Night & Oth Scary S

The Finnish author-illustrator has created a collection of stories that are a celebration of all things haunting and spooky. In the title story, old James of Doppelganger Manor goes to bed just as a ghost family is waking up. It's Halloween night, so at Mother's bidding, they all don bright white sheets. Millie moans and groans through the night; the people at the manor think it's for her lost love, when really it's because she has to do the dishes. In ""Big Foot,'' the townspeople search for the Abominable Snowman, who howls only because his feet are cold. New boots fix him up. There's the Loch Ness monster who happily scares the hiccups out of a bagpipe player, and a witch who turns a faulty flying broom into a wondrous cleaning machine. Papa Geezer and the boogeyman start playing chess together; there are five more funny tales. These are witty works, accompanied by illustrations that are packed with detailstaring eyes, happy bats, clumsy mummiesKunnas's power of imagination seems limitless. The notion that all things frightening are merely misunderstood is a reassuring one. (4-8)