Tales from Academy Street

In this collection of Twilight Zone -like stories, the youngsters living on or visiting Academy Street--a seemingly ordinary suburban block--come upon some weird occurrences. For example, deaf Jesse can hear the chattering of a new pair of sneakers; Streak, a track star recovering from pneumonia, meets a talkative, minuscule rodent; Jeff finds a mirror that has an antagonizing effect on everyone; Cara gradually concludes that the church's attractive choirmaster, an avid hunter, is evil personified; Lucy believes that the completion of a tedious sewing project is connected to her ailing grandfather's demise. Derman's aim for the bizarre and extraordinary isn't always precise; these pieces often lack the tension and craftsmanship required of supernatural yarns. Yet demand for the genre and the book's less taxing short story format will undoubtedly boost its popularity. Ages 10-up. (Sept.)