Ol’ Clip-Clop: A Ghost Story

In a ghostly story in the vein of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and A Christmas Carol, an 18th-century miser, John Leep, rides on horseback to evict a woman from her residence. But as darkness falls over the forest—exquisitely rendered in Velasquez’s milky, naturalistic paintings—Leep hears the “Clip. Clop” of a ghostly rider behind him. After cruelly deceiving his desperate tenant (“You’re short. This isn’t everything you owe me!”), he journeys home, again pursued by the invisible horseman. Readers who crave truly scary stories won’t be disappointed by the conclusion to this enigmatic tale—and a great many will jump out of their seats. Ages 6–9. (July)