MONSTERS PARTY ALL NIGHT LONG

Apparently ghouls get lonely too, because "In his spooky castle old Count Drac/ Is bored and at loose ends/ His scary name/ Has brought him fame/ But it's left him without friends." In a 3-D shadow-box illustration, the green-faced Dracula looks ready for a sophisticated evening in his dapper tux, yet his phone is laced with cobwebs. So he rallies his flock of blue bats, painstakingly modeled in clay, and delivers party invitations to old pals like a rapping mummy, a disco werewolf and "Sleep-'n-Stein," who has the flu and sends regrets ("Me no kum/ sori"). The party is a hit: Chef Boneapart, a skeleton, serves horror d'oeuvres such as "scab croquettes," while zombie models from the magazine Vogre host a fashion show. After a limericky verse introduces each attendee, a changing refrain trumpets the book's title (e.g., "Shaking to that boogie song/ Monsters party all night long"). Debut author Lane composes bouncy, comical rhymes and makes puns; his carefully molded figures, offset by midnight-black backgrounds, show an attention to detail often lacking in holiday fare. This goofy, upbeat revel might make a good companion to last year's Dracula and Frankenstein Are Friends , another tale of a mega monster mash. Ages 4-8. (Oct.)