Eddie: The Lost Youth of Edgar Allan Poe

Gothic themes mix with cheeky conversations and slapstick humor in illustrator Gustafson's entertaining authorial debut, which imagines a childhood for Edgar Allan Poe in which the writer's Imp of the Perverse isn't just a metaphor for the root of bad behavior%E2%80%94it's an actual imp. As a young orphan, Eddie inherits his father's mischievous demon, McCobber, and befriends a talking raven, who offers the budding poet practical guidance "forevermore." Eddie's foster parents, the Allans, tolerate his oddities until a nighttime prank seems to incriminate Eddie, who turns detective in self-defense. Gustafson (Favorite Nursery Rhymes from Mother Goose) offers a playful mixture of dialogue styles, ranging from McCobber's "Why, you yolk-brained moron!" to Eddie's formal, "You, sir, have crossed a line!" Interracial relationships weave through the story, which is set in slave-owning Virginia; Dap, an elderly house slave who knows plenty about unjust punishment, befriends and guides Eddie. Poe enthusiasts will appreciate literary references, while the uninitiated will enjoy an introduction that's tinged with the frightful and fantastic%E2%80%94just how Poe would like it. Final art not seen by PW. Ages 8%E2%80%9312. (Aug.)