This Is the House That Monsters Built

It’s one big chain of scares in this Halloweeny version of “This Is the House That Jack Built” from the duo behind Pluto Visits Earth! As assembly of the house gets underway, various creatures inadvertently spook each other: “This is the skeleton who nailed down the floor,/ That upset the werewolf who put in a door,/ That stopped the spider who started to crawl/ That shocked the mummy who raised the wall.” The nervous, jittery ink lines that characterize Lee’s work fit the Halloween setting to a tee: the story’s physical comedy, which includes a monster accidentally smashing the skeleton to bits with an armchair, peaks when it’s revealed that a group of young trick-or-treaters are behind all the mayhem. Kids can be scary, too, Metzger and Lee remind readers, just in time for end-of-October mischief. Ages 3–5. Author’s agent: Brenda Bowen, Sanford J. Greenburger Associates. (June)