Bill and the Google-Eyed Goblins

Bill is a born dancer. He hears music in the whistling of the wind, the rattling of leaves, the ""clop, clop'' of horses' hooves and the ``clatter, clang'' of pots and pans. On the ``eve of All Hallows,'' he hears music coming from the hills; he follows the sound to its source and falls through a crack in the earth. He's dragged down by bug-eyed goblins and led to the goblin king where he performs his best dances yet by the light of jack-o-lanterns. The goblins dance along in a frenzy as Bill fills his cap with some of their gold and runs to safety. Schertle's Bill is an autonomous character with a cheerful disposition. He dances to his own tune and wins the respect and recognition of those who once tried to change him. Coombs's foreboding goblins and subterranean dance numbers evoke all the fun and fright of a Halloween night, with a pebbly, crayon effect in various intensities of light and shadow. Ages 5-8. (August)