Jenny Reen and the Jack Muh Lantern

This heart-pounding, spooky tale is about a young slave who encounters in the woods a ""jack muh lantern""--a hideous man-beast with ""googly google eyes."" Debut illustrator White's deep-hued oils intensify the mystery, but most compelling is the book's window onto slavery: the yearly ration of three buttons, the spirituals and the occasionally cryptic dialect. Ages 6-10. (Sept.)