If Your Babysitter Is a Bruja

As Halloween approaches, an evening with a new babysitter becomes a high-energy adventure in Siqueria’s seasonal story, which incorporates Spanish phrases. Though the sitter rolls up on a bicycle, the book’s second-person narrator sees things with holiday-colored glasses: “If she zooms in on a broom, black sombrero on her head, cackling like a crow... ¡¡CORRE! RUN!” Vibrant vignettes center the child and possibly-bruja babysitter, both portrayed with tan skin, Freitas depicts the action: the backyard jungle gym becomes a castle under an inky black sky dotted with ghost decorations, while bath time is described as involving “a bubbling cauldron with starving COCODRILOS!!!” As the child comes around on the sitter, final scenes sustain the upbeat tone. Ages 4–8. (Aug.)