(3) 1-3 Pocket Pirates series. A crew of ship-in-a-bottle pirates lives in an old junk shop and comes out to explore when the shop is closed. In Cheese, the Pocket Pirates' cat is kidnapped and ransomed by a band of baseboard mice. In Drain, they plan an escape when their route to the kitchen is blocked. Swashbuckling adventure meets the miniaturized whimsy of The Borrowers in these British chapter books illustrated with pen-and-ink drawings. Review covers these Pocket Pirates titles: The Great Cheese Robbery and The Great Drain Escape.

Reviewer: Kari Allen

(3) 1-3 Pocket Pirates series. A crew of ship-in-a-bottle pirates lives in an old junk shop and comes out to explore when the shop is closed. In Cheese, the Pocket Pirates' cat is kidnapped and ransomed by a band of baseboard mice. In Drain, they plan an escape when their route to the kitchen is blocked. Swashbuckling adventure meets the miniaturized whimsy of The Borrowers in these British chapter books illustrated with pen-and-ink drawings. Review covers these Pocket Pirates titles: The Great Cheese Robbery and The Great Drain Escape.

Reviewer: Kari Allen

(3) 4-6 Spindlewood Tales series. In this second book, Pip, Toad, and Frankie struggle to remain hidden from the forests' evil creatures while avoiding sinister child-snatcher Jarvis. Scuttling from one perilous hideaway to another, the friends succeed in rescuing a carriage load of children but not in solving all the problems besetting beleaguered Hangman's Hollow. Mould's spindly drawings add atmosphere to the enchantingly eerie tale.

Reviewer: Megan Lynn Isaac

(3) 4-6 Spindlewood Tales series. Fleeing his orphanage, ten-year-old Pip stows away on a wagon traveling to Hangman's Hollow, a wretched place where children are hunted both inside and outside the city walls. Mould delights in description of all sorts; he presents Pip's adventures with verbal wit and charming, spidery drawings. The balance struck among fearsome, fantastic, and funny elements creates a pleasant trifle of a tale.

Reviewer: Megan Lynn Isaac

(4) 4-6 Something Wickedly Weird series. Stanley Buggles and the denizens of Crampton Rock--werewolf included!--are back. In Smugglers', Stanley, Daisy, and newcomer Mac, an allegedly "retired" pirate, discover a gold mine. Treasure finds Stanley and Daisy teaming up with the Darkling children to protect the mine from Mac's business associates. Mould's latest tales are rougher around the edges, but, as always, his comical-meets-macabre drawings convey the atmosphere nicely. Review covers these Something Wickedly Weird titles: The Smugglers' Mine and The Treasure Keepers.

Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger

(4) 4-6 Something Wickedly Weird series. Stanley Buggles and the denizens of Crampton Rock--werewolf included!--are back. In Smugglers', Stanley, Daisy, and newcomer Mac, an allegedly "retired" pirate, discover a gold mine. Treasure finds Stanley and Daisy teaming up with the Darkling children to protect the mine from Mac's business associates. Mould's latest tales are rougher around the edges, but, as always, his comical-meets-macabre drawings convey the atmosphere nicely. Review covers these Something Wickedly Weird titles: The Smugglers' Mine and The Treasure Keepers.

Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger

(4) 4-6 Something Wickedly Weird series. Stanley Buggles's third outing is--surprisingly--a letdown compared to his first two adventures. After an opening recap, a new batch of villainous pirates rise from watery graves to steal the Ibis...and then take forever to arrive. Appealingly bizarre, just-scary-enough details help distract from a profusion of plot conveniences (too many things appear exactly when needed).

Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger

(3) 4-6 Something Wickedly Weird series. When the mysterious Darklings claim to be the true owners of Candlestick Hall, Stanley Buggles must prove he's the rightful heir. Mould successfully manages to make the Darklings both creepy (the nocturnal family sings ditties about Stanley's death) and poignant (young Berkeley Darkling wants Stanley to play with him). Black-and-white illustrations, at once eerie and humorous, accompany this fourth series entry.

Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger

(2) 4-6 Something Wickedly Weird series. Eleven-year-old Stanley Buggles learns that strange things are afoot at Crampton Rock. In Mile, conniving pirates convince him to kill a werewolf. In Hand, he meets the headless ghost of his great-uncle. Mould's a witty writer with a deft hand for curious, wry details, also played up in stark pen-and-ink illustrations that manage to be both grim and funny. Review covers these Something Wickedly Weird titles: The Icy Hand and The Wooden Mile.

Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2008

(2) 4-6 Something Wickedly Weird series. Eleven-year-old Stanley Buggles learns that strange things are afoot at Crampton Rock. In Mile, conniving pirates convince him to kill a werewolf. In Hand, he meets the headless ghost of his great-uncle. Mould's a witty writer with a deft hand for curious, wry details, also played up in stark pen-and-ink illustrations that manage to be both grim and funny. Review covers these Something Wickedly Weird titles: The Icy Hand and The Wooden Mile.

Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2008