(3) 4-6 Are You Scared Yet? series. Illustrated by Kelly Murphy & Antoine Revoy. Ten short stories explore different haunted house scenarios, from a typical fun house and mansion to the more unusual doghouse and tea house. Varied settings and story lines allow for ghosts who are frightening, vengeful, lonely, and loving. The genuinely scary but often touching stories are accompanied by detailed black-and-white illustrations that deftly either ratchet up the spookiness or soften it.

Reviewer: Katie Bircher

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by David Ouimet. From headless ghosts and books that literally come to life to mysterious disappearances and exceedingly creepy characters, these thirteen tales, featuring both male and female protagonists, provide enough page-turning suspense to satisfy intermediate-level thrill-seekers. Occasional dark, brooding black-and-white illustrations (most aren't too scary) enhance this worthy addition to the Dare to Be Scared series.

Reviewer: Tamara DePasquale

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Daniel San Souci. Robert San Souci retells the Grimm tale of Clever Elsie as a story about a sibling duo, instead of the customary husband and wife, making a mess of their farm and housework. The wordy text is ably supported by Daniel San Souci's lively illustrations.

Reviewer: Miriam Lang Budin

(4) 4-6 Illustrated by David Ouimet. These thirteen short stories provide a mix, from the expected horror staples (in which bad children are punished by supernatural forces) to the most original tale here, a Field of Dreams takeoff about an undead baseball team. Overlooking some broadly sketched characters that verge on stereotypes, this mild horror collection is pleasantly scary fun.

Reviewer: Dorrie Karlin

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Rebecca Walsh. In a rollicking story with British and Scandinavian folkloric origins, plain Princess Rosamond saves her father by bringing curative water and treasure from a faraway well. She is both smart and kind, unlike her evil stepsister who is turned into an ogre when she attempts the same journey. This is a crowd-pleaser with bright paintings full of action and dramatically funny faces.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(4) 4-6 Illustrated by David Ouimet. A bullied boy exacts revenge on his tormentors after his death; a group of friends visit a haunted house; a girl stays out past her curfew--with catastrophic results. Illustrated with atmospheric art, these eerie tales are individually effective, but there's a sameness to the conclusions (most end with the protagonist dead or about to be killed) that makes the volume seem repetitive.

Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta

(2) K-3 Illustrated by David Catrow. Borrowing the tactics of a number of clever underdogs in folklore, Little Pierre (based on Ti-Poucet, the Cajun Tom Thumb) helps his four trifling brothers "out of a big hole they [dug] for themselves" by saving the rich and trés jolie Marie-Louise from the Swamp Ogre. San Souci infuses his story with an easy Cajun lilt; the watercolor illustrations of the near-garish creatures play better from a distance--what a rollicking story time it promises.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2004

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by David Ouimet. Peter investigates a haunted house. Lindsay gets phone calls from a deceased aunt. The driver of Mark's bus may be a space alien. These thirteen original stories--some containing elements from traditional tales--are well suited for telling around the campfire. Though the characterizations are minimal, the stories are well paced and most end with a clever or shocking twist. The illustrations are appropriately dark and atmospheric.

Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Yoriko Ito. Satsu wanders into the woods--where he's been forbidden to go. Angering a child-eating ogre, Satsu offers his silver good-luck charm in exchange for his life and the ogre agrees. But Satsu falls gravely ill without his charm, and his pet fox and puppy work together with a mouse to steal the charm back from the ogre. Lush watercolors illustrate the gently told tale based on an Ainu legend.

Reviewer: Jeannine M. Chapman

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Kimberly Bulcken Root. Sweet Almira Case objects when her miserly father decides to kill all the songbirds to keep them from stealing crops. With the help of the schoolmaster and his students, Almira rescues the orphaned fledglings--luckily so, because with the birds gone, the insects take over. The somewhat preachy narrative gets an able assist from the engaging watercolor and pencil illustrations of a colonial town.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Sergio Martinez. This Southwest "Cinderella" story includes elements of European fairy tales, Christian imagery, and Spanish folklore. When her father marries a haughty widow with two vain daughters, Teresa's life becomes miserable. A "woman in blue" comes to the rescue in exchange for Teresa's kindness to an old man and a baby. Golden light suffuses the watercolor paintings, while accurate details root the story in the colonial Spanish tradition.

Reviewer: Elena Abos Alvarez-Buiza | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2001

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Alexi Natchev. The young Tsar Peter rejects the jealous witch Molnya, and she curses him with ruin when he chooses a bride. When Peter courts the Little Sister of the Sun, Molnya transforms herself into a giant baby and proceeds to devour his castle. Exuberant cartoonish illustrations bring out the humor in this deliciously scary tale.

Reviewer: Pamela McCuen

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Don Daily. In this adaptation of two southern folktales, young Callie Ann outwits the crafty, honey-loving Mistah Bear, who, disguised as a gentleman, comes courting her mother. Although the use of dialect seems contrived at times, the book is a worthy read-aloud. Oversized, humor-filled illustrations extend the text, and a source note at the back provides careful documentation.

Reviewer: Henrietta M. Smith

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Doug Kennedy. In this noodle tale, six silly fisherman spend the day out on the bayou trying to fish, but their foolishness keeps getting in the way. The setting and lavish Cajun dialect give the tale a strong regional flavor, while the cartoonlike illustrations of the fishermen's antics (which are observed by a frog, a turtle, and an alligator) play up the humor in this entertaining, ridiculous tale. An author's note suggests further reading. Glos.

Reviewer: Pamela McCuen

(2) K-3 Illustrated by David Catrow. In this sweet tale of corpse-meets-corpse, San Souci creates a bony heroine whose trip to the ball has a distinctly Halloweenish cast. The plot follows the original folktale closely, with one grisly exception: instead of retaining her glass slipper, Prince Charnel gets her entire foot, snapped off halfway up the leg bone. The potentially scary moments are made humorous in Catrow's caricatures and dynamic compositions.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2000

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Sally Wern Comport. Margaret, the brave red-haired heroine of this adaptation of an Irish tale, slays a sea monster, is ensnared by a witch, kills a giant, rescues her beloved Simon, and wins her freedom before marrying her man. Dramatic illustrations with tilty perspectives add flair to this feminist adventure tale. A brief source note is appended.

Reviewer: Pamela McCuen

(3) K-3 Illustrated by James Ransome. Based on a tale found in both the Bantu and African-American cultures, the heartwarming story concerns a childless couple who must break an enchantment and release two orphaned children who have been transformed into stones. Set in "the olden times" of nineteenth-century rural America, the clearly told tale (which includes dialect in the dialogue) is accompanied by expressive, deep-toned illustrations.

Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Brian Pinkney. This lively adaptation is based on a French Creole version of Perrault's familiar tale. Choosing Cendrillon's godmother (a lonely old washerwoman) as narrator provides a fine rationale for the intimate yet traditional storytelling tone that San Souci adopts here. Pinkney's signature multimedia art glows with the richly saturated colors of the Caribbean. This vital, assured "Cinderella" deserves a place in every library.

Reviewer: Joanna Rudge Long | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 1998

(3) K-3 In this interpretation of the Armenian folktale the prince must learn how to read, write, and weave in order to win the hand of the beautiful Anait. Years later he needs these skills and his warrior-queen's help to escape from a three-headed 'dev'. Opulent etched illustrations rich in golds and purples emphasize the drama in this retelling.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.