(4) 1-3 Illustrated by Bill Basso. Sam teases his brother Robert about his gerbil then feels horrible when the gerbil dies. He gets his mother's new boyfriend, a taxidermist, to stuff the gerbil, and the tooth-baring result leads Sam and Robert to suspect the taxidermist of being a zombie. The pseudo-humorous plot strains belief, but the brothers' relationship rings true. Black-and-white illustrations accompany the text.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Bill Basso. When Henry visits Artie Doomsday's house on Halloween, he begins to wonder whether Artie's vampire sister and witch granny are playing dress-up or are for real, and he develops a hysterical case of the hiccups. Luckily, their monster riddle-off calms both his nerves and his hiccups before trick-or-treat time. Goofy illustrations filled with Halloween motifs and silly monster riddles add substance to this otherwise predictable offering.

Reviewer: Susan Halperin