Creepy Pair of Underwear! (Creepy Tales! #2)

Perfect for those looking for a scary Halloween tale that won’t leave them with more fears than they started with.

Five years after the Caldecott Honor-winning Creepy Carrots!, Jasper Rabbit returns, and he's being frightened by something equally improbable: the green undies he insisted his mother buy for him. With their "ghoulish, greenish glow" and a stitched and bolted face a la Frankenstein's monster, these tighty not-so-whities start keeping Jasper up at night, and nothing--not even throwing them away or mailing them to China--can prevent them from returning to his bedroom. Once again, Reynolds and Brown are in perfect comedic synch as they channel the surprises and creeping dread of a thriller. Brown's noir-style b&w illustrations make the most of the premise, and the innate absurdity of being afraid of one's undergarments will be a surefire winner with many kids. Ages 4-8. Agent: Paul Rodeen, Rodeen Literary Management. (Aug.)

Jasper Rabbit and his mother go shopping one Thursday for much-needed new underwear. Bypassing the boring white pairs, Jasper begs his mom to get the peculiar looking but comfy neon green underwear—even if it resembles Frankenstein's monster. Reluctantly, Jasper's mother agrees, and so one pair of the psychedelic undies goes home with them. That night, however, Jasper tries to get rid of the underwear but it returns, "staring at him with that ghoulish, greenish glow." The garment's bright color and changing expressions are highlighted by their placement on dark backgrounds. Finally, Jasper successfully buries the underwear in a deep, deep hole. A totally black spread is followed by one with Jasper's huge round eyes, fearful of the dark, now dull without the green glow. After he digs up his original pair, Jasper spends his whole allowance and festoons his room with an entire collection of creepy green underwear. First introduced in Creepy Carrots, Jasper's antics are equally humorous and appropriately but safely spooky. VERDICT An enjoyable and comfortably spine-tingling picture book for a Halloween or any day storytime.—Maria B. Salvadore, formerly at District of Columbia Public Library