Mother Ghost: Nursery Rhymes for Little Monsters

Traditional nursery rhymes are transformed into not-too-scary Halloween fun. An introductory poem invites readers to trick-or-treat and is followed by a collection including typical frightening fare like ghosts, witches, zombies, and skeletons. Mary's little lamb becomes a ghost ("Mary had a little ghost, /his face was white as cloud;/and everywhere that Mary went/he followed in his shroud.") and Miss Muffet, instead of being frightened by the spider, eats it for dessert. The rhymes scan well, making the poems perfect for reading aloud with a flashlight tucked under your chin. Garrigue's line drawings, primarily in shades of black, white, and purple, add just the right scary touch. The book contains, fittingly, 13 rhymes. VERDICT A fun addition to public libraries' Halloween poetry collections and Mother Goose retellings.—Mary Kuehner, Arapahoe Library District, CO

Kolar rewrites Mother Goose rhymes for zombie fans. From "Mary Had a Little Ghost" ("And everywhere that Mary went/ He followed in his shroud") and "Little Boy Drac" ("Will you wake him? No, not I;/ My garlic breath will make him cry") to "Wee Willie Werewolf," she slips in all the Halloween ingredients she can think of and stays conscientious about rhyme and meter. French artist Garrigue (How to Ward Off Wolves) illustrates in the arch, crabbed ink-line style of Ronald Searle, giving long, pointed noses to people in photographs, and snaggly teeth and scribbly hair to a witch cooking stew ("Sing a song of witches, pocket full of sage"). He sticks to a palette of lavender and black with occasional splashes of orange and sickly green, and the illustrations supply background material such as deserted mansions and Venus flytraps. The poems may inspire kids to try their own spooky adaptations--there are an unlucky 13 nursery rhymes here, and "Jack and Jill" is still up for grabs. Ages 6-7. (July)