KIDS BOOKS Recent reviews

& quot;Scratch and Sniff Halloween, & quot; by Andy Crawford and Stephen Shott (Dorling Kindersley Publishing, $6.95, ages 6 months to 3 years). In one of the few offerings for toddlers, illustrators Crawford and Shott dare young readers to & quot;sniff a big, spooky pumpkin, & quot; & quot;a scary, skull pizza & quot; or a bubbling witch's brew. Each large illustration of bats, bed-sheeted ghosts and typical Halloween icons comes with a powerful fragrance and minimal text.
& quot;Minnie and Moo Meet Frankenswine, & quot; by Denys Cazet (HarperCollins, $14.95, ages 4 to 8 years). Two of the most lovable bovines in children's literature encounter a dark and stormy night along with an ensemble cast of terrified farm animals. It takes Minnie's sensibilities to calm down Moo and the others before the storm passes and the barnyard mystery is solved. As with previous titles in the series, Cazet employs sophisticated artwork with a tongue-in-cheek text.
& quot;Beto and the Bone Dance, & quot; by Gina Freschet (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $16., ages 4 to 8) The theme of Freschet's latest tale is based around the Mexican holiday Dia de los Muertos (The Day of the Dead). As part of the observation, Beto must search the marketplace for something meaningful to place on his grandmother's grave. He falls asleep to dancing skeletons before his grandmother appears in the dream to suggest just the right momento.
& quot;Monster Goose, & quot; by Judy Sierra (Harcourt, $16.00, ages 5 to 8 years) Kindly Mother Goose gets a Halloween makeover in Sierra's spin on the classic children's story. Turning familiar rhymes inside out and filling them with zombies, ghouls, spiders and a general assortment of monsters on her laptop (it is 2001!), illustrator Jack Davis adds to the gross-out fun with some wildly exaggerated scenery.
& quot;Strange Stories for Strange Kids, & quot; edited by Art Spiegelman and Francoise Mouly (HarperCollins, $19.95, ages 9 to 12 years) Pulitzer Prize winning Spiegelman again employs his creepy characterizations and a roster of notable writers and illustrators in this second book in the series. Along with his wife Mouly, the celebrated New Yorker cover artist features contributions by other well known artists such as Maurice Sendak and Barbara McClintock, along with writers as varied as Paul Auster and David Sedaris, into a thoroughly off-beat, twisted collection that will captivate readers of all ages.
Source: reviewer Rob Stout