How to Build a Haunted House

Entertaining and enjoyable for building and critter lovers.

K-Gr 2--Ever wonder where monsters live? A new family of "down on their luck" vampires waits to move into a quiet neighborhood in Ghost Town. Their house must be finished from dusk to dawn--in just one night. A community bulletin board sets up the tale with a desperate request for a house, and digital media frames cartoon images within a busy and boldly dark construction landscape as "Ghost Town wakes from daylight snores." Rhyming text, a nod to literature and film, and playful words emphasized by specific fonts describe the frenzied activities of Frankenstein and his Bride, the Mummy, Cyclops, the Invisible Man, and a collection of werewolves, witches, skeletons, and ghosts--all working together to build a house worthy of the new residents. Light dawns with an inferred ending appropriate to the horror genre. VERDICT A suggested first purchase, this is a richly colorful and humorous fantasy, perfect for alert and detail-oriented young readers.--Mary Elam, Learning Media Services, Plano I.S.D., TX

As Tupta's debut picture book opens, Ghost Town is suddenly bustling: "A new family/ is coming to town./ They gotta move in/ with the sun still down." The night crew springs into action, including werewolf loggers, a Frankenstein's monster, and witches, all driving construction vehicles. Things proceed apace until a mouse appears on the site, scaring a skeleton ("Hammer falls,/ nails splash./ Bones crunch,/ toes smash") whose remains are swept up by a mummy who arrives via ambulance. As the dreaded dawn breaks, the house is finished, and a fitting family moves in. Though portions of the verse can skew a bit adult for the targeted audience ("The monsters grin,/ filled with pride./ The job got done/ and... no one died"), Beckett's stylized digital art, featuring muted colors and enthusiastic images of monsters at work, employs an exaggerated, cartoony vibe. Ages 3-7. (July)

This fun and friendly book will be a hit at Halloween storytimes or with monster-loving children who don't necessarily go in for frights.