cover image The Haunted Hamburger and Other Ghostly Stories

The Haunted Hamburger and Other Ghostly Stories

David LaRochelle, illus. by Paul Meisel. Dutton, $16.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-525-42272-3

When Franny and Frankie, a pair of ghosts, ask Father Ghost to tell them scary bedtime stories, the resulting tales will leave readers in stitches. Uncle Ned, unable to scare anyone, meets a fate worse than, er, death, when he’s turned into a diaper. In another story, Cousin Nell proves less frightening than a hamburger, and the final tale’s Big Bad Granny knows just how to torment little ghosts—with kisses and hugs. Meisel’s hapless, gap-toothed ghosts and LaRochelle’s knack for pitch-perfect bedtime storytelling make these stories light on horror but heavy on laughs. Ages 6–8. (Aug.)