cover image Tacky and the Haunted Igloo

Tacky and the Haunted Igloo

Helen Lester, illus. by Lynn Munsinger. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $16.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-544-33994-1

Tacky and his fellow penguins have transformed their home into a haunted igloo in preparation for Halloween, but the festivities turn truly scary after the hunters from Tacky’s original 1988 picture book show up, and they’re hungry: “We’re trick-or treatin’ ghosties/ And we ain’t no toothie fairies/ So give us all yer yummy treats/ Or we do something skearies.” Luckily, Tacky (who had been struggling to come up with a sufficiently scary costume before the hunters arrived) shows up just in time, dressed as none other than one of the hunters. The ensuing shenanigans offer lots of laughs—after all, what better to satisfy one’s appetite for schadenfreude than seeing someone scary get scared (or “skeared” as the case may be)? As ever, Tacky proves that even the unruliest of penguins can save the day. Ages 4–8. (July)