Tales from Beyond the Brain

Reminiscent of R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps series, the 13 stories in this collection feature ordinary kids in situations of spine-tingling (and sometimes hilarious) supernatural peril. A popcorn kernel stuck between Jamie’s teeth grows into a set of terrifying, sentient fangs in “A Kernel Takes Root”; a seemingly innocuous cat leads well-intentioned Greg woefully astray in “Whiskers”; and the brain Alice finds in the gutter on her way home holds both the answers to her homework and deeply malevolent intentions in “Two Brains, One Alice.” Written in a snappy, declarative style—“Megan figured it was because she was kind of like a bee herself... But, like a bee, when Megan got angry, she could sting”—each tale quickly builds suspense before closing with a zing. Hughes’s illustrations punctuate the text with cartoonishly realistic images that range from eerie luminescent figures to gory eyeballs, complementing the stories to effectively introduce young readers to the pleasures of the genre. Ages 9–12. (Sept.)