The Costume Copycat

Angela, whose showboaty older sister, Bernadette, gets the best Halloween treats, begs to wear her sibling's hand-me-down costumes. But Bernadette still outdoes her, three years in a row, until Angela designs a special ghost outfit, and Bernadette stays home with chicken pox. The title of Macdonald's (Hedgehog Bakes a Cake ) paper-over-board book is a slight misnomer, for Angela wears secondhand items only twice and lends flair to each—adults just don't notice her. Wilsdorf (Sunny Boy! ), whose sympathetic illustrations recall Susan Meddaugh's, evokes understanding of Angela's yearly dilemma and shows the underdog developing an assertive personality. Ages 4-up. (Aug.)