Skeleton for Dinner

K-Gr 2—"We must have Skeleton for dinner," says Big Witch to Little Witch as they brew a stew. But what does that mean? While the witches want their friends Skeleton, Ghoul, and Ghost to eat a meal, Skeleton assumes they will be the meal. His subsequent flight, the witches' disappointment, and a linguistic intervention by Crow all lead up to a delicious ending. The lightweight premise and thin plot are occasionally enhanced by lively and lilting language, as in the stew recipe: "shark fins and snake skins, spider silk and centaur's milk, catfish whiskers and banshee blisters." Terry's intensely colored cartoons are childlike and not the least bit scary, even though they effectively convey a Halloween mood. The final scene feels more like a cookout than a spooky gathering. Skeleton for Dinner will be an apt selection during discussions of ghoulish Halloween dining as well as the quirks of the English language.—Susan Weitz, formerly at Spencer-Van Etten School District, Spencer, NY