BORIS AND BELLA
by Carolyn Crimi & illustrated by Gris Grimly
Two monsters with very different habits find common ground in this boo-tiful friendship tale. So obsessively neat is Boris Kleanitoff, and such a world class slob is his neighbor Bella Legrossi, that all the other creatures in town decline invitations to their rival Halloween parties in favor of a looser but not so disgusting shindig at Hairy Beastie’s. Furiously stomping off to give Hairy what-for, the two reluctantly join the wild dance instead—and discover that together, they can really cut the rug. Readers who find the ghouls and behavior in Adam Stower’s similarly themed Two Left Feet (p. 638) a bit too sweet may go for this edgier rendition, with its cuisine that includes maggot muffins and chocolate-covered gargoyle boils, and its spiky Addams Family–style illustrations. (Picture book. 7-9)