GRANDMAS TRICK-OR-TREAT

Caldecott winner McCully (Mirette on the Highwire, 1992, etc.) adds another to her stories and pictures of Pip’s grandmas in I Can Read format. This one, in three chapters, can easily be handled by a new reader. Pip’s Grandma Nan swoops in on Halloween to whisk Pip into an angel costume, but that isn’t what Pip had chosen—a pencil costume is her own design. Then Grandma Sal scares them all, coming to the door completely wrapped in bandages. So both grandmas take Pip (penciled in this time) and her buddies out trick-or-treating, Grandma Nan insisting that the children be polite and not play tricks, Grandma Sal opting for being scary. The kids try ditching the grandmas, but are threatened by pirate Bertha, who tries to steal their treats. Bertha is shooed away by two monsters who look much like grandmas, and all ends well. The illustrations are full of autumn-leaf colors, deepening shadows, and lots of orange and black. The two grandmas could scarcely be more of a contrast: grayed and angular Grandma Nan wears pumpkin earrings, a miniskirt, tights, and boots; Grandma Sal, who never gets out of her bandages, is rounder, cheerier, and has white curly hair. As usual, there’s room for both. A real treat. (Easy reader. 5-8)