BEWARE, TAKE CARE

Fine adds impish life to classic Moore poems from an assortment of earlier collections. The late poet’s tight, bouncy rhymes give a Seussical twist to the grab bag of verses (15 altogether), from a ghost in an apartment house to the scary “Who?” of an owl in a tree to giant mysterious footprints in the snow. Which is to say that the chills she provides are gleeful and not the kind that produce nightmares; “The Ghost in the Supermarket” ends with this couplet: “ ‘I’m just looking for the toast,’ says the ghost.” “The Monster’s Birthday Party” features a “cake in the shape of a snake, and trimmed with octopus goo.” Fine’s illustrations, in charcoal and gouache, add another level of appealing quirkiness; his grinning monsters all look like they need orthodontia (funny, since Fine’s a dentist) and a diet. A fun collection perfectly timed for Halloween. (Picture book. 3-8)