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Synopsis
Someone stole the key to the Black Cat Bookstore! Lucky for the store's owner, Mr. Brown, his clever cat, Cobweb, is on the case. Cobweb has a plan to scare the burglar away, and the ghost who lives in the bookstore is happy to help. There's only one problem-the burglar doesn't believe in ghosts. But maybe he'll change his mind once he meets the special ghost who lives in the Black Cat Bookstore.
Children's Literature
Mr. Brown owns the Black Cat Bookstore where only ghost books are sold and where a resident cat, friendly mice and a ghost help out. Cobweb the cat and his master share cheese each morning for breakfast and look out for each other. While we never see the ghost, we see plenty of mouse shadows and live mice, which come in handy when a robber steals the spare key to the shop and returns that night. But Cobweb notices, however, and tries to warn Mr. Brown while the mice or mice ghosts push books off the shelves onto the would-be burglar's head. When he returns at night, the mice and cat are waiting and they scare the burglar, so that Mr. Brown arrives just in time to see the scared bad guy take off. Wescott's cheery, full-color, cartoon-line illustrations suit the lightheartedness of this mystery story, and young readers will take pride in reading five chapters of this scary but not-too scary easy reader. The first title in the "Cobweb" series was The Bookstore Ghost. 2001, Dutton, $13.99. Ages 4 to 7. Reviewer: Susan Hepler