In the Haunted House

All we see are two pairs of sneakers—one large, one small—as a little girl and her father tour a dark, mysterious house.

A little girl and her father tour a dark, mysterious house, eventually revealved to be a "Halloween House."

All we see are two pairs of sneakers--one large, one small--as a little girl and her father tour a dark, mysterious house.

Publishers Weekly

Four sneakered feet, two large and two small, tiptoe through a house chock-full of otherworldly creatures--a vampire, ghosts and a mummy, among others--in Bunting's second Halloween excursion. Like her Scary, Scary Halloween (which was illustrated by Jan Brett), this book features comically creepy rhymes (``Who's in the closet, dark as a tomb / Rattling his bones in the gloom-gloomy-gloom?''), a small, built-in mystery (how can such a haunted house be real ?) and a cheery surprise at the end (the owner of the big feet has been more frightened by the weird goings-on than has his little partner). Meddaugh's illustrations strike a nice balance between scary and silly, and include lots of rewards for observant readers: parents and art-wise children may note a homage to Picasso on one page. All in all, this winning addition to the Halloween bookshelf is sure to prompt as many giggles and shivers as the holiday itself. Ages 3-6. (Sept.)

Susan Meddaugh was born and raised in Montclair, New Jersey. She graduated from Wheaton College, where she studied French literature and fine arts. After working briefly with an advertising agency in New York, she moved to Boston and worked at a publishing company for ten years, first as a designer, then art editor, and finally as art director. While there, she did the illustrations for GOOD STONES (Houghton Mifflin) by Anne Epstein, and then decided to strike out on her own as a freelance illustrator and creator of children's books. Since that time, Susan has written and illustrated many popular books for children, including MARTHA SPEAKS, which was chosen as a NEW YORK TIMES Best Illustrated Book for 1992. In 1998 she was awarded the New England Book Award, given by the New England Booksellers Association to recognize a body of work. Her work also was acknowledged with a New York Times Best Illustrated Award. She lives in Sherborn, Massachusetts.