Carolyn Haywood's enduring popularity derives from her intuitive knowledge of what children like and her ability to capture the playfulness of their daily adventures. Halloween, that favorite childhood celebration, offers the favorite author the perfect occasion to demonstrate her gifts in this collection of nine stories.

Five of these stories have appeared in earlier books and four are newly written for this one. The faces in the cast of characters are those of old friends—Eddie and his friends, Betsy and Star and Lillybell, Officer Kilpatrick, to name a few. The special delights of Halloween create the plots: devising original costumes—such as a pumpkin-headed man—and wearing them to parties and parades, repairing them when party rough-and-tumble takes its toll, scaring and being scared, trick-or-treating and just plain tricking, and collecting pennies for UNICEF.

All are distinguished by the enterprise, ingenuity, and humor with which children meet the unexpected. Together and separately, they spell pure fun: treats indeed for Haywood fans old and new.

From the dust jacket