TAKESHITA DEMONS
by Cristy Burne & illustrated by Siku
When she was a little girl in Osaka, Miku Takeshita was totally normal, except for having a zashiki-warashi—a child-ghost in her house. Now that her family's moved to London, Miku tries to be careful of spirits and demons, as her grandmother always taught her. When the Red Cross woman knocks at the door, Miku delays answering; she sounds OK, but... The girl is horrified to discover that her mother has dusted away the protective cedar leaf she's put above the door. Now Miku is convinced her new substitute teacher is a nukekubi, a carnivorous demon with a detachable head. When her baby brother vanishes, Miku and her best friend head out in a terrible snowstorm to fight the demons and rescue the baby. Simultaneously energetic and atmospherically creepy, this ghost-story adventure (accompanied by well-suited if sloppy manga-style illustrations) features two intrepid and likable heroines. Chock-full of authentic Japanese demons and gleefully entertaining. (Ghost story. 9-11)