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MYSTERY ON OCTOBER ROAD by Alison Cragin Herzig

MYSTERY ON OCTOBER ROAD

by Alison Cragin Herzig & Jane Lawrence Mali

Pub Date: Sept. 1st, 1991
ISBN: 0-670-83635-4
Publisher: Viking

Cats and Casey are best friends; together with Benny, they are trying to learn more about a new resident on their street, John Smith, who wears a slouchy hat and a bandanna over his face. Casey sneaks into Smith's cellar and comes face to face with the man himself. He shows her his ``mask''; actually, he's the victim of terrible burns inflicted when he went into a blaze to rescue his carving tools. To make amends for her intrusion, Casey delivers a jack-o-'lantern to Smith; in return, he lights up his yard with a magical, massive display of beautifully carved pumpkins, including one that looks just like Casey. Written in simple language, this is a more easily read version of the Scout/Boo Radley relationship in To Kill a Mockingbird. The mystery is a bit perfunctory, but the Halloween atmosphere is well realized and the sentiments are all in the right places. (Fiction. 8-12)