GHOSTS IN FOURTH GRADE
by Constance Hiser & illustrated by Cat Bowman Smith
In a sequel to No Bean Sprouts, Please! (1989), James and his friends do battle with Mean Mitchell, the school bully. After being punched in the mouth, James vows revenge and concocts an elaborate plan to frighten his nemesis in the local haunted house. On Halloween, he and his friends plan to play a series of tricks—only to be terrified by extra, unexpected ghostly events. It's plucky T.J. who confronts Mean Mitchell, who has discovered their intentions and tried to outsmart them; in coming to her rescue, James finds a way to get back at the bully after all. Characterization is rudimentary, but the story moves briskly, carried by snappy dialogue and its appealing, if pedestrian, events. Smith's pleasantly slapdash drawings fit right in. Fans who enjoyed James's previous adventures will not be disappointed. (Fiction. 8-10)