DOCTOR MOLEDINKY'S CASTLE

The magic of a summer in a small town, circa 1957. In related stories, Andy tells about the odd characters and events that fill his 12th summer in Berkeley Bend, including an imaginary elephant, a beautiful girl with a taste for blood, an old woman who can sometimes tell the future, a boy who communicates with animals, the millionaire, Dr. Moledinky, and many others. The second story, ``Old Ben, Pam Snow, and the Blood of Summer,'' is reminiscent of Ray Bradbury's ``Dandelion Wine,'' but with a sharper edge. In it, Hausman (Duppy Talk, 1994, not reviewed) beguiles readers with his tough-minded inventiveness and edgy wit, and entrances them with sheer artistry. A wondrous collection woven of comedy, gritty drama, and pungent imagination, stitched together with lyrical language that yields passages to be reread and shared. (Fiction. 9-12)