THE GHOST IN THE CLASSROOM
by Gerda Wagener & translated by J. Alison James & illustrated by Uli Waas
From Wagener (A Mouse in the House!, 1995, etc.), a comic and unusual easy-to-read from Switzerland, about a girl who longs for a cat, and the supernatural creature that helps her get her wish. Tina's parents are adamant about the cat: ``Subject closed.'' A rude, ``rodent-sized'' ghost, Otto, in her lunchbox, who disrupts the classroom with his pranks, gains acceptance with Tina's good-natured teacher, but at home, the girl is blamed for the spirit's bad behavior. When Tina's father discovers in a book that cats chase away ghosts, her dream of a pet is realized at the animal shelter. The surprise is that Otto had planned exactly that result when he first showed up. Clever and fast-paced, the story is a nice change from most pet stories. Waas's illustrations are agreeably cartoonish when portraying the ghost in its incarnations; the more realistic scenes are filled with warmth and humor. (Fiction. 7-11)