THE SPOOKY EERIE NIGHT NOISE
By
In perky, cleverly rhymed verse, a little girl wonders about the noise outdoors, imagining all sorts of fierce natural and supernatural creatures--all pictured with bland good humor in Yalowitz's illustrations: he gives each creature a smooth, simple form in which its sharp teeth provide unexpected drama, graying his palette to accentuate the eerie feeling. At last, Mom and Dad go outdoors and discover that there is indeed danger of a sort: a pair of hungry skunks under the pear tree. There's enough suspense mixed with the humor and the gallery of fearsome creatures here to keep the picture-book crowd interested till the last-page surprise.