THE GREAT MCGONNIGLE'S GRAY GHOST

The Great McGonnigle is a new kid in town and just keeping up with him has turned out to be ""an education in the possibilities of surprise"" for his average buddy, Ken. The first surprise here is that the ""gray ghost"" is no ordinary haunt, but a promotional balloon with a 50 dollar gift certificate attached. First the boys hope to capture one of these balloons for themselves, but when old Gustav Swanson shows them one that has snagged on the gutter of his rich, nasty neighbors, Cyrus and Etta Simmons, McGonnigle figures out a way to bypass the Simmons' dog, circumvent the trespassing laws (technically at least) and rescue the gift certificate to play Robin Hood and prove that ""once in a while them that has gits taken."" McGonnigle, whose plan takes more nerve than ingenuity, hasn't really earned his nickname in this first appearance but his wit is a bit less abrasive than that of some other whiz kids and beginning readers will approve of the way he makes fast work of a tricky problem.