Scarum Fair
Gr 3-6–Clever writing pulls children into a creepy carnival of 29 humorous poems. In a series of mostly four- to twelve-line selections, children ride the “Teacup Terror,” “Scary-Go-Round,” and “Rattler Coaster”; taste a bit of “Devil's Food Cake” and “I-Scream”; and attend “Count Dracula's Wedding.” The first poem, “The Ghoul at the Gate,” warns one kid to “Turn back,/or you'll regret it,” and a large green claw comes onto the page to pick up an unsuspecting red-haired boy. Although the poems all seem to be written about that one boy becoming trapped (“Hey, kid...I told you/not to come here./Did you listen to me? No!/You'll never leave the Scarum Fair./The hand won't let you go...”), readers do not see that particular boy throughout but rather a cast of Caucasian children. Dark background colors add a sense of foreboding as the cartoon children meet the ghouls illustrated in acrylics, graphite, and pen and ink. This book will require little hand-selling and will be especially popular among fans of Adam Rex's Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich (2006) or Frankenstein Takes the Cake (2008, both Harcourt) and Jack Prelutsky's Awful Ogre's Awful Day (Greenwillow, 2001).–Julie R. Ranelli, Queen Anne's County Free Library, Stevensville, MDα(c) Copyright 2010.  Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc.  No redistribution permitted.