Booklist

Louise Arnold
The Ghost School
Hodder (324 pages) 9780340892985
In this follow-up novel to Invisible Friend, Tom Godden and his friend Grey Arthur need to solve two mysteries. Ghosts appear to be disappearing and poverty looms for Tom's family, two matters which appear to be linked. The story is involving and the characters charm with warmth generated by brilliantly paced humour - sometimes hilarious and sometimes evoking quiet chuckles. The book, which is full of memorable images and incidents, offers a longer challenge but it is so well written as to be thoroughly engaging. (The third in this series is A Good Day for Haunting.)

Tony Bradman
Tommy Niner - and the Moon of Doom
Happy Cat Books (83 pages) 9781905117406
As in two previous books, Tommy lives with Dad, Grandad and Ada the computer on the spaceship Stardust. In this adventure a search for an Admiral's missing daughter takes them to the one place everybody fears - having been told to avoid it at all costs - the Moon of Doom. Although beset by trouble after trouble, including engine failure, they nevertheless win through to the accompaniment of cartoon-like pictures including the boldly-jawed Admiral. Largish print, lots of illustrations and a good read!

John Dougherty
Jack Slater Monster Investigator
Young Corgi (145 pages) 9780552553728
Here is a writer who takes common expectations and turns things topsy-turvy. Scared of a monster under the bed? Jack's parents are and so go into his bedroom for safety. The visitor is a monster informant warning Jack of dark happenings he must try to prevent. Armed with a good torch, spare batteries and his teddy to prepare for the Monster Underworld, that's exactly what he does. It's a lively story with great pace and good humour, splendid and plentiful illustrations, and a delightful contrariness hanging over everything.

The same author's previous book has an enticing title every school should embrace: Niteracy Hour. This is another mildly subversive creation and saying that there will be adults who will disapprove can only add to its attraction for boy readers!

Cornelia Funke translated by Helena Ragg-Kirkby
Ghost Hunters and the Mud Dripping Monster!
The Chicken House (165 pages) 9781905294350
Four 'Ghost Hunter' books were published together so there are more to find if this one is enjoyed. The three hunters are Hetty Hysop, Tom and Hugo, who is himself an Averagely Spooky Ghost. This adventure has loads of scares; some can be seen to be building up inescapably and others leap out with startling suddenness. Tom is sent to Bogpool as part of his practical exam, but the place begins to sink, the ooze reveals nasty things, and the enemy, Professor Lotan Slimebot, has to be defeated. There are pages of 'information' at the end with handy hints on encounters with types of ghosts and a list of acronyms like TIBIG, 'a tiny biting ghost'! Splendid stuff and spot on for many young readers.

Ian Macdonald
Alien Teeth
E-print (90 pages) 9781905637324
Owen is messing about and having a laugh with friends when he finds an alien's lost teeth and they bite him - a bottom-bite of course. An appearance from the alien, in threatening mode, means the teeth must be returned. But then comes a muddle with Grandpa's false teeth, a confusion with a dentist, and an accidental loss involving a marvellously smiley sheep. All comes out right just in the nick of time and although the book is a sequel to Eyeball Soup, it is complete as it stands. The good clear print is on easy-on-the-eye creamish paper with plentiful drawings.

Garth Nix
One Beastly Beast, Two Aliens, Three Inventors, Four Fantastic Tales
HarperCollins (224 pages) 9780007234097
There's a raised feel to the cover lettering and a large beast-head with a gruffalo look but without the horns. Most pages have pictures and there are indeed four different stories here, each divided into short chapters and the longest around 64 pages. This means that a reader can manage the equivalent of four short books and feel the satisfaction of having coped with the whole of this thicker and heavier one. The subjects are enticing too: Blackbeard - a pirate of course together with a boy named Peter and some rats as crew; that Beastly Beast - a literally bloody one; an inventor who encounters aliens and a sea serpent to finish. All good stuff with humour, fantastic situations and a fine illogical logic to it all.

Ian Ogilvy
Measle and the Doompit
Oxford (373 pages) 9780192726223
The author is the actor well known for playing the part of The Saint and this series of books bucks the trend for celebrity names producing lame-duck children's books by being brilliant and having a wide age appeal. Measle's enemy Toby Jugg joins a school trip and pushes Measle into a hole - a deep hole, the Doompit. Then there are werewolves, giant ants and their pincers, an abominable snowman, a gorgon, and a search for Iggy and Tinker and for a way out. Measle is without magic so relies on his wits, and some assistance, in these clever, determinedly silly adventures. It is all high-energy cracking good fun and deservedly very popular.

Sally Prue
James and the Alien Experiment
A and C Black (Black Cats) (94 pages) 9780713674576
The aliens who kidnap James are concerned about his rather puny body and offer him the chance of somewhat improved abilities. This, as is the way with ambitious wishes, turns out not to be a good idea, though James does manage to get to grips with a loathsome class teacher. The directness of the very first line pulls readers into the middle of a fast scurry of a short tale; the story itself will keep their attention too.

Angela Somner-Bodenburg translated by Sarah Gibson
The Little Vampire Moves In
Andersen (143 pages) 9781842705964
Tony and his vampire friend Rudolph embark on their second adventure in which poor Rudolph is punished for having a human friend by banishment from the family crypt. He takes up residence, complete with coffin, in a store in the basement of the flats where Tony lives. Tony has to try to deflect any suspicions but this is increasingly difficult, and the smell of decay begins to permeate everywhere until all is happily resolved. Originally these books were published in German in the 1980s and this title falls comfortably into the popular spooky but funny category. As an extra, there are implications within the story about dealing with those who are different from ourselves.