Spooky - the former witch's cat turned family pet, whose adventures began in Spooky Night, and continued in Spooky and the Ghost Cat - returns in this, his third adventure, once again finding himself confronting the influence of his nemesis (and former witch), whose brother-wizard has dispatched a colony of bats to pester him. Can Spooky outwit the wizard, and free himself from the bats, or are his days of lolling about in the begonias over...?

Spooky and the Wizard's Bats is another engaging entry in Natalie Savage Carlson's picture-book series (there are five titles, altogether) about this resourceful cat. Young readers will be entertained by the story, and rooting once again for Spooky's triumph. Although Andrew Glass' illustrations continue to leave me mostly indifferent - I just cannot like the way he depicts human faces - I was struck, this time around, by their pointillistic quality. It occurs to me that those who appreciate this style, might enjoy the artwork far more than I. In any case, this is definitely one that Spooky fans, as well as those who appreciate catty Halloween tales, will want to check out. ( )