Sir William the ghost was practically a part of the Neville family. He could always be relied upon to turn the pages of Mr. Neville's sheet-music, help Mrs. Neville water the garden, play hide-and-go-seek with Jonathan and Veronica, and feed Montague the dog, Geranium the cat, and Priscilla the parrot. And then one day Sir William decided that he was tired of being domesticated, and began looking around for ways of becoming a truly fearsome ghost...

One of those endearing "friendly ghost" type-tales, Margery Cuyler's Sir William and the Pumpkin Monster is fleshed out by Marsha Winborn's charming three-color illustrations, and would make an excellent Halloween selection for younger children, who are not yet ready for truly scary stories. Not a title that parents should dash out and obtain, it might make a nice library loan, when the season's right! ( )