Clarion Books, 1990
“…Christelow’s brilliant green alligators are energetic and funny, while the brightly-colored tropical setting is cheerful rather than sinister…the slapstick humor and Halloween setting should ensure popularity with both readers and listeners and please those already acquainted with Jerome.” — School Library Journal
“…Fans of Jerome will find this amusing fare: comic, garish color pencil drawings accent the amusing and spooky happenings.” — ALA Booklist
— Junior Library Guild selection
The Story:
Jerome’s success as a babysitter has gone to his head, much to the annoyance of his older sister Winifred and her best friend Lulu.
“No job too difficult,” Jerome boasts, but his skill is put to the test on Halloween night when he’s asked to babysit at a big old house he thought was abandoned. For supper his little charges, Lucy and Lucifer Witchcraft, insist on making sandwiches from Lizard’s eyeballs and vampire blood. When Jerome hears the floorboards creak, the kids tell him that it’s just the ghost upstairs. Although he tries hard not to show it, Jerome is getting more scared by the minute.
How this smart alligator discovers the true identity of the Witchcraft kids and turns the tables on his tormentors makes for a funny, action-filled story with a final surprise twist.
The Illustrations:
The line is ballpoint pen. The color is Caran D’Arche watercolor crayons.
