Sipping Spiders Through a Straw: Campfire Songs for Monsters

The premise is simple enough: Take your tried-and-true camp songs and turn them into something gross but funny; the result is hilarious. "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" ends up with lyrics like, "For it's one, two three bites you're out at the graveyard game!" and "Row Row Row Your Boat" turns into an homage to ghost nose-picking. The rhymes are pretty good and there aren't too many places where anyone has to stretch to make the lyrics fit. Kids who read this book are pretty much guaranteed to drive their parents (or camp counselors) crazy by singing the new grody versions.

What makes this book a stand-out (albeit a gruesome one) is the stellar illustrations. There are quite a few instances where the creep-factor ratchets up a turn or two and any parent who's thinking of picking up a copy ought to flip through just to make sure that the bulging eyes, rotting bodies, and creepy creatures aren't going to cause nightmares. The pictures are very nearly too good as far as spooky goes, but kids with a strong stomach (and plenty of courage) will love them.