One Terrible Halloween

Deborah Dowson is a Canadian children’s librarian living in Powell,
Ohio.

Sam the sheepdog detective is voicing her usual complaints. She is stuck
at home with nothing to do and nothing to eat. Luckily, her caregiver
and best friend, Jennie, can read her thoughts and provide her with a
few delicious snacks and some opportunities for adventure.

In The Mummy Lives, it’s wintertime, and Jennie and her friend Beth
are excited by an upcoming class trip to the museum. When their talk
turns to the gruesome details of mummification, and the dark story about
the Ancient Egyptian Pharaoh Menopharsib and his mummified dog,
Akasheput, who was stolen, Sam’s imagination is triggered. Before long
she is convinced—and she convinces Jennie and Beth, too—that a mummy
is stalking her and wants to catch her to replace Akasheput. They make a
potion to put the mummy back to sleep, but the mummy still seems to be
chasing Sam. The girls work themselves into such a frenzy of fear that
even when the truth is revealed—the mummy turns out to be a warmly
dressed jogger—they have a hard time accepting it.

Fear also feeds the three adventurers’ imaginations in One Terrible
Halloween. Jennie thinks Halloween should be about having fun and
getting candy, but Beth and Sam think it’s a time for frightening
creatures and scary movies. Beth reads a terrifying story about ghouls
who rise from their graves on a foggy Halloween night to steal children.
The fog rolls in for real, and even with Sam’s assurances that she and
her great teeth will protect them, Jenny is terrified. The situation
becomes even more frightening as the trio imagines the worst, even as
Sam does her best to create some terror of her own.

These books are full of suspenseful action, mystery, and the comedy of
mistaken identity. Sam is a magnet for trouble and mayhem, which makes
her superior attitude and absolute confidence all the more amusing.
Interesting themes, imaginative twists, and lots of humor make Sam, Dog
Detective books a good choice for younger chapter book readers.
Recommended.