The little girl who plays the role of her witch-mother's cat returns in this charming Halloween follow-up to her initial adventure, I Am a Witch's Cat. In this new picture-book, our "feline" heroine attempts to pick out a Halloween costume, only to find something wrong with every option, from vampire to ghost. Finally she hits on the perfect solution - she will go as a witch, and her mother can go as the witch's cat - and she and her mother enjoy the Halloween party they have thrown...

Although I did enjoy British author/illustrator Harriet Muncaster's initial story about this little girl/cat, I didn't warm to it as much as I expected, given my love both for cat stories and witchy picture-books. I suspect this is because the artwork - created using miniature three-dimensional scenes crafted from paper, foil, fabric and other objects - although very creative, wasn't quite to my taste. Despite this ambivalence regarding the artwork in the first book, I wasn't as put off by the visuals in Happy Halloween, Witch's Cat, even though they were created using the same method. Quite the contrary, I found them colorful and cute, and thought the story itself was sweet. Perhaps I just needed a little more exposure to Muncaster's style, to appreciate it. After all, what's that they say about familiarity being a large part of what shapes our tastes? However that may be, this was an entertaining and ultimately sweet little Halloween confection, one I would recommend to readers who enjoyed the first book, as well as to anyone looking for gentler Halloween fare for the picture-book set. ( )

A little girl who is a "witch's cat" (mom is a witch) goes shopping for Halloween costumes and cannot find the right one. She gives up until a cool solution presents itself! ( )