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The Little Prince: Deluxe Pop-Up Book, by Antoine de Saint-Exupery, Houghton Mifflin, $35, ages 9-12, 64 pages. Saint-Exupery's artwork leaps off the page in this pop-up edition of his 1943 fantasy about a pilot who rediscovers his sense of wonder after being marooned in the Sahara with a planet-hopping prince. Swiveling scenes and 3-D fold-outs make this unabridged edition the perfect introduction to a classic. (Watch a book trailer below!)

Alice in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll, illustrated by Oleg Lipchenko, Tundra Books, $22.95, ages 9-12, 104 pages. In this gorgeous new edition of the Lewis Carroll classic, master draftsman Lipchenko accentuates the dreamy world inside the rabbit hole with a yellowish atmosphere and detailed lead and brown pencil sketches that meander around the text. Major scenes are framed by elaborate drawings that have the feel of picture searches.

Miguel de Cervantes Don Quixote, retold by Martin Jenkins, illustrated by Chris Riddell, Candlewick Press, $27.99, ages 9-12, 352 pages. Jenkins' flair for storytelling and Riddell's exquisite drawings make this classic tale of the deluded old Spaniard who thinks he's a knight errant more accessible than ever. Barely a page goes by without a finely penned caricature, whether it's a knobby-kneed Quixote leaping in the air or the wild-haired Spaniard brandishing his sword against crazed cats.

Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by John Lawrence, Candlewick Press. $24.99, ages 9-12, 272 pages. Lawrence's woodcut prints look as if they were engraved from the rustic, wide planks of a pirate ship and aged in the salty sea air in this handsome unabridged edition of Stevenson's swashbuckling adventure, in which a young Jack Hawkins sets sail with the cunning mutineer Long John Silver in search of buried gold.

Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Hyperion Books, written by Lauren Child, photographed by Polly Borland, set created by Emily L. Jenkins, Hyperion Books, 16.99, 44 pages. Child, the creator of the wildly popular Charlie and Lola series, brings her childlike sensibility to this enchanting edition of the timeless fairy tale about a girl with curly hair who snoops through the cottage of three bears. Photographic stills of a doll with ringlets and three stuffed bears beautifully mimic the way a child would act out the story.

The Lion, the Witch and The Wardrobe: A Celebration of the First Edition, written by C.S. Lewis, with interior art by Pauline Baynes, Harper, $20, ages 8 and up, 173 pages. Looking almost exactly as it did when it was first published in 1950, this wonderful reproduction of the classic story of four siblings who discover a strange, snowy wood in a

Magical Menagerie, by Junzo Terada, Chronicle Books, $24.95. Build 20 enchanting animals with this unique kit of 3-D sculptures by Japanese artist Terada. Punch out paperboard pieces and fit them into slots to make whimsical stand-alone designs, including a lion with a heart-shaped mane, a deer holding its baby and songbirds sitting in a tree. Envelopes are included for mailing or storing designs. Terada's pattern and color combinations are spectacular!

The Encyclopedia of Immaturity: Volume 2, by The Editors of Klutz, Klutz, $19.95, ages 8 +, 200 pages. In this hysterical followup to 2007 manual of immature pranks and skills, The Encyclopedia of Immaturity, Volume 1, the editors of Klutz present an array of silly how-tos, from making a toiletgram to playing indoor Frisbee golf, and explore all manner of taboo subjects, including the truth about wedgies and the art of picking diary locks. (Couple this with the first volume and your 10-year-old boy will be deliriously happy.)

Made by Me, by Jane Bull, Dorling Kindersley, $14.99 respectively, ages 4-8 +, 48-62 pages. Girls will squeal with delight when they flip through this charming book of crafts with colorful tutorials that are easy to follow. Dress up a plain t-shirt with embroidered flowers, felt cupcakes and a button-trimmed collar or hand sew a two-sided doll with embroidered faces. Pair this with Annabel Karmel's Cook It Together (DK, $12.99) for a wonderful gift set.

Eragon's Guide to Alagaesia, by Christopher Paolini, Alfred A. Knopf, $24.99, ages 9 +, 32 pages. Wannabe dragon riders will delight in every page of this magical guide to the mysterious land of Paolini's Inheritance Cycle series by the creators of Dragonology. Explore a map of Alagaesia stolen from the elves' library, ink drawings of shape-shifting cats and wind-vipers and the training regimen of dragon riders, and touch the scarlet gem that lives in the chest of dragons.

My Little Fire Truck, Simon & Schuster, written and illustrated by Stephen T. Johnson, $19.99 ages 4-8, 16 pages. A wonderful segue into child play, this interactive book by Caldecott Honor-winning author Johnson encourages little ones to practice telling time and move sturdy parts on a fire engine: lift a gas nozzle and fuel the truck, test tire pressure, put away fire tools, start the ignition and steer, turn the siren light and ring the fire bell. Johnson is the author/illustrator of Alphabet City and My Little Red Toolbox.

Open Me Up: Everything You Need to Know About the Human Body, Dorling Kindersley, $24.99, ages 9-12, 256 pages. Open Me Up makes a trip through the human body feel like a walk through an amusement park with exciting

Witches, spiders and monsters, oh my! With Halloween quickly approaching, I've compiled a list of 13 great picture books about things that cackle, creep or go bump in the dark.

1) I Need My Monster, by Amanda Noll, illustrated by Howard McWilliam, Flash Light Press, 2009. Nothing lulls Ethan to sleep like a scary monster under his bed, but when his drooling monster Gabe takes off for the night, Ethan is desperate to find a creature scary enough to keep him in bed and auditions substitute beasts who are too silly or mellow to take his place.

2) The Nightmare Before Christmas, story and pictures by Tim Burton, Disney Press, 1993. In the poem that inspired Burton's movie classic, Jack Skellington grows bored of the terrors in Halloweenland, stumbles upon a portal in a tree to Christmas Town and kidnaps Santa so he can spread his own version of laughter and cheer in a sleek coffin sleigh.

3) Vunce Upon a Time, by J. otto Seibold and Siobhan Vivian, Chronicle Books, 2008. Dagmar the vampire would rather eat carrots than blood, but when he learns candy is being given away in town for Halloween, he can't resist getting in on the treats and thinks up a scary garlic costume to wear, only to realize he doesn't need a disguise at all.

4) Room on a Broom, by Julia Donaldson, illustrations by Axel Scheffler, Dial, 2001. In this perfect read-aloud that kids will want to recite from heart, a cat, dog, parrot and frog are invited for a ride on a witch's broom after each recover something she lost, then band together to scare off a dragon who decides, just this time, "to eat witch without fries."

5) The Spider and the Fly, by Mary Howitt, illustrated by Tony DiTerlizzi, Simon & Schuster for Young Readers, 2002. DiTerlizzi's takes this classic poem to an entrancingly spooky level, with black-and-white illustrations that almost glow, pages of text that look like intertitles in a silent film and whimsical characters that lure you in, from a fly in flapper dress and parasol to a spider resembling the late actor Vincent Price.

6) Thelonius Monster's Sky-High Fly Pie, by Judy Sierra, illustrated by Edward Koren, Alfred A. Knopf, 2006. A monster decides that flies would taste best in a pie and with the advice of a spider, pours a jar of flies onto a sticky molasses crust and invites his most disgusting friends and relations over for a slice in this hysterical book made all the better by New Yorker columnist Koren's scribbly style.

7) Winnie the Witch, by Valerie Thomas, illustrated by Korky Paul, HarperCollins Publishers, 1987. Winnie the Witch keeps tripping over her black cat Wilbur because everything in her house is decorated in black, but when she casts a spells to turn Wilbur different colors it only makes matters worse, so she comes up with a plan that will make both of their lives more colorful.

8) The Wizard, by Jack Prelutsky, illustrated by Brandon Dorman, Greenwillow Books, 2007. A wizard works his evil spells to turn a frog into a flea, two mice, a cockatoo, chalk, a bell then back into its original form, only to make it vanish into a cloud of smoke in this magically illustrated version of Prelutsky's 1976 poem.

9) The Monster Trap, illustrated by Dean Morrissey, written by Morrissey and Stephen Krensky, HarperCollins Publishers, 2004. While staying over at his grandpa's for the first time, Paddy thinks he hears monsters in the night so his grandpa builds an elaborate monster trap from antiques in his shop that's just too fun to work in this beautifully illustrated book.

10) Bone Soup, written and illustrated by Cambria Evans, Houghton Mifflin Company, 2008. A hungry skeleton tricks a village of witches, mummies and zombies into sharing their stash of foul foods in this hilarious spinoff of the old French tale Stone Soup. (See my full review in September listings.)

11) The Gargoyle on the Roof, by Jack Prelutsky, illustrated by Peter Sis, Greenwillow Books, 1999. In this collection of 17 ghoulishly fun poems, a troll is so desperate for company he sets up a toll-free number for someone to call him, a bugaboo lies in wait in the refrigerator to snatch children if they misbehave and a vampire tries to groom himself though his mirror shows no reflection.

12) Bats at the Beach and its sequel Bats at the Library, written and illustrated by Brian Lies, Houghton Mifflin. 2007, 2008. Bats find adventure in the night in these entrancing books: first on the beach roasting bugs on a fire and flying each other as kites, then in a library duplicating themselves in copy machines and playing house in a pop-up book.

13) The Ghosts of Luckless Gulch, written by Anne Isaacs, illustrated by Dan Santat, Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2008. A fleet-footed girl named Estrella chases after a gang of ghosts who've stolen her pets, and after a harrowing underground rock slide, drives them out of sight, in this larger-than-life tale.

Looking for a ghoulishly good novel for Halloween? Below is a list of 13 book series and single titles that you won't want to put down.

This year's list includes rousing adventures with monsters, bewitching tales of high jinks and scary mysteries that leave you holding your breath.

1) Here Be Monsters! (The Ratbridge Chronicles), written and illustrated by Alan Snow, Atheneum, ages 9-12, 544 pages.

Arthur tries to thwart a fiendish plot to take over the town of Ratbridge with the help of boxtrolls, cabbageheads, rats, pirates and a frustrated inventor in this silly fantasy filled with more than 500 irresistible drawings.

2) Dreamhouse Kings Series, Books 1-6, written by Robert Liparulo, Thomas Nelson, ages 12+, 304 pages.

After the King family moves into a run-down Victorian house, 15-year-old film buff Xander and his brother David stumble upon portals leading to far-off places in this pulse-pounding mystery series.

3) Barnaby Grimes series, by Paul Stewart, illustrated by Chris Riddell, David Fickling Books, ages 9-12, 224 pages.

Leaping from roof to roof in a fictional city, a courier lad named Barnaby stumbles upon macabre mysteries involving a wolf-like creature and a stuffed bird in this Dickensian series by the creators of the bestselling Edge Chronicles.

4) Halloween Tree, by Ray Bradbury, illustrated by Joseph Mugnaini, Yearling, ages 9-12,160 pages.

Eight boys follow a mysterious character named Moundshroud back in time on Halloween night to find their missing friend Pipkin in this haunting, exuberant classic that explores the history of this scary holiday.

5) The Worst Witch series, by Jill Murphy, Candlewick Press and Puffin Books, ages 9-12, up to 352 pages.

A bungling girl witch-in-training named Mildred Hubble gets into hilarious fixes with her cat Tabby at Miss Cackle's Academy for Witches in this classic 5-book series that debuted in 1974, with the latest books released in 2007.

6) Chrestomanci Books, by Diana Wynne Jones, Greenwillow Books, ages 9-12, up to 688 pages.

Enchanters with nine lives try to stop the misuse of magic in parallel worlds in this outstanding fantasy series of six books and several short stories by the author of Howl's Moving Castle.

7) Mariah Mundi series, by G.P.Taylor, Putnam Juvenile and Faber Children's Books, ages 12 +, up to 336 pages.

A 15-year-old orphan becomes an assistant in a hotel magic show and together with friend Sacha uncovers a box that can turn anything into gold in the first book of this spine-tingling 7-book series: The Midas Box.

8) The Last Apprentice series, by Joseph Delaney, illustrated by Patrick Arrasmith, Greenwillow Books, ages 12 +, up to 416 pages.

Twelve-year-old narrator Tom Ward confronts all manner of boggarts, ghosts and other wicked beasts as apprentice to Mr. Gregory, a tall, hooded man he calls a Spook, in this chillingly good series, now in its eighth installment.

9) Tiffany Aching Adventure series, by Terry Pratchett, HarperTeen, ages 12 +, 336 pages.

A girl witch learning her craft travels through Fairyland to rescue her brother, drives away a mind-controlling creature and thwarts the advances of the Wintersmith in this hilarious fantasy series, a subset of Pratchett's adult Discoworld.

10) Theodosia series, by R. L. LaFevers, illustrated by Yoko Tanaka, Sandpiper, ages 9-12, 400 pages.

Eleven-year-old Theodosia Throckmorton learns how to remove curses around her father's museum, then takes on a secret society trying to bring chaos to the world in this fun, action-packed fantasy series.

11) Billy Bones books, by Christopher Lincoln, illustrated by Avi Ofer, Little, Brown Book Group, ages 9-12, 304 pages.

Living in a mansion's secret closet with his skeleton family, 10-year-old Billy Bones discovers a shocking secret and searches for his Uncle Grim and cousin Millicent in the hidden world of Nevermore in this delightfully macabre series of two books.

12) The Black Book of Secrets and The Bone Magician, by F.E. Higgins, Feiwel and Friends, ages 9-12, up to 288 pages.

Higgins presents two different stories in the same world of intrigue. In The Black Book of Secrets, Ludlow Fitch assists a mysterious pawnbroker trading money for secrets in a big black book, and in The Bone Magician, a corpse watcher named Pin Carpue encounters a magician who can raise corpses from the dead and make them speak as a killer roams the streets.

13) Seer of Shadows, by Avi, HarperCollins Children's Books, ages 8-12, 208 pages.

A 14-year-old photographer's apprentice named Horace Carpetine sees the ghost of a couple's dead daughter in the background of a portrait and tries to prevent her from punishing those who hurt her in this wonderfully creepy tale by Newberry Medalist Avi.