Like any good sibling, Precious’s brother is only too happy to clue her in to the dangers of Pruella the Boo Hag, a tricky and scary creature who’ll “do most anything to get inside” the house. Then he and Mama head off to the fields, while Precious, recovering from a nighttime stomachache, stays home alone. Sure enough, Pruella soon shows up in a variety of tricky forms: as a stranger needing a drink, as Pruella’s best friend Addie Louise, and even as a sparkling new penny. Each time Precious sees through Pruella’s disguise by using her wits and remembering Mama’s orders to not let anyone inside the house. Even the tempting penny doesn’t make it through the door, after clever Precious notices that George Washington is on the front, not Abraham Lincoln. Engaging dialogue and just enough of a spine-tingling edge (including a deliciously scary finale) make Precious’s story a guaranteed crowd pleaser. Kyrsten Brooker’s collage and oil paint illustrations imaginatively capture the Boo Hag in all her incarnations. Honor Book, 2006 Charlotte Zolotow Award (Ages 5–8)

When Precious is left home alone with a stomachache, she's got nothing but a warning from Mama -- "Don't let nothing or nobody into this house" -- to keep her company. You see, "nothing or nobody" could turn out to be something awful: the Boo Hag! The Boo Hag's got a voice that rumbles like thunder and hair that shoots out like lightning. And she can disguise herself to look like anything. So when the Boo Hag comes calling, will Precious be clever enough to outwit even the trickiest trickster?
Here's an oh-so-funny -- and not-too-scary -- story from Newbery Honor-winning author Patricia C. McKissack and Onawumi Jean Moss that's paired with spirited, folksy illustrations by Kyrsten Brooker.