New Zealand author Margaret Mahy has made a career of tickling funny bones, teasing the imagination, and sending shivers up spines of young readers. She is, according to Betty Gilderdale, writing in St. James Guide to Children's Writers, "one of the most distinguished contemporary writers for children." Mahy's nearly two hundred publications comprise the full gamut of books for young readers: picture books for the very young, chapter books and readers, short stories and novels for middle grader readers, and young adult novels and story collections. Her themes vary from fantastical tales of possibility and wonder, to gritty realistic novels, to supernatural tales and family problem novels. "Her characters are memorable," wrote a contributor to Children's Books and Their Creators. "She is adept at combining humor, suspense, and imagination; underlying all her work is an obvious and abiding love of language, which manifests itself in a distinct and...