Illustrator Michael Glenn Monroe has called his Christmas Humbugs out of retirement--a fuzzy bunch of tiny pranksters that first appeared in Monroe's high school sketchbooks--to take part in a fun Christmastime caper, ably recounted by Monroe's storytelling wife, Colleen. Each year, the Humbugs (who look sort of like furry green grapes with wings and red jelly-bean noses) search out "cheerful houses" in which to cause mischief. But the Humbugs "aren't trying to be nasty, in fact the opposite is true, they're testing Christmas spirit and how strong it is in you." The Humbugs flit around as they break candy canes, unravel stockings, sneak peeks at Christmas packages, and even eat Santa's cookies (although "drinking Santa's ice cold milk isn't as easy as you'd think, if the Humbugs are not careful they might fall into the drink"). It's not surprising that Michael Glenn Monroe has hung onto this story for so long, given how cleverly it explains away the many frustrations of the season--and his playful details, like the Humbugs' jingle-bell antennae and red and white striped socks, reveal a Christmas spirit obviously in good working order. Colleen Monroe stays right in step with her artist husband, making fun references to "humbug rodeos" and some serious but not too smarmy asides ("The Humbugs know true spirit isn't bothered by their tricks, the tiny pranks they play take just a little time to fix"). (Ages 4 to 8) --Paul Hughes