Grizzly Pete, the last miner left in the old town of Paydirt, doesn't scare easily. In fact when Spook, one of the resident ghosts, tries to scare him out of town, Grizzly Pete threatens to "tin"; him. "I got one ghost already,"; he growls, and flips open his tobacco tin to prove it. It takes a while for young Spook to realize it's not a wild-eyed ghost he sees inside the tin, but his own reflection. By then Grizzly Pete and the Ghosts (Annick $19.95) is off to a rollicking start, and Spook hits on an irresistible scheme to rid Paydirt of its last miner, once and for all. Vancouver author Janet Amsden grew up traveling mining areas with her geologist father and taught school near ghost towns. Illustrator John Beder lives on Vancouver Island. 1-55037-719-1 (2003)

[Spring 2003 BCBW]