Heather Alexander (Only in America!) invites readers to travel with her throughout the nation to learn about the country's uncanny legends, unnerving locations, hair-raising creatures, and spooky specters in Haunted U.S.A. All 50 states, as well as Washington, D.C., are represented by "spook-tacular tales" of haunted places, strange cryptids, and lurking spirits. There's the "pukwudgies" of Massachusetts, vengeful "ancient, magical woodland creatures" who "are woven into the folklore of the Wampanoag Nation"; a "paranormal hotspot" ballroom in a Louisiana hotel; and Alaska's soul-trapping "Kushtaka," a shape-shifting creature that often takes the form of an otter. A spectrum of goosebump-raising, strange, and mysterious stories speckled with facts and myths share the page with the unsettling graphite pencil illustrations of Sam Kalda (Of Cats and Men), who gives each state its own minimalistic but effective color palette of gray and one or two pops of color. Included with these weird tales are "A Ghost Hunter's Guide" that lists important gear for tracking down the supernatural, and a glossary with definitions of words like "orb" and "epitaph." This collection of coast-to-coast scares will delight, entertain, and (gently) spook young readers. --Lana Barnes, freelance reviewer and proofreader