A gorgeously illustrated glimpse into the mind of a young Edgar Allan Poe. When young Eddie is falsely accused of destroying the Judge's chicken coop, he is given one day to find the true culprit. Guided by logic, but entranced by the poetry of the paranormal, Eddie seeks to solve the mystery, along the way meeting Captain Mephisto, a darkly unusual magician who has tricks up his sleeve-and maybe a demon on his back. With help from his Raven and the prodding of a mischievous imp, McCobber, it is no wonder that Eddie grows up to become a master of the macabre. Scott Gustafson crafts a finely wrought portrait that is both humorous and touching. Coupled with his stunning gothic illustrations, Eddie is sure to win fans young and old. Editorial Reviews Gothic themes mix with cheeky conversations and slapstick humor in illustrator Gustafson's entertaining authorial debut, which imagines a childhood for Edgar Allan Poe in which the writer's Imp of the Perverse isn't just a metaphor for the root of bad behavior--it's an actual imp. As a young orphan, Eddie inherits his father's mischievous demon, McCobber, and befriends a talking raven, who offers the budding poet practical guidance "forevermore." Eddie's foster parents, the Allans, tolerate his oddities until a nighttime prank seems to incriminate Eddie, who turns detective in self-defense. Gustafson (Favorite Nursery Rhymes from Mother Goose) offers a playful mixture of dialogue styles, ranging from McCobber's "Why, you yolk-brained moron!" to Eddie's formal, "You, sir, have crossed a line!" Interracial relationships weave through the story, which is set in slave-owning Virginia; Dap, an elderly house slave who knows plenty about unjust punishment, befriends and guides Eddie. Poe enthusiasts will appreciate literary references, while the uninitiated will enjoy an introduction that's tinged with the frightful and fantastic--just how Poe would like it. Final art not seen by PW. Ages 8-12. (Aug.) - Publishers Weekly Accused of having stuffed a cat and a rooster into his pillowcase and hung it on a neighbor's weathervane, young Eddie Poe has only 24 hours to find the actual culprit before being thrashed by his adoptive father. This imagined incident from the famed writer's early-19th-century childhood introduces the dreamy poetry-writing boy, befriended by a raven and bedeviled by a personal demon he calls McCobber. Eddie dramatizes every situation, imagining himself a medieval knight and a doomed prisoner. But, as a supportive house slave suggests, he has to use his head to find the perpetrator of this prank, which has angered their neighbor, an influential judge. Woven neatly into the plot is an account of a period playhouse performance featuring the aging magician Mephisto who turns out to have helped Eddie's mother before her death. The whodunit mystery and suspenseful wait for Eddie's exoneration will keep readers turning pages. Gustafson plays with Poe's language: "And who in this household... has not been ripped from sweet slumber by the predawn crowing of that fiendish fowl?" Unfortunately, jarringly contemporary-sounding words and phrases such as "chow time," "pizzazz" and "goofy" break the spell. The author's terrific, atmospheric black-and-white illustrations appear on nearly every page. An inventive if not quite convincing introduction to the master of the macabre.(Historical mystery. 8-12) - Kirkus Reviews