Whitman, 2005
ISBN-13: 9780807586570
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The Monster Librarian Presents:
The Halloween Book List for Kids
School media specialist and children's librarian Kirsten Kowalewski reviews titles both new and old to consider for your Halloween Collection/Display
All
the Lovely Bad Ones: A Ghost
Story by Mary Downing Hahn
Houghton
Mifflin Company, 2008
ISBN: 9780618854677
Available: New
The title of this book comes from the dedication to James Whitcomb Riley’s poem “Little Orphant Annie”, a cautionary rhyme for troublesome children, and this book is full of troublesome children. Travis and his sister Corey played so many pranks at summer camp that they weren’t allowed back, so they are spending the summer at their grandmother’s supposedly “haunted” inn. They decide to stage some ghost sightings, and soon have tourists flocking to the quiet inn. Hahn’s ghost seekers are a colorful group, giddy at first, but they sober up and flee the scene once they face a real, and very scary, spirit. The inn, once a poor farm, is haunted by the ghosts of mischievous boys, “the lovely bad ones”, who were tormented by the sadistic Miss Ada, and Travis and Corey must solve the puzzle of how to lay the spirits to rest. The backstory is provided in an awkward way, from a short local history(which erroneously credits “Little Orphant Annie” to John Greenleaf Whittier) and through the television, but somehow Hahn manages to keep the reader gripped by the story. Travis and Corey are likeable kids, and the ghost boys are an engaging group of poltergeists who add energy, chaos, and some levity to the plot. Miss Ada’s hypnotic evil is truly chilling, and her end is not pretty. This is a true ghost story and has some frightening, violent moments, but thanks to Corey and Travis, “the lovely bad ones” do find their way home at last. Recommended for upper elementary and middle school students. Contains: Child abuse, mention of suicide
Pumpkin
Day, Pumpkin Night by Anne
Rockwell, ill. by Megan Halsey
Walker &
Company, 2001
ISBN: 9780802776143
Available: New
I admit there is nothing scary about Pumpkin Day, Pumpkin Night. Still, it’s a great book for the Halloween season. With simple words and spare text, and lots of repetition, Anne Rockwell describes the experience of a child exploring a pumpkin patch, choosing a pumpkin, scooping out the insides, and carving a jack-o-lantern with his mother. Older readers may smile, looking back on the days when they roasted and salted pumpkin seeds in the oven (mine were always a little burned). Halsey’s illustrations fit the text well- uncluttered paper sculptures give the pages a three dimensional appearance, so pumpkins really look like they’re piled up, and even cast shadows in places. Clean lines and bright colors make this a perfect choice for sharing this Halloween tradition with a preschooler before venturing out to the pumpkin patch together.
Plumply,
Dumply Pumpkin by Mary
Sarfozo, ill. by Valeria Petrone
Simon &
Schuster Adult Publishing Group,
2004
ISBN-13: 9780689871351
Available: New
Lumpy, bumpy, showy, glowy, sunny, sumptuous… Mary Sarfozo obviously had fun playing with words when she wrote Plumply, Dumply Pumpkin. The story describes Peter, a joyful tiger, and his search for the perfect pumpkin to carve with his dad and enter into the jack-o-lantern contest. The rhyming is irregular, but instead of disrupting things, it simply keeps the story skipping along. Colorful, well-defined illustrations glow on the pages. You can’t read Plumply, Dumply Pumpkin without smiling, and preschoolers and early elementary students will love looking at the pictures and hearing this read out loud. Highly recommended.
The
Viper by Lisa Thiesing
Penguin Young
Readers Group
ISBN-13: 9780525468929
Available: New
Lisa Thiesing presents early readers with a not-so-scary version of the campfire “jump” story called The Viper. With friendly cartoonish illustrations and foolish, likable Peggy the Pig as a main character, the story is more silly than suspenseful. Thiesing also uses the story to introduce concepts of time, including years, seasons, months, days of the week, minutes, and seconds, but her handling of this seems confusing and inconsistent. As the arrival of the Viper gets to its final countdown, the story picks up, with its funniest and most suspenseful moments right at the very end. The last moments of the story make this a great read-aloud. The “bong bong bong” of the clock just as the Viper raps on the door will make kids jump, and the punchline to the story, when read out loud, will make them giggle. Beginning readers who find the traditional easy readers bland will find a lot to appreciate in Thiesing’s work, and librarians will find this book a refreshing addition to their collection. Recommended.
I Was a Second Grade Werewolf by Daniel Pinkwater
Penguin Group
(USA) Incorporated, 1995
ISBN: 9780140557183
Available: Used
When Lawrence wakes up in the morning he’s happily excited to discover that he’s no longer a boy- he’s a werewolf! Unfortunately, in spite of snarling, running to school on all fours, and biting the girl who sits in front of him in class, nobody seems to notice. Even his best friend doesn’t take him seriously. Illustrated with large, colorful, happy drawings that look as if they might have been done by a second grader, it’s clear that there’s nothing to fear in this gently funny little book. Early elementary readers will get a kick out of Lawrence’s imagination and enthusiasm, and adults will be relieved to find a engaging beginners’ book. Recommended.
They’re Coming For You: Scary Stories that Scream to be Read by O. Penn-Coughin
You Come Too Publishing. 2008
Available:New
ISBN: 9780981683607
O. Penn-Coughin shares a variety of stories intended to chill the bones of the audience for Alvin Schwartz’s Scary Stories books. However, while Schwartz collected his stories from folklore and legend, Penn-Coughin has written these himself. In his introduction, Penn-Coughin makes suggestions aimed specifically at young readers on how to tell the stories orally. However, the definitions the author provides in the book’s margins suggest that he expects the reader to refer to them in a silent reading. The inclusion of instructions to would-be oral storytellers throughout affects the structure, effectiveness, and flow of the stories for silent readers, however. Some stories have also been written in dialect, which is distracting and will be frustrating to struggling readers. According to the author, the stories in dialect were intended to be told orally, to make them more engaging for a live audience, but I found that they subtracted from the stories’ effectiveness.
The stories are of varying quality. Some are genuinely horrifying, like “Into the Woods” and “Checked Out”. A few, such as “Man in the Box” and “Real Bad Burrito” are witty. “Shot at the Gas Station” and a few others could be used to bolster interest in social studies in Oregon, the author’s home state. And some of them, like “The Delicious Death of Jay Whitebread” are just annoying. Penn-Coughin also illustrated the collection, and his illustrations are a real strength of the book. His bizarre, indistinct black and white images provide plenty of opportunity for the imagination to run wild and are a perfect complement to a collection of scary stories.
They’re Coming For You: Scary Stories that Scream to be Read won’t replace Alvin Schwartz’s collections, but it is a reasonable supplement. Though flawed, the collection will win over its intended audience, and if scary stories are in high demand in your library, it’s a worthwhile purchase.
Wolves
by Emily Gravett
Simon &
Schuster Children's Publishing,
2006
ISBN-13: 9781416914914
Available: New and Used
Most people don’t think of the library as a dangerous place, but in Wolves, Emily Gravett shows that you can never tell what lurks within the pages of a book. Uncluttered pages illustrate an unwary rabbit who is so absorbed in his new library book, a nonfiction book about wolves, he absentmindedly walks into some real trouble. Those readers needing reassurance can take comfort in the author’s promise that “no rabbits were eaten in the making of this book”.
Wolves is really a “sophisticated” picture book. In spite of its appearance, it is not really aimed at the preschool crowd. Although the stated age range for the book is ages 4-8, the book really requires a good understanding of narrative(there are two endings) and the ability to “read between the lines” using clues from the pictures. Wolves also communicates a much different message than most children’s books, even disturbing and subversive titles. Subversive children’s books generally provide child readers with a sense of control and power in a world where their actions are determined by outside authorities. Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are is an excellent example of this. Unlike Sendak’s book, though, Gravett’s work does not allow a child to take control. It actually creates a situation where the main character’s, and the child reader’s sense of security and power, is violated.
Wolves is more a work of ironic metafiction than a children’s book, and as such is more likely to be appreciated by older children and adults. And while children have their dark side, the grim humor doesn’t seem particularly age-appropriate for kids just getting the hang of “What’s green and sings”? Younger children may enjoy the illustrations (my son LOVED them) but most will miss out on the irony. However, older children, teens and adults who enjoyed the dark humor and postmodern illustrations in Gaiman and McKean’s Wolves in the Walls will probably get more out of Gravett’s contribution to the growing area of sophisticated picture books.
Front
Street, 2007
ISBN:
978-1932425581
Available: New and Used
A Child’s Guide to
Household Monsters is a
cumulative tale about a little
girl discovering that
traditional household monsters
she has been afraid of are not
as scary as they seem. The
monster under the bed, the
monster in the closet, the
monster in the attic, and the
monster in the basement, are
scared of one another, and she
ends up befriending them all.
Thach’s witty, rhyming couplets
give Udovic plenty of
opportunity to shape the tone of
the book, resulting in an
interesting juxtaposition. The
artist uses bright, almost neon
colors in places, that literally
glow in the shadowy darkness of
the pastel illustrations. The
goofy looking monsters are
endearing rather than
frightening, making this a good
book for children who appreciate
shivery fun paired with a little
gentle humor. Recommended. .
A
Child’s Guide to Household
Monsters by James Otis Thach,
ill. by David Udovic
Wanda’s
Monster by Eileen Spinelli,
ill. by Nancy Hayashi
Whitman, 2005
ISBN-13: 9780807586570
Available: New and Used
Wanda is certain she has a monster in her closet. Her parents are certain she doesn’t. Granny, however, listens at the closet door and confirms it. Just as Wanda runs to hide, Granny points out that closet monsters have a bad reputation for a reason, “How would you like to live in a cold, dark closet?” What happens next is a surprise for both Wanda and her monster. Spinelli treats Granny, Wanda, and her monster with respect and humor, and Nancy Hayashi’s colorful, almost cartoony illustrations, will reassure children that they have nothing to fear, and quite a bit to enjoy, with Wanda ‘s Monster.
What
Will You Be For Halloween?
by Mark Todd
Houghton Mifflin Company,2001
ISBN-13: 9780618088034
Available: New and Used
What Will You Be For Halloween? uses short verses accompanied by illustrations to describe a number of traditional Halloween costumes. The book’s strength is the artwork. The bright colors and dark lines do a nice job of making the illustrations pop out from the page. The irregular outlines suggest children at work, carefully drawing their intended costumes. Luckily, the pictures do their work without needing explanation, since the rhythm is uneven and the lines do not fall in a predictable pattern. These flaws make it difficult to read the story aloud, although the illustrations scream out for exactly that. The lack of background information in a book clearly intended for young children is frustrating, as well. How many kindergarteners know what binary code is? Young children will like the illustrations, but the unpredictable text will throw new readers for a loop.
Grandmas
Trick-or-Treat(I Can Read Level
2) by Emily Arnold McCully
HarperCollins Publishers, 2002
ISBN-13: 9780064442770
Available: Used
Pip’s Grandma Nan takes manners seriously and refuses to dress up for Halloween. Her Grandma Sal thinks playing tricks and scaring people is the best part of the holiday. The problem is that while they argue, they are taking all the fun out of Halloween for Pip and her friends. The trick-or-treaters make a run for it, get lost, and are menaced by bullies dressed as pirates. Can Grandma Sal and Grandma Nan team up to save the day? Pip’s grandmas are unintentionally funny, and make a good “odd couple.” Kids will particularly enjoy the Halloween theme of this book, the second book Emily Arnold McCully has written about Pip and her grandmas. There are a limited number of easy readers when it comes to scary stories and Halloween, and this is a nice addition to that list.
Bunnicula
and Friends: The Vampire Bunny
(Ready to Read Level 3) by
James Howe, ill. by Jeff Mack
Simon &
Schuster Children's Publishing,
2004
ISBN-13: 9780689857249
Available: New and Used
Bunnicula and Friends: The Vampire Bunny is a nice transitional read for the child moving from easy readers to longer chapter books. The book is a shortened, simplified version of Howe’s popular chapter book Bunnicula. As with most easy readers, the focus is on the action, so readers won’t get the detail, background, and character development present in the original book, but Howe is a fine writer and does a good job of capturing the flavor of the story. The pacing is good, and the book will catch and keep the reader’s interest. Bunnicula and Friends: The Vampire Bunny would be a great choice for older reluctant readers as well. At 42 pages, with fairly advanced vocabulary and sentence structure for an easy reader, this book has the potential to attract the interest of struggling readers and build students’ comfort level with longer titles. Highly recommended.Q
The
Halloween Mouse by Richard
Laymon and illustrated by Alan
M. Clark
Cemetery Dance Publications,
October, 2001
ISBN: 158767047X
Available: New and Used
Ages: 6+
Timothy Maywood Usher Mouse
lives in the library, reading
about fantastic adventures. One
Halloween night, Timothy gathers
his courage to leave the library
to go on an adventure. After
escaping a run in with a snake
thanks to a piece of candy corn.
Timothy dreams of going trick or
treating but must first survive
an encounter with the
neighborhood cat involving a
jack-o-lantern. In the end, far
away from his cozy home in the
library, Timothy discovers that
having adventures is even better
than reading about them. Alan
Clark's illustrations are
detailed and colorful, and the
book is a visual treat. Richard
Laymon has created an engaging
(if lengthy)story. Although the
dialogue is awkward, Laymon's
inventive description and great
action sequences will grab the
reader. Laymon is writing as
much for adults as he is for
children: some vocabulary and
most literary references will go
right over children's heads, but
will add an extra dimension of
meaning for the adult reader. A
very cute Halloween picture
book. This book could be shared
with patient primary grade
readers as a read-aloud or with
intermediate readers either as a
read-aloud or as independent
reading.
Some more scary (and not so scary) stories for kids
For additional titles and reviews, visit our Scary Stories for Kids page!
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
The Boy With A Thousand Faces by Brian Selznick (reviewed here)
The House with a Clock in the Walls by John Bellairs
The Goosebumps books by R.L. Stine
Horror at the Haunted House by Peg Kehret (reviewed here)
The Halloween Mouse by Richard Laymon (reviewed here)
The Mysterious Matter of I. M. Fine by Diane Stanley
Dogzilla and Kat Kong by Dav Pilkey (reviewed here)
The Old Willis Place by Mary Downing Hahn
Deep and Dark and Dangerous by Mary Downing Hahn
All the Lovely Bad Ones by Mary Downing Hahn (reviewed here)
The Dollhouse Murders by Betty Ren Wright
Crandall’s Castle by Betty Ren Wright
A Beasty Story by Bill Martin and Steven Kellogg
The Lima Bean Monster by Dan Yaccarino (reviewed here)
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark series by Alvin Schwartz
The Ghost Eye Tree by Bill Martin and John Archambault
Feliciana Meets d’Loup Garou by Tynia Thommasie and Cat Bowman Smith
The Ghost of Sifty Sifty Sam by Angela Medeairis and Jacqueline Rogers
The Dark Thirty by Patricia McKissack
The Dark Way by Virginia Hamilton
The Frightmares series by Peg Kehret
Bunnicula and sequels by James and Deborah Howe
Los Gatos Black on Halloween by Marisa Montes and Yuyi Morales (reviewed here)
Just a Minute by Yuyi Morales
I Spy Spooky Night by Walter Wick and Jean Marzollo
A Monster in the House by Elisa Kleven
The Hallo-wiener by Dav Pilkey
The Golem by David Wisniewski
The Viper by Lisa Thiesing (reviewed here)
Creepy Cuisine by Lucy Monroe
Fear This Book by Jeff Szpirglas
Fiona Loves the Night by Patricia MacLachlan, Emily MacLachlan Charest, and Amanda
Shepherd
The Aliens Are Coming! by Lisa Thiesing
The Best Halloween Ever by Barbara Robinson
Mouse’s First Halloween by Lauren Thompson and Buket Erdogan
It’s Halloween! by Jack Prelutsky and Marilyn Hafner
Dragon’s Halloween by Dav Pilkey
By the Light of the Halloween Moon by Carolyn Stutson and Kevin Hawkes
Who Stole Halloween? by Martha Freeman
Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson
Halloween Skyride by Elizabeth Spurr
The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything by Linda Williams
Darkness Slipped In by Ella Burfoot