BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) - OPTIONAL
APPEALS TO: SOME
Mouse and Bear are trying to scare each other for Halloween.
This time I didn’t find the rhyming really helping the scary factor of the book. It was too sing-songy and cheerful. The illustrations are still spot on.
Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS
BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K - OPTIONAL
APPEALS TO: SOME
While out trick-or-treating with a ghost, be forewarned. Every unfamiliar creature, every unfamiliar sound or movement, will scare your ghost. So be very careful.
Williford’s story felt passive - a whole lot of telling instead of showing and a long list of cautions without a great payoff of fun or excitement.
Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS
BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K - OPTIONAL
APPEALS TO: SOME
The creatures are jumping on their trampoline like they do every Halloween.
Rothman’s work will appeal for its sheer silliness and inanity. He comes up with many words that rhyme (usually) with Halloween.
Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS
BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K - OPTIONAL
APPEALS TO: SOME
Forester supplies the puns and Love gives us the googly-eyed treats in photo form to enjoy a line-up of Halloween candy possibilities. The pair give us a little bit of a love litany along with the puns.
Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS
BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K - OPTIONAL
APPEALS TO: SOME
An ode to the new classic Trunk-or-Treat. Simple flaps are liftable to see the candy each trunk presents. Super simple in design and execution. You might have to worry about your little ones getting their candy wishlists ready!
Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS
BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K, El (K-3) - ESSENTIAL
APPEALS TO: MANY
Meet a variety of Halloween creatures and monsters as they all take a ride on the bus.
Yes! Jackson and Magoon give us a worthy follow-up to the traditional “The Wheels on the Bus”. I had so much fun reading. You’ll be surprised by how many creatures there are - way more verses than you can remember of the original.
Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS
BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K - ADVISABLE
APPEALS TO: SEVERAL
Ten little monsters come one by one to join the Halloween festivities.
Based on the This Little Piggy rhyme, Torres’s illustrations are colorful and the little monsters are adorable in their costumes. The monsters are very small, more for Pre-K readers and so much fun to read along. The only thing I want to point out is that a child that small in a wheelchair would need either someone pushing them or an electric chair - they would not be strong enough to manipulate the wheels.
Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS
BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K, EL (K-3) - ADVISABLE
APPEALS TO: SEVERAL
What chain of events will the zombie set off after he swallows a wriggly, lowly worm? COme along and find out.
A charming homage to the Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly with bright, vibrant and often funny illustrations.
Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS
BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K, EL (K-3) - ADVISABLE
APPEALS TO: SEVERAL
Boo is the littlest, the sweets pumpkin and she doesn’t like Halloween one bit. She despairs of finding a place in the holiday, until she meets a little boy who has the same feelings about Halloween as she does.
A cute, light book for those little ones who might find Halloween to be scary at first, rather than fun.
Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS
BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K - ADVISABLE
APPEALS TO: SEVERAL
This cute, light-hearted board book introduces us to four Halloween characters, inviting us to join in the party.
Little ones will have fun watching the sliding pictures change as you turn the page. They will want to flip it back and forth many times before you can move on to the next!
Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS
BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) - OPTIONAL
APPEALS TO: SOME
Pippin, the witch’s cat, is sure there must be something better in life than being here with a witch. He takes off to travel the world to find a better place.
I do like a classic “bloom where you are planted” type book with a fun twist on theme and character. The rhyming text is fine - not my favorite.
Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS
BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) - OPTIONAL
APPEALS TO: SOME
Two little monsters have baked a Halloween cake and want to share it with the other monsters on their block.
I enjoyed the variety of Halloween traditions represented and the variety of monsters. The back matter explains a little about the various traditions mentioned, though it may not be easy for a young reader to figure out which tradition goes with which page - this might be a case where having the factual info on the actual page would have been more helpful. The author seems to want to call dressing in costumes “guising”, which I found unnecessary.
Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS
BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K, EL (K-3) - OPTIONAL
APPEALS TO: SOME
Join Luna as she shows us how she, her family, and her friends celebrate Halloween.
Instead of including the WHYs of Halloween in the narrative, the origins are only included in the back matter this time. I found that to be disappointing. For sure, if someone has never celebrated Halloween, they will have activities and costume ideas and recipes for a great Halloween. I was just disappointed that the author didn’t weave in some back story or other cultural references into her narrative.
Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS
https://www.kingsenglish.com/item/8rHbZeAHS4qmdCsF5lTCYg
BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K, EL (K-3) - ADVISABLE
APPEALS TO: SEVERAL
Don’t know what you want to be for Halloween? Join the Peas and explore many ideas for costumes and then join the trick or treating fun.
Baker gives us so many costume ideas and the peas are, as always, adorable.
Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS
BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K, EL (K-3) - OPTIONAL
APPEALS TO: SOME
Detective Cluehound is ready to dive into his bucket of Halloween candy when a Witch sneaks in and snatches it away. He is off on the chase with his sidekick Squirrel, who seems to be following the clues better than Cluehound does.
The end was my favorite part. Watching Cluehound bumble his away through his chase was secondary to that.
Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS
