A Countdown to Halloween - Six days of holiday books: Day Six

Happy almost Halloween everyone! The Through the Looking Glass Halloween Countdown is almost over, and it is ending with a phenomenal book that readers of all ages will enjoy. Jon J. Muth has written several books that share Zen stories and Zen philosophies with his readers. This newest book continues this theme.

Zen Ghosts

Jon J. Muth

Picture Book

Ages 6 and up

Scholastic, 2010, 978-0-439-63430-4

   Karl, Addy, and Michael are getting their Halloween costumes ready. Their friend Stillwater the panda bear comes over and he explains that he is going to be a ghost for Halloween. Karl is going to be a monster, and Michael is going to be either an owl or a pirate. He doesn’t know which he prefers. Stillwater suggests that Michael might like to be an “Owl-Pirate.” After all, on Halloween anything is possible. Stillwater then tells his young friends that this Halloween is special because there is going to be a full moon. He knows someone who can tell the children a ghost story.

   So, after treat-or-treating on Halloween night, the children meet Stillwater at the stone wall and he takes them to his house where they meet a panda bear who looks exactly like Stillwater. He tells them a story about a girl whose soul separated and went into two different directions. One soul stayed with her family, and one ran away with the boy she loved. Which soul was the real girl?

   In this beautiful and thought-provoking picture book, Jon Muth brings readers an old story that has timeless appeal. Yes, it is a ghost story of sorts, but it also a story about duality, which is something all people of all ages encounter. I am my mother’s child, but I am also someone’s best friend. Which self is the real me?

   With gorgeous paintings throughout and a story that will resonate with readers of all ages, this picture book is an enduring treasure. 

A Countdown to Halloween - Six days of holiday books: Day Five

So far in this countdown we have had a board book and several picture books, so today I have chosen to give you a chapter book.

The Pumpkin Mystery

Carol Wallace

Illustrated by Steve Bjorkman

Fiction

Ages 5 to 7

Holiday House, 2010, 978-0-8234-2219-7

   Last year Aden and Leah’s family were able to host a wonderful pumpkin party for all of the children’s friends. The young guests were able to choose Halloween pumpkins from Aden and Leah’s family pumpkin patch. Leah and Aden are eager to plant pumpkins again this year so that they can have another pumpkin party in the fall.

   Carefully, under the watchful eyes of Mocha and Scruffy, the family dog and cat, Aden, Leah and their parents plant their pumpkin seeds. Carefully they tend the little vines. To their great distress, the vines don’t do well at all. How can they have a Halloween pumpkin party if they don’t have any pumpkins? Why have the plants done so poorly this year when they did so well last year?

   With an engaging story and amusing characters, this is an appealing chapter book for young readers. Children will enjoy the way the cat and dog in this story are the ones who save the day. 

A Countdown to Halloween - Six days of holiday books: Day Four

Today's Halloween book is a board book that younger readers are sure to enjoy.

Five Little Pumpkins

Illustrated by Ben Mantle

Board Book

Ages 2 to 4

Tiger Tales, 2010, 978-1589258563

Night is falling and five little pumpkins are sitting on a gate. Tonight is not just any night, it is Halloween night, so as the moon rises strange things start to happen. Witches swoop over the pumpkins, big black spiders drop down on them, and the pumpkins “run and run” as ghosts and other spooky things fill the night air. Then the pumpkins decide to “have some fun” and the evening becomes even more interesting.

   This amusing board book will perfectly suit little children who enjoy Halloween.

A Countdown to Halloween - Six days of holiday books: Day Three

For today's review I have a picture book that has been out of print for twenty five years. I am delighted that it is back so that today's young readers can enjoy it.

Hubknuckles

Emily Herman

Illustrated by Deborah Kogan Ray

Picture Book

Ages 5 to 7

Random House, 2010, 978-0-517-55646-7

   Every year on Halloween Hubknuckles some to visit Lee and her siblings. He stays outside of course, looking in, and the children stay in and look out “enjoying the small tickles of fear” from the safety of their warm house. Then one year, Lee tells her siblings that Hubknuckles isn’t real, and there is no reason why she cannot go outside on Halloween night.

   Of course, as the light fades, Lee begins to feel less confident. She has trouble eating her usual amount of dinner, and during the Halloween party, Lee is smiling on the outside, but she is nervous under her smiles.

   Then the time comes, and Lee slips out of the door. She is sure that Hubknuckles is her father wearing a white sheet…but then she might be wrong.

   Back in print for the first time in twenty-five years, this deliciously spooky story will leave readers wondering and guessing. Could it be that Hubknuckles is real after all, or was someone out outside playing the part? With wonderfully atmospheric pencil drawings and a beautifully paced text, this picture book is a must read for the days leading up to Halloween.

Halloween Recipes from Barefoot Books

Barefoot Books has a free download of some free recipes that I thought you might enjoy. The recipes are adaptations come from their cookbook Kids Kitchen: 40 fun and healthy recipes to make and share. The recipes include the following:

Slimey Green Gloop: A Halloweenish version of guacamole

Dracula's Gelatin: Jello with a few surprises in it.

Eyeballs: I am not going to give anything away here. Suffice it to say that this is a truly gruesome looking treat.

Ghoul's Smoothie: A delicious drink.

Icy hand snatchers: Popsicles that will give you the shivers!

Meringue Ghosts: Simple little desserts that will melt on your tongue. Ghosty!

Download the recipes here. Enjoy!

A Countdown to Halloween - Six days of holiday books: Day Two

For today's Halloween title I have a picture book that leaves the reader wondering if all is what it seems! It has a fabulous ending too.

On a windy Night

Nancy Raines Day

Illustrated by George Bates

Picture Book

For ages 4 to 7

Abrams, 2010, 978-0810939004

It is a windy Halloween night, and a little boy who is dressed up as a skeleton has a big haul of candy in his bag. Now it is time for him to go home, so he off he goes on a winding road under the light of the full moon. After a time, clouds hide the moon, and the dark woods around the little boy start to look more and more creepy. As he moves quickly through the trees, the boy hears a voice that says “Cracklety-clack, bones in a sack. They could be yours – if you look back.” The terrified boy rans on, through a field of dancing skeletons. Will this terrible ordeal ever end?

   With a bone chilling text and thoroughly spooky illustrations that contain all kinds of hidden creepy images, this is the perfect book to read out loud on the days leading up to Halloween.

A Countdown to Halloween - Six days of holiday books: Day One

There are only six more days before it is Halloween, and since I have some Halloweenish books on hand that I think you will enjoy, I have decided to have a six-day count down bookish event.
   I will begin with a book that is not strictly a Halloween title, but it is pertinent nevertheless. It is a book about pumpkins, and since pumpkins are often associated with Halloween, I thought it would be a great way to start my countdown.

The Pumpkin Book

Gail Gibbons

Nonfiction picture book

Ages 4 to 6

Holiday House, 1999, 0-8234-1636-4

   For many of us pumpkins are large orange squashes that we carve into jack-o-lanterns for Halloween. They are turned into pumpkin pies, and we use them to decorate our homes during the harvest season. Most of us don’t realize that these fruit (yes they are a fruit) come in all shapes and sizes. Some varieties are huge, while others are very small indeed.

   You can grow your own pumpkin by planting a pumpkin seed in a prepared patch of ground in the spring. By summer, you should have a large pumpkin vine growing in your garden, and in the fall, it will be time to harvest the pumpkins you have grown. Depending on what kind of pumpkin you have grown, you can cook them, turn them into jack-o-lanterns, or - if you grow a really big pumpkin - you can enter it into a big pumpkin contest.

   This informative nonfiction picture book will be an instant hit with children who look forward to harvesting or buying pumpkins in the fall. It is not only packed with information about pumpkins, but it also gives young readers detailed instructions on how to plant a pumpkin, how to carve one, and how to dry pumpkin seeds. 

A Happy Halloween With Vunce Upon a Time

Happy Halloween Everyone! Here is Ashland, Oregon, Halloween is celebrated in a big way. Schools have Halloween parties and parades, and in the afternoon the whole town turns out in costumes for the annual Halloween parade. The costumes are often very creative. I remember that in last years' parade I saw a goldfish, a bag of groceries, and a fortune telling booth in the parade. I am not doing anything quite so exciting. My daughter and I are going to be going as a Snow Queen and a Snow Princess. I am sure that we will be finding glitter on our persons and out clothes for weeks to come.

Through the Looking Glass has a terrific Halloween feature where you will find a collection of books about Halloween. One of the books that I reviewed this year was Vunce Upon a Time by Jotto Seibold (who gave us Olive the Other Reindeer) and Siobhan Vivian. This book is delightfully funny and children will really enjoy getting to know a little vampire who is a vegetarian with a sweet tooth.

The publisher of this book, Chronicle Books, has created a splendid website that is packed with Vunce Upon a Time Halloween activites. Do take a look at this page and have a wonderful Halloween!

If you would like your own copy of this title drop me a line. I have one book to give away