Children's Book Reviews
On Halloween by Lark Carrier
HarperFestival, August 1999.Picture Book, 40 pages
ISBN: 0694012920.
Ordering information:
Amazon.com.
Talented artist Lark Carrier has crafted a charming
Halloween gem with On Halloween. The story
begins with, " On Halloween/We treat you to
a fright.../We go boo in the night/."
The rhymes are coupled with fabulously colorful
illustrations of ghosts, with the eyes cut out so that
you can see to the page behind. The rhyme continues
with "We glow with jagged light," illustrated by the
flames in the jack-o-lanterns, with the eyes cut out
so that you can see the flames behind them.
The rhyme continues with bones of the skeleton, witches
and bats in flight, cats...and those who gobble every
bite. The last two pages is a mural of all the creatures
that have been seen before, and it is revealed that
all the scary creatures and things in the books were
nothing to be scared of at all -- they are
really children in Halloween masks. Carrier's
illustrations are bright, bold and evoke a sense of
wonder. An excellent book for reading with children
during the weeks leading up to Halloween.
The Teeny, Tiny Ghost by Kay Winters, Illustrated by Lynn Munsinger
Trophy books, August 1999.Paperback Picture Book
Reading Level: Ages 3 - 8
ISBN: 0064435903.
Ordering information:
Amazon.com.
The teeny, tiny ghost has big problems. He's quite
timid. Every day he goes off to haunting school to
learn how to be a proper ghost. He assiduously
pratices booing and whooing, but he ends up
scaring himself silly. Halloween is fast approaching,
but to the teeny, tiny ghost it just sounds terrifying.
Then, one night when he is all alone, with just his
two teeny, tiny cats for company, some really loud
voices call out to let them in and he hears a loud
banging at the door. The teeny, tiny ghost tries to
hide, but the voices grow louder. So he screws up
his courage and, "He booed, and he whooed, till
he felt very bold. He howwwwwled, and then he
yowwwwwled, and he sounded very loud." The next
thing he hears is clapping and cheering. It is
Halloween night and all the ghosts are so proud of
the teeny, tiny ghost for being a proper ghoul!
Then all the ghosts dress up and go out to
celebrate Halloween in style.
The Teeny, Tiny Ghost is a marvelous tale of a ghost who is a little scarier looking than Casper, but still fairly non-threatening. All children will relate to the difficulty of learning tasks at school and longing to fit in. Lynn Munsinger's illustrations are vivid and appealing, with just the right touch of spookiness. The Teeny, Tiny Ghost is sure to appeal to very young readers, as will the repetitive, alliterative prose. Snap this one up for a fun Halloween read with your child.
Return to the October 1999 issue of The IWJ.
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