Joanne Barkan

Halloween night had arrived, but Roma the witch found that she had misplaced her hat, and that her stubborn broom, embarrassed to be seen with a witch who was lacking the proper headgear, refused to fly. Determined not to miss out on her favorite holiday, she headed into town for a hat, but had to contend with the less-than-helpful shopkeeper. Would turning him into a purple goblin help or hurt her chances of getting what she wanted...?

One of four titles in the Trick-or-Treat collection of miniature picture-books published by Little Simon in 1997, each of which featured a selection of glow-in-the-dark stickers that could be applied to specific spots on the pages within—other titles included Zeena's Cat, The Strangest Halloween and Help! It's Halloween!—The Witch's Hat is a fun little Halloween tale. I'm not sure I would have ever stumbled across it in the normal course of events, as it is long out of print, and not the sort of book one finds in library collections, but my perennial hunt for new or new-to-me witchy picture books (a pet project of mine) brought it to light, and being familiar with author Joanne Barkan through her Very Scary picture books (also from the 1990s), I immediately set out to track it down. The copy I obtained already had the stickers applied, which was fine, as they are meant to fit in with the illustrations, rather than to obscure them.

In any case, leaving that aside, although Barkan's story here wasn't anything groundbreaking, when it comes to witchy Halloween fare, I nevertheless found it entertaining, and think younger children will as well. Hopefully any copy they obtain will also provide usable stickers, so that they can enjoy that interactive aspect of the book as well.… (more)

Guthrie and Annie, two sight-seeing ghosts on Halloween night, attempt to find some truly spooky sites and experiences in this glow-in-the-dark picture-book. From horror movies at the cinema to a haunted house on the outskirts of town, a bat-infested cave in the nearby woods to a scaly lizard-monster under the bridge, the spectral pair sees quite a lot. But it isn't until they encounter two trick-or-treaters and follow them to a Halloween party, that they find what they are truly seeking...

Published in 1992, A Very Scary Ghost Story is one of four Halloween-themed glow-in-the-dark picture-books from author/illustrator team Joanne Barkan and Jody Wheeler—the other titles include A Very Scary Witch Story, A Very Scary Jack-o-Lantern and A Very Scary Haunted House—and pairs an engaging story with fun, colorful artwork. I liked the conceit of two ghosts abroad, looking to be scared themselves, rather than to scare other, while the conclusion of the story, in which human children end up being the scariest thing of all, was amusing. An entertaining little tale for Halloween, one I would recommend to picture-books readers looking for moderately spooky fare.… (more)