Twenty-six spooky poems from author Eve Merriam, one for each letter of the alphabet, are paired with intensely creepy illustrations from artist Lane Smith in this marvelous Halloween picture book. From Apple—"Apple, / sweet apple, / what do you hide? / Wormy and / squirmy, / rotten inside"—to Zero—"Round blank / Round blank / Only bubbles / mark where it sank"—the poems here are dark, capturing the more disturbing, frightening aspect of the holiday. The accompanying artwork, done in oil paint, is perfectly suited to the text, and is likewise terrifying...

Originally published in 1987 as Halloween ABC, and then reprinted in a slightly revised format in 2002 as Spooky ABC—the text of the two titles is identical, with an afterword being added to the revised edition, as well as a somewhat different visual presentation of the artwork, now on colorful rather than cream backgrounds—this picture book is definitely on the scarier end, when it comes to seasonal fare for Halloween. According to the afterward in Spooky ABC (although it was Halloween ABC I checked out of my local library, I ended up reading both editions, accessing Spooky ABC via the Internet Archive), Lane Smith's artwork here came first, and was paired with Eve Merriam's poems after the fact, necessitating the changing of some of the paintings. As the afterword contained some of the artwork that was rejected from the initial title, I think on the whole I recommend seeking out Spooky ABC, even though I myself started with Halloween ABC. Leaving that aside, this was a very satisfying collection of poems for the season, sure to give readers and listeners a chill. I would recommend it for slightly older audiences, than would normally consume a picture book of this level, given the themes explored. Perhaps six or seven and above? As for me, I am already a Lane Smith admirer, but will definitely try to seek out more poetry from Eve Merriam. ( )

Spooky ABC’s is a “spooky” or “creepy way to learn your ABC’s in a form of poetry. The poems in this alphabet poetry book are rhyming. Some of the poems in this book may be a little too graphic for some. The illustrations do a good job of mirroring the authors words. ( )

This collection is about spooky poems. It is organized alphabetically. It incorporates objects that wouldn't necessarily be associated with spooky, until they were read in these poems, such as apples. They all incorporate some type of rhyme throughout the poems and the poet uses some onamonapia 's as well. ( )

Ok, I wasn't brave enough to read every word or examine every picture. But people (of all ages!) who like the feel of chills up their spine, and people who like dark fairy tales and Goosebumps books, will enjoy this. Eve Merriam is one of my very favorite poets - she writes for children but doesn't talk down to them even when she's writing about bunnies and flowers. This collaboration is a masterpiece. Try to get this newer edition so you can see the 'making of' essay and the 'lost' pictures. ( )

A wonderfully creepy collection of poetry to go with an equally creepy collection of illustrations. Spooky ABC is an alphabet book where the illustrations use various spooky objects to create the letter of the alphabet with a poem to go with each. It would be a great book to read around Halloween. I really liked the end of the book where they discussed the creation process of the images and poems that went with them. It even included some original illustrations that were ultimately left out. ( )