Cynthia Fisher

I absolutely love this Halloween rendition of " Twas the Night Before Christmas"!! The illustrations are entertaining and the story is adorable. This is just the book to get everyone in the mood for Halloween!

I absolutely loved the children’s fiction book, The Night Before Halloween because of the illustrations, plot and writing style. The big idea for this book is to have a gathering of friends and family on the eve of Halloween, like many do when they read The Night Before Christmas, to keep holiday traditions going all year long.

The illustrations most definitely enhance the story, and are appropriate to the mood of the story. Because the illustrations go hand and hand with the text, readers show more are able to easily focus on the illustrations while comprehending what the text reads. Furthermore, the writing style expresses a fun, rhyming, and engaging form that enhances the illustrations. An example to support my opinion is on a specific page that reads, “Meanwhile the children were tucked snug in their beds, while visions of candy corn danced in their heads.” The illustration shows two happily sleeping children, a young boy and girl, sleeping in their own beds with thought bubbles coming from their minds, with their own dream of what they would be doing with candy corn. Additionally, on another page the text reads, “There were costume parties, and games to be played, Cupcakes and candy and, of course, a parade,” while the illustration shows children all dressed up in different Halloween costumes, all in a line, as if they were in a parade, with some children getting cupcakes and candy. I especially love how each child has on a different costume! Also, I love how the writing style rhymes throughout the book, making it an engaging read.

Finally, the plot of the story illustrates children and Halloween creature, in similar settings, getting ready for their big Halloween night. The Halloween creatures are getting ready for their Halloween party, while the children are getting ready for trick or treating. Halloween night is here, the monsters are enjoying their party, and at the same time a few children approach a spooky house. The text then reads, “The wicked witch said, ‘Welcome. We have a surprise.’ And the children yell, ‘Run! It’s not a disguise.”

The Night Before Halloween is one great read. I love how The Night Before Christmas has branched out to be celebrated as other family holiday traditions. show less

The Night Before Halloween by Natasha Wing is a wonderful halloween children’s picture book. This book would be grade appropriate for children in kindergarten to third grade. The book centers around a group of monsters, and a group of children that are preparing for Halloween. The book depicts both the monsters and children's activities prior to Halloween day. On Halloween day the children go trick or treating, and after going to a few houses they reach the monster’s house. They are show more greeted by a witch who opens the door, and the children quickly realize that her guise is no costume. Upon this realization all of the children run away, and the monsters who are actually quite nice throw a party and celebrate Halloween. In terms of a central message I think one possible message you can take away would be to never judge a book by its cover. The children were terrified of the witch, but in reality the witch and the little monsters just wanted to have a party with the children. Overall I would rate this book 3 ½ stars, I really enjoyed the warm and festive pictures, and I thought the story was very cute. show less

My kids and I have loved this book for years. We put it away with the Halloween decorations and pull it out every year to enjoy with a fresh eye. It's funny and entertaining and just spooky enough for the younger crowd.