James Flora (1914–1998)

That storytelling Grandpa who first appeared in author/illustrator James Flora's 1965 Grandpa's Farm, before reprising his role in the 1978 Grandpa's Ghost Stories, returns in this spooky Christmas tale from 1982. Relating the story of his Christmas Eve adventure many years before, when he was eight years old, Grandpa tells how he encountered three terrible witches on his way home from playing at the pond, how he was transformed into a pig, and how his parents, not recognizing him, refused show more to let him into the house. Meeting an owl who turned out to be a magically transformed girl named Ida May, young Grandpa made the decision to seek out Peggoty, the wicked witch who had enchanted him, in order to plead for his human form to be restored. When this decision proved to be a disaster, and Grandpa was in danger of being cooked as Peggoty's Christmas dinner, a surprise savior in the form of Santa Claus saved the day...

Much as with Grandpa's Ghost Stories, I regret that I did not discover Grandpa's Witched-Up Christmas as a girl, as I suspect that it would have become a favorite. The story itself is entertaining, full of twists and turns sure to keep young readers and listeners engaged. By turns frightening and hilarious, it is a most unlikely Christmas tale, and I must confess that I laughed aloud when I got to the scene in which Santa comes to young Grandpa's aid. I see that other online reviewers were appalled by the description (and image!) of Santa choking the evil witch Peggoty until she finally got "the Christmas spirit," but I found it unexpectedly amusing. There's an absurd element to the humor here that probably will be off-putting for some readers - in less capable hands, it might have been off-putting for me as well - but in the end, the story here just worked for me. The accompanying artwork - intricate black and white drawings with green accents - is likewise very appealing, full of deliciously creepy details. The depiction of Peggoty's house is absolutely brilliant, as the structure is almost a creature in its own right. All in all, a delightfully witchy tale, one that I would recommend primarily to picture-book readers seeking such fare. That said, as someone who tends to prefer sweeter holiday stories, I'm not sure I'd recommend it as a Christmas book. show less

A young boy sits on his grandpa's knee during a terrible thunderstorm, listening to his grandfather's tales of his ghastly adventures when he too was a boy. In The Bag of Old Bones, a young Grandpa finds himself in a deserted shack in the middle of the woods one stormy night, and ends up opening the dusty sack in the corner. Finding a disassembled talking skeleton, he complies with its request to reassemble the bones, only to flee when it threatens to eat him. In The Cave of the Warty Witch, show more Grandpa takes refuge in the cave of an evil witch, while fleeing from the skeleton. Transformed into a spider, he must weave a web for his magical captor, but keeps his wits about him and steals the witch's wish-giving bone in order to restore his own human form. No sooner escaped from the witch, he finds himself captured by the disembodied hand in The House of the Ghastly Ghost, and is eventually swallowed by a werewolf. Thankfully, he still has the wishing-bone, and manages to free himself...

Originally published in 1978, Grandpa's Ghost Stories is a book that would have been around during my own childhood. Despite that fact, I never happened upon it as a girl, nor was I familiar with author/illustrator James Flora. That's a shame, as I suspect this would have been a favorite, right up there with Alvin Schwartz's Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark! The narrative here is involving, each episode building to a fever pitch of excitement as the hero escapes, and then catapults headlong into the next dangerous situation. It is a well-written book, full of spooky thrills and horrifying monsters, but also full of sly humor. The scene in which young Grandpa is forced to watch ghost TV (Channel 4½!), was hilarious! The accompanying artwork is deliciously creepy, building the sense of menace and horror, but also giving frequent nods to the somewhat surreal sense of humor. I enjoyed this one immensely, and can see it making a wonderful read for young children who enjoy truly scary stories. For myself, I am glad to have discovered Flora's work, and intend to seek out more of it. show less

A beloved but spooky book from childhood. On a stormy night, a grandpa related a series of scary adventures to his grandson. The adventures includes putting together a bag of bones that comes to life as a giant skeleton, running into the cave of the warty witch and the children she's turned into creepy spiders, stealing her magic wishbone, being saved by ghost, eaten by a werewolf, and magically surviving the ordeal. James Flora's illustration are full of spooky details.

Funny tall tales, including the classic motifs like 'so cold our words froze and we had to thaw them to hear the conversation' and new (to-me) ones like a Hatchy Hen that can hatch anything, including, to start, a brand-new door from just a doorknob.

Until I noticed the author, I assumed this was a McBroom book, a la' [b:McBroom's Ghost|153647|McBroom's Ghost|Sid Fleischman|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1172252010s/153647.jpg|3144647], by [a:Sid Fleischman|7536|Sid show more Fleischman|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1221973489p2/7536.jpg]. But no, Fleischman has competition! :) show less