Robin Muller

The 13 Ghosts of Halloween is one of my favorite Halloween books. The story is humorous and engaging, promotes math and counting skills, beginning reading, encourages audience participation (think story time in school or the library - or even just reading with mom and dad) and the illustrations are great too!

I've had many kids stop by my booth to check out this book & a lot of parents will snap it up and once I explain that you can "sing" the story to the 12 Days of Christmas I'll actually show more have people start singing it with their kids and borrow my chair so they can sit and read the book. It's awesome! show less

A winner. Adorable, and also very funny. Would be great to read with a teacher who wants kids to learn how to make predictions. And the artwork is rich, vibrant, and adds a *lot* to the story. A bit on the long side for the rug rats.

This book is a fun filled romp through all the scary things of Halloween. It is based on the song The Twelve Days of Christmas.

It starts with a group of children entering a fun house. Each page begins “On the blank stroke of midnight/Oh, nothing frightens me!” One by one the children run away in fear or are snatched up by bats and goblins.

It ends with a single boy surrounded by vampires. “On the 13th stroke of midnight/Yes, something frightened me… a Ghost!” The missing friends show more suddenly appear under sheets. As the child races away in fear, what might be a real ghost watches him disappear.

As the pictures are cartoonish, the frightening things are not too scary for most children. show less

This story is the westernized version of a traditional Chinese folk tale. An orphan boy, Nib, is rewarded with a magic paintbrush for saving the life of an old man. The magic paintbrush makes whatever Nib paints come to life. The greedy king learns of the magical object and tries to enslave Nib in order to make him bring to life whatever the king desires. Nib tricks the king into asking for a ship. Nib paints the ship and a storm to go with it and the king is lost forever.

One of the keys to show more the magical object motif seems to be that the object is the reward for a kind and selfless deed. Whether it is the recipient or another character who misuses it, the object proves dangerous in the wrong hands. The magical object must either be returned to a pure person or destroyed.

This story was very nice and detailed. The illustrations were beautiful. Young, aspiring artists will learn the lesson that art is not always about recreating what you can see with your eyes, but about creating what is in your heart. Appropriate read-aloud for ages five and up. show less