Old Devil Wind
by Bill Martin Jr.
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On a dark and stormy night one object after another joins in making eerie noises in the old house.Tags
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Old Devil Wind, illustrated by Barry Root
One dark and stormy night Ghost begins to wail, setting off a chain reaction in the objects around him, as Stool begins to thump, Broom begins to swish, Candle begins to flicker, Fire begins to smoke, Window begins to rattle, Floor begins to creak, Door begins to slam, Owl begins to hoot, and Witch begins to circle the haunted house in which all of this activity is going on. This catches Wind's attention, and his reaction blows all away... until the next Halloween!
Originally published in 1971 by Holt, Rinehart and Winston, with artwork done by Robert J. Lee, Old Devil Wind was republished in this 1993 edition by Harcourt Brace & Company, with new illustrations done by Barry Root. I've seen show more selections of the artwork from that earlier edition, and it looks very striking—I'd like to track it down at some point. That said, this more recent edition is lovely as well, with a spooky repetition tale, in which each object asks the previous one what it is doing, and is regaled in return with a (growing) list of all the actions that came before. Root's artwork, done in watercolor and gouache, is suitably spooky, although my favorite part (probably not a surprise given my devotion to witchy tales) was the witch. Recommended to picture book readers and audiences in the mood for spooky Halloween tales that incorporate a repetitive structure and lots of great sound words. show less
One dark and stormy night Ghost begins to wail, setting off a chain reaction in the objects around him, as Stool begins to thump, Broom begins to swish, Candle begins to flicker, Fire begins to smoke, Window begins to rattle, Floor begins to creak, Door begins to slam, Owl begins to hoot, and Witch begins to circle the haunted house in which all of this activity is going on. This catches Wind's attention, and his reaction blows all away... until the next Halloween!
Originally published in 1971 by Holt, Rinehart and Winston, with artwork done by Robert J. Lee, Old Devil Wind was republished in this 1993 edition by Harcourt Brace & Company, with new illustrations done by Barry Root. I've seen show more selections of the artwork from that earlier edition, and it looks very striking—I'd like to track it down at some point. That said, this more recent edition is lovely as well, with a spooky repetition tale, in which each object asks the previous one what it is doing, and is regaled in return with a (growing) list of all the actions that came before. Root's artwork, done in watercolor and gouache, is suitably spooky, although my favorite part (probably not a surprise given my devotion to witchy tales) was the witch. Recommended to picture book readers and audiences in the mood for spooky Halloween tales that incorporate a repetitive structure and lots of great sound words. show less
As a young readers' Halloween-themed book, this is a good one! Good sequencing, repetitive words, and descriptions that ellicit sounds are nicely done. The illustrations are also spooky, enhancing the mood of the story.
Okay, it helps this book that Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. Still, I liked it!
Okay, it helps this book that Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. Still, I liked it!
This book would be appropriate for preschool through second grade, as an interactive read-aloud. It is very simple, and introduces content such as personification, and repetition in a simple way. Second grade students could also read it independently and act out what is happening. For the interactive read alouds, manipulative and sounds could be used to emphasize the plot and figurative language used.
Read at the library while mommy was at work - reading Halloween books.
Text copyright 1971. Illustrations copyright 1993..
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204+ Works 72,920 Members
Children's writer Bill Martin, Jr. was born and raised in Hiawatha, Kansas. Ironically, the future early childhood educator had difficulty reading until he taught himself, before graduating with a teaching certificate from Emporia State University. After graduation, he taught high school drama and journalism in Kansas. He served in the Army Air show more Force as a newspaper editor during World War II. He wrote his first book, The Little Squeegy Bug, for his brother, Bernard, an artist, to illustrate while recuperating from war wounds. It was published in 1945 and the brothers would go on to collaborate on 10 more books by 1955. He earned a master's degree and doctorate in early childhood education from Northwestern University and became principal of an elementary school in Evanston, Ill., where he developed innovative reading programs. In 1962 Martin moved to New York City to become editor of the school division of Holt, Rhinehart and Winston where he developed the literature-based reading programs Sounds of Language and The Instant Readers. Martin returned to full-time writing in 1972 and ended up writing over three hundred children's books during his career. His titles include; Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do You See?, Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What do you Hear?, The Ghost-Eye Tree, Barn Dance, and Chicka, Chicka, Boom, Boom. He died on August 11, 2004 at the age of 88. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Common Knowledge
- Original title
- Old Devil Wind
- Original publication date
- 1971 (text) (text); 1993 (illustrations) (illustrations)
- People/Characters
- Ghost; Stool; Broom; Candle; Fire; Window (show all 12); Floor; Door; Owl; Witch; Wind; Haunted House
- Dedication
- To Herb Parker Jr and all the gals —B. M.
To Kent Bulcken and Eric Phillips—“the guys” —B. R. - First words
- One dark and stormy night Ghost floated out of the wall and he began to WAIL.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)and they didn’t come back till HALLOWEEN NIGHT!
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- Popularity
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- Reviews
- 6
- Rating
- (3.59)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper
- ISBNs
- 7
- ASINs
- 4
