Scary, Scary Halloween

One of our upcoming selections for the Picture-Book Club (to which I belong, where our October theme will be "Autumn/Halloween," Scary, Scary Halloween is narrated by an (initially) unknown narrator, who observes a succession of creepy creatures approaching her home. From a gleaming skeleton to a growling werewolf, two grinning witches to a prancing devil, the visitors come and go, as the narrator and her companions - visible only as four sets of green eyes - keep watch. Finally, when the danger passes, they emerge for their own Halloween jaunt!

A deliciously creepy Halloween book with an unexpectedly endearing ending, this is one of a number of holiday picture-book collaborations between author Eve Bunting and illustrator Jan Brett show more (others include: St. Patrick's Day in the Morning, The Mother's Day Mice and The Valentine Bears). I can't say that, had I not already known that Brett was the artist involved, I would have recognized the work, as it is in a different style from her current offerings. Still, the effect is all that one could wish: suspenseful and deliciously spooky! show less

The goblins, witches, skeletons and ghosts will be prowling my neighborhood any time now. 'tis Hallow E'en and the perfect time for the cutest Halloween story of them all.

Scary, Scary Halloween is the creation of two powerhouses in the world of children's literature. Author Eve Bunting, native of Ireland, has written dozens and dozens of excellent children's books over the years including St. Patrick's Day in the Morning, also illustrated by Jan Brett. Jan Brett who hails from Massachusetts has illustrated dozens of wonderful children's books. Her characteristic brightly colored, detail-oriented pictures make every book she's worked on a delight. Comet's Nine Lives and Trouble with Trolls are just two examples of her memorable books show more for kids.

This book is intended for the Baby to Preschool set but I have found that children slightly older, perhaps to age 7 really enjoy it as well. Published in 1986 it is a story that my youngest son loved when he was in kindergarten. I remember he insisted on taking it along for "Show and Tell."

Every page is part of a double page spread that has one small stanza of a Halloween poem on it. The pictures are pure fun with gently spooky details. The first verse of Bunting's Halloween poem that makes up the text is printed in white type on a stark black page. A Chinese lantern plant decorates on side of the page and in the center are two big green disembodied eyes peering from the darkness.

I peer outside, there's something there
That makes me shiver, spikes my hair.
It must be Halloween.

All of the illustrations are set against the black background and we can see that it is indeed Halloween as page by page we meet more and more creatures of the night starting with a skeleton (wearing tennis shoes) on the second double page spread. Jack-o-lanterns leer from fence-posts in the background and pumpkins glow in the fields. Next we are haunted by a ghost.

A ghost goes trailing, drifting by
With sunken mouth and sunken eye.
Ghosts rise on Halloween.

On the next pages we see the same strange green eyes glowering out of the dark but this time they are joined by three more sets of eerie eyes. Who..or what is behind those spooky eyes?

We meet a werewolf, Count Dracula and a pair of green faced hags. Goblins and gremlins and other denizens of the shadows leap and skip past bare trees that suggest the presence of faces among the whorls and texture of the bark. A jaunty red devil in a cape trimmed in flame capers by as colored leaves swirl about him. A mummy's tattered winding cloths drag up the steps and there are those eyes again, peering from beneath the porch. (Try asking your young listeners what or who they think those eyes belong to and you will get some very funny answers.)Step by step the mummy is getting closer to the door. What's he going to do?! A lady is standing in the brightly lit doorway and she's NOT scared! Instead she's offering a big bowl filled with treats.

"Trick or Treat? It's Halloween!
Am I the scariest thing you've seen?
Tonight? On Halloween?"

Several more double page spreads reveal laughing children behind the scary, scary Halloween folk...and when we discover the secret of the glowing eyes we get a lovely surprise!

Eve Bunting's Halloween poem offers just the right amount of suspense while show-casing the various symbols of Halloween. Jan Brett's outstanding colorful, evocative and fun-filled illustrations are my favorite pick for Halloween story time. Together these two talented women have created a big Halloween celebration between the covers of one short and sweet little book. I've shared it often and it offers just the right amount of gently spooky thrill to illuminate Halloween fun and it is requested again and again by little ones. show less

I enjoyed reading this to my little friend Andres. He is six years old and learning via virtual school lessons. I am helping him by reading to him, explaining the meaning of the words, and when there are many of the same images, such as the pumpkins, he is learning to count the objects. He loved counting 16 pumpkins

He liked this book a lot. I child at heart who remembers learning to read with the help of my local librarian when I was five, I very much want to model her skills when she lovingly taught me to read.

In this tale, the cats in the front of the house, hiding under the bushes on Halloween Eve, are frightened by the trick or treaters as they run past wearing their very spooky costumes.

For some very strange reason I thought the point of view was of a scared kid sitting at home watching the halloween activities from the window. To my surprise it was the point of view of the creepy cats hiding from below the house. To me this was even more (not really) frightening because I'm terrified of cats. I loved how the characters were all gender neutral. allowing kids to be able to identify with any character they wanted. this was a good book. entertaining none the less and I loved the point of view it was written in.

This would be great for a Halloween storytime; the text is brief and has a nice rhythm. It also shows younger ones that they're not the only ones who might be scared on Halloween. The illustrations are by Jan Brett and for the most part they're cute, slightly scary, bright and appealing. I did have a problem with the way she seemed to draw "moss" on the trees - it looked kind of like green slime was oozing down the branches. I don't really think that was the effect she was going for!

Two green eyes peer out into the darkness and watch carefully as a skeleton passes by. Soon there are witches, goblins, gremlins, a ghost, and even a vampire parading by as the narrator wonders if it's safe to go outside. It must be Halloween, but when will it ever be safe to go out? Check out this spooky tale to find out.

The Bottom Line: Bunting and Brett are a fabulous combination when it comes to picture books. With intriguing text and fantastic, full color illustrations with lots of spooky details, they'll keep you guessing who the narrator is until the very end. Enthusiastically recommended for spooky, seasonal reading for kids in grades 1 - 3.

This review also appears at the Mini Book Bytes Book Review Blog.

Eve Bunting starts out "Scary, Scary Halloween" the way she starts out most of her books, with rhyming.
(This is what I love about her books.) She will probably scare young readers with the first few pages encouraging them to stay inside on Halloween. But all along, everyone is just dressed up in all the scary Halloween costumes just outside trick-o-treating. At the beginning of the book you see big green cat eyes on a black page, and at the end of the book you notice that these are from cats hiding waiting to come out and play when all the kids go inside. The cats are actually the narrators of the story which I thought was really cool. This would be a great book to introduce young readers to Halloween if they have not experienced it show more themselves. show less