Spooky Night

Prolific children's author Natalie Savage Carlson is probably best known for her Newbery Honor Book, The Family Under the Bridge, although her series of novels about a group of French orphans (The Happy Orpheline, A Brother for the Orphelines, etc.) is also quite beloved. Her five picture-books about Spooky the cat - which follow the story of a black feline who abandons life as a witch's familiar, in order to be a family pet - seem to be less well-known, if the paucity of reviews and ratings online is any indication.

Spooky Night is the first of these five books, and opens as the eponymous Spooky, a black cat with VERY green eyes, shows up on the Bascomb family's doorstep one day, promptly moving in and making himself at home. But when show more Halloween arrives, Spooky begins to display some very... well, spooky behavior, yowling and hiding under the furniture. Sneaking out later that night, he meets up with his old witch mistress in the woods, discovering that, in order to be truly free of her, he will need to catch the moon...

I was reminded, when reading this, of Ursula Moray Williams' classic children's novel, Gobbolino the Witch's Cat, which also features the tale of a witch's cat who longs for a more peaceful and homey life. I can't say that Carlson's story really wowed me, or that I found Andrew Glass' illustrations particularly outstanding, but the overall experience was engaging enough that I will probably try another book in the series, and I suspect that young readers who enjoy tales of witches and cats will appreciate it. show less

Spooky the cat is adopted by the Bascomb family. He acts strangely on Halloween, the children comment that he must be a witch's cat. They don't know how right they are! Spooky wants to be a housecat, the witch will grant his wish if he can catch the moon for her. Large illustrations throughout.

Halloween