Hansel and Gretel by Holly Hobbie

Hansel and Gretel by Holly Hobbie
Little, Brown, and Company

Rating: 5 stars

Kiefer has been saying how much he likes scary stories. I told him I got a good one from the library--could I read it to him? After reading Holly Hobbie's indescribably gorgeous new version of the classic Hansel and Gretel, he said, "I never want to read that again!"

I'm not sure what it says about me that I'm chuckling at chilling my four year old to the bone...

But that's what this tale is: bone-chilling.

Do you remember all the details? Hansel and Gretel live on a farm with their father and their step-mother. (This is one of the many examples of a story where step-mothers don't look so great.) Times are hard and money is tight; the step-mother convinces the man to abandon his children. After a few tries, and when the birds eat the crumbs Hansel spread along the path, the children are successfully abandoned.

In a deep, dark creepy forest.

"The children waited...and no one came to take them home."
(this image is sure to give my son nightmares)

(Did I mention we live in the woods? Perhaps I should have thought of that before reading this to poor Kiefer.)

The two children walk along until they find a house made of candy, with a suspicious-looking lady welcoming them. They soon find out she's feeding them well to plump them up so she can eat them for dinner. Hansel is caged; Gretel is enlisted with chores.

They need a plan, and it's up to Gretel. When the witch asks her to lean into the fire to make sure it's hot enough, Gretel asks, "How?" in her most innocent voice. The witch leans into the large fire, and Gretel shoves her backside with all her little-girl might. When the "dreadful shrieks" end, she rescues Hansel and they run back home together.

When they get home, their father opens his arms to them. He's grateful for their return (there's no talk of forgiveness; no "Why'd you ditch us, Dad?"). The step-mother? She "had died after eating food that had gone bad." What??!!?!! I'm actually concerned that Kiefer will remember this and use it against me in the court of dinner sometime.

"Fetch wood while I sharpen my best knife."

Anyhow, I do think this story is important for children to know as part of their cultural literacy. And if you're going to chill your child to the bone on this day before Halloween, let it be with this version of the tale. Holly Hobbie's artwork is unbelievable. Are you familiar with it? If not, go check out all her recent stuff and prepare to sit down after the kids go to bed to just appreciate her talent. She's a fantastic storyteller (read her Toot and Puddle series) and her illustrations make classic books come to life (check out...no, just buy... The Night Before Christmas).

And to the step-mothers out there...yikes! Sorry about the bad rap those Grimm brothers gave you.

Happy Halloween!

Dog Parade by Barbara Joosse

Dog Parade by Barbara Joosse, illustrated by Eugene Yelchin

Rating: 4 stars

This book was a hit with my little trio!  And that says something about Dog Parade already: here's a book that hooks equally a strong reader, an emerging reader, and a reader who can simply but proudly identify "his letter" and builds excitement at each turned page.

There is not much to this book, but there's fun and beauty in the simplicity.  One by one, the reader meets each canine character: Tinkles, a dog that pees a lot.  Delilah the pug that likes to charm humans she meets.  Lovie the mutt so grateful to be rescued that he does lots of things for his person.  Should-be fierce Walter, a big mastiff, cowers behind his owner.  Each two-page spread has a different lovable pooch sure to make one of my trio say "Awww...cute!"

Somewhere on this page is a hint of what's to come.  A clue as to the costume that the dog will wear on the following page.  Tinkles jumps on his back legs in a clown costume.  Delilah puts on a flouncy, fancy dress.  Lovie is Wonder Dog, complete with cape!  Shy Walter hides behind a ghost costume--only his droopy eyes peek out.

The best part: our neighbor's dog, Fritzie the dachshund, is famous!  He's in this book!  By some coincidence (am I missing something?  Is Fritzie a popular name for dachshunds?) there's a barking-orders type barker dachshund that dresses up as (of course) a hot dog.  Pretty cute.

In the end, the dogs parade around happily in their costumes.  As I've never had a dog that wore costumes happily, I'm impressed that not one single pup is gnawing at the clothes wrapped around them. Fun little book, super great (yes, I went to grad school in order to pull out phrases like that..."super great") read-aloud book in case you're looking for one!

The Ghost's Dinner by Jacques Duquennoy

The Ghost's Dinner by Jacques Duquennoy

Rating: 5 stars

This is my favorite Halloween book.  Hands-down!  Hmm...did I just say that about Room on the Broom?  Feel free to forget about that...

This book is just the right amount of spooky and funny.  The best part is that the ghosts are scared--how fun is that?  Scared ghosts?  See, you're probably cracking up already.  That's the sign of a good book.

Okay, so here's the story: Henry the ghost invites his ghost buddies over for a dinner party.  They start with juices of all different flavors--and colors.  Because they are transparent, they turn the color of the juice they drink.  My trio thought that was pretty funny--even Kiefer was chuckling at the idea of drinking spinach juice and turning green.  Pumpkin soup makes them turn orange, salmon makes them turn pink, cheese makes them turn all swiss cheesy.

"Look at us!  We're so colorful!"

The special dessert makes them disappear, and the clean-up of dinner is a silly montage of dishes seemingly carrying, washing, and drying themselves.  Hot chocolate makes them all reappear again, and they drink another glass of milk to turn a normal white.

Then Henry plays a trick on his guests--he spooks those ghosts by dressing up and shouting, "BOO!"

A perfect ending to a perfectly silly Halloween book.  Better buy this one--or you'll be on the waiting list at your library until mid-November.

Halloween by Gail Gibbons

Halloween by Gail Gibbons

Rating: 4 stars

Question: Do you know where the word jack-o'-lantern comes from?

Answer: An old fable.  Who knew?  Supposedly, when a mean, stingy, old man named Jack died, he wasn't allowed to go to heaven.  There wasn't any place for him to go, so he carved a turnip (!), placed a piece of hot, glowing coal in it, and roamed all night long here on Earth.  People called him Jack of the Lantern.  Or, Jack-o'-lantern.

This is the most interesting factoid in this where-does-the-holiday-come-from book by Gail Gibbons, but the other facts are pretty interesting, too.  She explains how the holiday came about and the traditions around the holiday.

As always, Gail Gibbons produces a nice little book with plenty of fine illustrations and interesting facts.  This one is good for the younger crowd, too (many of her books involve so many facts that kids under 5 tend to lose interest with all the facts).

11 more days until Halloween!

The Vanishing Pumpkin by Tony Johnston

The Vanishing Pumpkin by Tony Johnston, illustrated by Tomie DePaola

Rating: 4 stars

With wonderful, just-spooky-enough illustrations by the one and only Tomie DePaola, Johnston's silly, just-spooky-enough story unravels:  A (to say it nicely) elderly couple--a 700-year-old woman and 800-year-old man--simply wants to bake a nice pumpkin pie when they realize their pumpkin has vanished.  They go to find it, accusing everyone in their path of swiping it.  The pattern--first with a ghoul, then a rapscallion, followed by a varmint, then finally a wizard, is the same:

When told that he is guilty of stealing a giant pumpkin the creature looks around himself in a silly, kid-giggle-inducing fashion but cannot find it.  The annoyed-for-no-reason Old Man does a trick on the creature in order to prove that it is hiding the pumpkin somewhere.  The ghoul is turned invisible, the rapscallion is turned upside down in the air, the varmint is turned into a flea-filled cat, and the wizard...  oh wait, you can't trick a wizard or he'll trick you right back.  Each trick is applauded by the Old Man and the Old Woman and even the trickee himself.

It turns out that the wizard hasn't snitched the pumpkin--he's borrowed it so he could make a smiley jack-o-lantern.  And he's baked the pumpkin pie (which he's forgotten is under his hat) to share.

Johnston adds in some quirky quips that kept me chuckling: "Lucky lizards!" and "Snitched!" and "Don't be fresh with an 800-year-old man!" and "Great grizzlies!"

This is a very cute, slightly older Halloween book (1983!) that most kids probably haven't seen before...a great one to read at a Halloween party near you!

Which Witch is Which? by Pat Hutchins

Which Witch is Which? by Pat Hutchins

Rating: 3.5 stars

Every now and then Lorelei gets all I'm-over-that with me and the boys.  For me, it's a sad moment when a little independence replaces the reliance on me, a little sass replaces the sweet.  Happily, it's rare, and almost always, it's fake.  She'll pretend to be beyond something (such as dancing like a fool in the kitchen, lip synching with any object that might happen to work as a microphone) but after watching the boys and I do it, she realizes she just can't miss out on the fun and usually joins in.

That's how it is with picture books.  Every so often, Lorelei decides she doesn't want to read a book Ben chooses at bedtime; she'd rather go read chapter books by herself.  I try and find the balance of letting her do her own thing (I really do get her need for a break from her brothers) and strongly encouraging her to come join us (ending the day together, along with a few good books is a habit I don't want to break for a long, long time).

Picture books like this--with simple illustrations of preschoolers on the front--can easily get Lorelei to walk away.  But when I started to read it aloud in the library (don't worry, I used my quiet library voice), she was instantly drawn in, as was Ben.

Ella and Emily looked the same and were often called by each other's name.
Ella likes pink, Emily blue.
Which witch is which?
They played tug of war, three on each side, and Mouse's mother had to decide
if Ella or Emily's team had won.
Which witch is which?

It's a little mystery involving clever word play and identical witch twins!  Cute and fun and thought-provoking in just the right way.  Just tricky enough that Lorelei and Ben asked me to read it again, more slowly this time, so they could figure out which witch was Ella, and which witch was Emily from the start.

This is a good little Halloween book that plays with language in just the right way--for preschoolers and their older counterparts.

The Ghosts in the Cellar by Jacques Duquennoy

The Ghosts in the Cellar by Jacques Duquennoy

Rating: 4 spooky stars

If you hand this book to Kiefer, he'll cringe away from it and say, "Cary!" and then smile at his own little joke.  Pretty funny, that kid.

And pretty cute, this book.

What kid doesn't like a what's-that-spooky-noise type of book, a mystery wrapped in a little children's book?  And when the characters are ghosts and those ghosts are scared, well...that's a little silly.  Just silly enough to get some giggles from your audience.

And that's what the story line is: four ghosts are playing cards in a castle when they hear boom after boom.  They decide to be brave and investigate (after hiding, quaking in fear, under the card table for a few minutes).  As they encounter creepy stuff--a mouse, a spider, a bat, their own reflection in a mirror, Lorelei and Ben were howling with the image of scared ghosts.

They finally find what's making the noise: a chest.  They throw it open and all yell, together, "HELP!  A GHOST!"  (More silliness!)

It's their Aunt Gigi; it's her birthday.  She's 500 years old today and wants to invite them to her party.

A cute little book, great to read to a preschool or elementary school class this Halloween!  (I like another of his ghost books, A Ghost's Dinner, even more...)

Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson

Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson, illustrated by Axel Scheffler

Rating: 5 stars

I was so excited to find this book in Barnes & Noble a few weeks ago.  I read the board book version, then went home and ordered the book through our trusty local library.  I was ready to shout from the hilltops about how great the book is, until I found www.roomonthebroom.com and got a flashback from Spaceballs the movie.

There is a Room on the Broom website.  There is a Room on the Broom activity book.  There is a Room on the Broom T-shirt.  There is a Room on the Broom board game.  There is a Room on the Broom stuffed animal.  There is a Room in the Broom play.  There is a Room on the Broom puzzle set.

Oh.  You mean this book has been out a while?  Like, I'm the last one on earth to discover it?  I see.

Still, I've got to tell you about it, in case you're behind me in the yet-to-discover-it line.

Better than the list of consumer items above, here's the proof that this book is great: I read it to my multi-age trio--ages 2, 4, and 6--and they were all spellbound.  The rhythm of the rhyme rollicks along, inviting anyone in the room to stop what they're doing and listen.  The huge illustrations and the rhyme itself help with predictions, and little Kiefer could easily fill in the blank and finish the stanza.

How it is written is fantastic and impressive.  But what the story is about is even better: Karma.

Yep, that's right.  Karma.  Every kid should know about it!

Here's the truly magnificent broom!

The witch and her cat fly along, and one at a time things drop from her cute, spooky outfit.  And one at a time an animal down below helps her find it.  She drops her hat; a dog picks it up.  She drops her bow; a bird flies to return it.  She drops her wand; a frog lifts it from the bog for her.  After an item is returned from her, the animal asks if he can join her and the cat on the broom.  She says, unequivocally and without any annoying "only if you're good" statements: "YES!"  Delighted, they hop on.

But a hop is where they get into trouble: the frog hops out of excitement, and the broom breaks!

Down they all go, into the territory of a fire-breathing dragon.  The dragon quickly catches the witch and is about to eat her up when he spots a terrible animal rising from the mud with four heads and four different sounds coming from it.  This creature demands the dragon to return the witch.  He's so frightened that he does, and flies away quickly.  As soon as he's gone, the four animals hop down and wash themselves off--and the grateful witch thanks them.

She was kind to let them ride her broom, and they save her life.  Karma.

With the animals' help, she concocts a brew and a magic spell (what's a Halloween book without a little abra-cadabra?) to make a "truly sensational broom," with fancy seats for the cat and dog, a nest for the bird, and a pool for the frog.

This is a great, great book--a winner of a gift to any child or family that loves Halloween.  But you probably already know about it.

Bone Dog by Eric Rohmann

 Bone Dog by Eric Rohmann

Rating: 4.5 stars

It's rare that a book makes me tear up and also chuckle a bit.  So Bone Dog deserves a few minutes in the spotlight, not just for the absolutely fabulous illustrations, but for the story itself.

The story starts off with a little boy riding a big dog within a pack of running dogs.  "Ella and Gus had been friends for a long, long time."  The dog promises--under a full moon so his promise can't be broken--to always be with Gus.

On the next page, we see Gus without Ella, forcing himself to go about his days when Ella is gone.

Sniff, sniff.

Part of the going-about-his-day includes going trick or treating, and Gus dresses as a skeleton and heads home through a cemetery.  He soon finds himself surrounded by real skeletons who, when they realize he's a "real, live boy," they move to grab him.

(Kinda spooky...was surprised Lorelei and Ben didn't balk at it.)

But then, "the wind calmed and the moon broke shimmering from the clouds."  A bone dog--old Ella, now just bones--flies in with a smile (she must have been a Golden Retriever).  The skeletons laugh when Gus wants to fight them with a bone dog, but they quickly stop laughing when Gus and Ella whistle and howl for that large pack of dogs from the first page.

And then I chuckled, realizing that the dogs were going to chase the skeletons.  For their bones!  Three huge, wordless illustrations follow.  First, this one to the right, and then the pack of dogs, and then a small Dauchsund proudly trotting off with a single bone.

"Will I see you again?" asks Gus.  Ella wags her tail to respond under the full moon.

The pictures in here are some of the best.  Rohmann has won a Caldecott for his My Friend Rabbit, but I think this one is better than that one.  This is a very beautiful, slightly spooky, slightly funny, super touching book--wrapped in a simple tale of a boy and his dog.

Five Little Pumpkins by Dan Yaccarino

Five Little Pumpkins by Dan Yaccarino

Rating: 4 stars

I'm only reviewing this cute little baby book so that I can tell you a Halloween story and share a few pictures from our evening that are too cute to keep to myself.

Lorelei's inventory

First, a story:  So just before I send Lorelei, whose school is closed today, and Ben off to quiet time and raid their Halloween stash of candy (a whopping total of 18 items for Lorelei, 19 for Ben), Lorelei "does math" with her candy.  Really, the clever little girl is creating an inventory.

Drat!  She'll totally know what I took!

Wait, Ben didn't create an inventory...  I'll be right back...he won't miss a Snickers.  Or three.

Second, the book: One of our favorite author/illustrators, Dan Yaccarino, creates simple, bold pictures to the preschool song: "Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate / The first one said, "Oh my, it's getting late!" etc.  Very simple, very cute, great little song for your great little one.

Third, some pictures: How cute are these trick or treaters?!

Lorelei the flamingo

Twin witches!

Little bee

Spidey-Ben

  

Ghosts in the House by Kazuno Kahara

Ghosts in the House by Kazuno Kohara

Rating: 5 spooky stars

We live in too rural an area to go trick or treating ("C'mon, kids, just five more minutes until we get to the next house!  You can make it for one more piece of candy!") so we drive over to my sister's house.  Our three plus their four make an instant pack, the kind of pack of kids that makes Halloween Halloween.  Last night they zoomed from house to house, excited for a piece of candy, running and laughing wildly at each other and with each other.

Lorelei and Ben, and of course Kiefer, are still happy with the lower range on the spook-o-meter.  It's a funny balance, finding books and stories and shows that are just spooky enough for them.  I'm happy that I didn't go overboard, because my sleep is interrupted enough.

This book, from the kids' beloved Grammy, is a perfect example of a barely spooky, but very cute book.

Here's a little story of a girl who moves into a new house.  But the girl wasn't a normal girl--she was a witch! And the house wasn't a normal house--it was haunted!  She isn't worried about cohabiting with ghosts because she knew how to catch them, which she promptly does.  And then washes them!

Who knew ghosts were dirty, and that you could pop them into a front-loader to rectify the situation?!

She makes curtains--smiley ones--with most of the ghosts, and a tablecloth and blanket with others.  She uses the last two to tuck her cat and herself in at night.

She knew how to catch ghosts.  "How lovely," she said.  "I hope there are some more!"  And there were.

The artwork in the book is one of the reasons I love the book.  One blogger was inspired to do her own cut-out activity with her kids...check it out here.  (I think I'll have to wait a few years until I bust out the X-acto knife with my trio.)  This book is a great one--for next year, as I'm a little late to inform  you of its wonderful-ness for this Halloween.  But, c'mon, we both know that you have extra candy sitting around that you'll be munching on after bedtime, so you might has well have this book around to join you.

Beth's Post: Bats at the Beach by Brian Lies

Bats at the Beach by Brian Lies

Rating: 4 stars

Have you ever wondered where bats go on vacation? They go to the beach, of course, just like you and I! Only when they go it is dark, so they need “moon-tan lotion” and raid the snack bar for insect snacks. It sounds much cuter when you read it with rhyming couplets.


They still participate in all of the regular beach activities, like surfing and digging in the sand, and it is a really creative and fun to read book. The pictures are fun but a little dark and younger readers might have trouble paying attention to the darkly portrayed bat fun.

We received this book as a grandparent present, after visiting the “beaches” of Tacoma, Washington with them at their home. They quickly learned from our Florida- and Hawaii-spoiled children that the cloudy, cold, clam filled murky shore was “NOT A BEACH” in no uncertain terms. They had fun finding and sending us Bats at the Beach, which portrayed the beach a little differently but with just as much fun. It only took a few minutes to convince the kids to roll up their jeans, put back on a hat, and wade out into the water to crab little crabs and spitting clams like all the other kids.

Alpha Oops! H is for Halloween by Althea Kontis

Alpha Oops!  H is for Halloween by Althea Kontis, illustrated by Bob Kolar

Rating: 3.5 stars

So we're finally getting into the Halloween groove, and it's really only because Lorelei is in preschool and all her friends are into it.  Last year I was impressed we even got a costume, and we even went trick-or-treating in the local way (which involved a little strip-mall-like place because the houses around here require a hike and a half to get through one neighborhood).  This year Lorelei's spook-o-meter is a little higher, so she's not at all frightened by pictures like those in this book, of monsters and goblins, werewolves and vampires.

The book is a follow up to Alpha Oops!  The Day Z Went First, which we checked out at the same time.  Like that book, it's a classic "A is for..." book with a twist: the letters are all jumbled up in fairly random order.  The only plot is they all have to find a Halloween-themed item that starts with their letter.  One in particular, B, shows up again and again, and is uncertain of his choice, but then ends up as the last letter as B for BOO!  And he scares all the letters off stage.  It's a cute ending.

It's a little confusing, and definitely better for kids who are completely comfortable with their ABCs in order, and therefore see the humor in getting them all mixed up.  It's only sorta fun to read out loud, because the only text apart from the "A is for..." lines is the dialogue between the letters.  And Lorelei and Ben don't find that too easy to follow.  Still, it's Halloween-y and it's Halloween week, so we've been reading it every day!

A Know-Nothing Halloween by Michele Sobel Spirn

A Know-Nothing Halloween by Michele Sobel Spirn, illustrated by R.W. Alley

Rating: 2 stars

I walked into the house today from my weekly morning out without kids to hear our sitter reading this book to Lorelei.  I told Miss Chloe, "I just rescued you from finishing that book!"  She gave me a thankful look and told me it was giving her a headache--I knew she wasn't exaggerating much.  Here's a little example of what is in the loooooooong (three little chapters!) book:

"We could trick-or-treat."
"How do we do that?" asked Morris.
"We go to people's houses and do tricks for them," said Norris.
"Then they give us treats."
"I don't know any tricks," said Boris.
"Maybe Floris knows some tricks," said Norris.
"Sit, Floris."
"I don't think Floris knows that trick," said Morris.
"Roll over, Floris," said Norris.
"Floris does not know that trick either," said Morris.
"Stand on four legs, Floris," said Norris.
"What a great trick," said Morris.
"Floris is such a clever dog," said Boris.

Good grief.  I hope that your children will not find these in the library.  If the do, consider hiding it immediately after you come home, in a place even the sitter can't find.