It's almost Halloween and here are some new picture books to help your young readers get into the holiday spirit.
illustrated by Lydia Nichols
Abrams Appleseed, 2022, 24 pages
"Pumpkins to pick./ Ghost pops to lick./ Neighbors to trick!/ Happy Owl-oween!" It's almost Halloween and the little owlets are getting ready for the big day. Told in short rhyming couplets, the owlet are busy doing all the usual Halloween traditions. There are pumpkins to carve and candy apples to make as they sip warm cups of cider, then it is time to make costumes. What will they be? One owlet makes a witch costume, one chooses to be a vampire, a third owlet is Frankenstein, and the fourth is a superhero. Then it is off for an evening of trick or treating, following by sorting and sharing their candy with each other and finally to bed, tired but happy. This is such a sweet story for young readers like mine who are really just beginning to appreciate Halloween and who don't really know the traditions of the season. Plus these cute owlets with their sweet faces will captivate kids without being scary. The rhyme never falters and the illustrations are bold and colorful. Plus there is some back matter that explains all about the roots of Halloween and how we celebrate it nowadays. My young readers really loved this book. We read it enough times they had most of the words committed to memory.
The Crayons Trick or Treat by Drew Daywalt,
illustrated by Oliver Jeffers
Philomel Books/PRH, 2022, 28 pages
The Crayons are back and this year they are trying their hand at trick or treating on Halloween. Dressed in their color coordinated costumes - orange pumpkin, green witch, purple vampire, white ghost, black bat, grey fox and peach is just naked- there's just one problem. Though they can wait to fill their bags with candy, none of them have ever trick or treated before. What do they say after they after they knock on the door? Orange tries first saying: "Give us your candy, lady." That doesn't work, so green tries Merry Christmas with the same result as Orange - a door slam. After a few more failed attempts to get some candy, the Crayons, lead by Purple, practice saying "Trick or Treat" before knocking the next door. Will the fifth try be the charm? Young kids are often afraid of some to the traditional Halloween creatures, but this will take the scare right out of them. And it is a story that will definitely make young readers laugh even as they see the old adage "if at first you don't succeed, try try again" at work, a good lesson for youngsters. Jeffers's illustrations, done in a Halloween palette, are cartoonish and in keeping with Daywalt's other Crayon books, which fans will no doubt recognize. I read this to my young readers, many about to experience their first Halloween, and they loved it.
written and illustrated by Gabrielle Meyer
Abrams BFYR. 2022, 32 pages
Ada Twist has become a very popular STEM icon and the scientific method. This story is not a Halloween tale per se, but is a good ghost story. Ada and her friend Rosie are have a sleepover at their friend Iggy's house. When Ada suggests they play ping-pong, Iggy tells they that they can't. The ping-pong table is in the cellar, which is haunted, and he won't go down. The lights flicker and there's a scary ghostly voice that says "Howler's Hungry!" every once in a while. Naturally, Ada suggests they investigate using the scientific method seeking to answer the question; Is the basement haunted? It is interesting to see how they go about doing their research to form a hypothesis and test it out with experiments. I really liked the way they did everything step by step but in the end they learned that sometimes if you don't look at the whole picture, but only pieces of evidence, you can draw false conclusions. I liked this boldly illustrated book for two main reasons. First, the method that the kids use is explained very well, and a great introduction to the scientific method. Second, these diverse friends show how to work together to accomplish their goal. Group work is something introduced in elementary school and Ada, Rosie and Iggy are great roles models. And Iggy's dad was there and supportive, but left the kids alone do their thing until he was needed. Even if kids aren't into STEM, there is plenty for them to enjoy in the picture book that is also part of the Ada Twist, Scientist series on Netflix.
A Costume for Charly by C.K. Malone,
illustrated by Alejandra Barajas
Beaming Books, 2022, 40 pages
Halloween has always been problematic for Charly. They can never decide what to be that reflects who they are 100%. Digging through the box of old costumes, nothing seems to work. Going as an astronaut hides too much, a clown costume isn't even funny, and being a monster in a masked covers up who they are. Red Riding Hood is a good costume, but too girl, which Dracula is also good but too boy. Then, Charly gets a brilliant idea. They cut and snipe away at both the Red Riding Hood and Dracula costumes until they create the perfect costume that uniquely says Charly 100%. This year, Trick or Treating in a costume that is both boy and girl will be the best feeling in the world for Charly as he presents their authentic self. This is a well-written story that really says so much about gender identity and being true to oneself. And I think the reactions of the other neighborhood kids is pretty true to life - some kids thought his costume wacky, other didn't get it, but some thought it was wonderful. The brightly colored illustrations really compliment the text. Charly's quest for the perfect costume is no different than what most kids go through when it comes to choosing a Halloween costume, the only difference is that Charly presents as bigender making this a good book for starting discussions about gender identity with youngsters. Back matter includes some information about what identifying as bigender means as well as resources about the LGBTQIA+ community.
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