Can we read? Special edition: Halloween 🎃

🕷🕸🦇🔮🧙🏻‍♀️🕷🕸🦇🔮🧙🏻‍♀️

Oct 07, 2020

We have a lot of Halloween books. A lot. We DO Halloween (so, fair warning, if you do not do Halloween, or read books about witches/ghosts/etc., skip this whole issue entirely). We don’t have as many Halloween books as Christmas ones (that collection is just totally out of control, as I make a book Advent calendar for my kids as well as provide a pile to read throughout the month of December — do that math and it’s 24 books + enough to fill several baskets, but I digress).

To be honest, my favorite Halloween book is Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson, illustrated by Axel Scheffler (2001) — it fits into “titles about witches” (see the end of this missive) and doesn’t even mention Halloween — but given its popularity and the likelihood that you already know about it, I’ve decided to forgo a review. (If you don’t know about it, get thee to a library or bookstore, and after soaking in every little bit of the delightful goodness of this book, watch the animated version on Amazon — the Magic Light Pictures productions of Julia Donaldson’s titles are the most well-done children’s books-to-movies offerings I’ve ever seen, and that’s really saying something because I’ve seen them all.)

Let’s get to it but I want to say: happy fall, happy Halloween. It doesn’t feel so happy, but I hope wherever you are the beauty outweighs the fear, even if you have to work (REALLY HARD) at it.

Too Many Pumpkins by Linda White, illustrated by Megan Lloyd (1996)

After a childhood spent eating them out of hunger, Rebecca Estelle HATES pumpkins. So when one falls off the back of a passing truck, explodes, and its seeds begin to grow a new pumpkin the next year, she ignores it: she refuses to water it, look at it, or even go out the front door where it is located. She succeeds in her efforts to such a degree that she forgets all about the plant until one day when she does finally venture into her front yard, she finds more pumpkins than she knows what to do with. Ever resourceful — and remembering her own hunger from years ago — she decides to cook them all and give food to her neighbors. She fills her kitchen with every sort of pumpkin goodie one can imagine, carves enough jack-o-lanterns to get the attention of folks over the hill, and waits for them to come. They do, of course, and the group feast that ensues is enough to convince her not only to stop hating pumpkins, but to keep a few seeds for planting next year. Megan Lloyd’s illustrations (here and in other titles, namely The Little Old Woman Who Was Not Afraid of Anything, another Halloween book by Linda Williams) are detailed, fun, and pair just perfectly with the prose. I love the themes of resourcefulness, generosity, and community — Rebecca Estelle makes something wonderful out of something she hates, works hard on behalf of others, and does it just to give it all away. In fall, we reap a harvest and if we’re lucky, we have enough — what better way to enjoy our bounty than to share it with others? And what better message to share with children?

Angelina’s Halloween by Katharine Holabird, illustrated by Helen Craig (2000)

Before I go onto the next few reviews let me say that I take serious issue with what I think of as “character” books — any title linked to a television show, toy, or video game, anything a marketer came up with somewhere to sell more product rather than writing for children. The notable (and perhaps singular) exceptions to that situation are titles where the character was a character in a book first — e.g., Angelina before her TV show, Arthur before his TV show, etc. The Angelina titles in particular are quite good as originally written — the titles based off the plot and script of an episode of the show, not so much. (Full disclosure: do we own some of those titles? Yes. Do we sometimes watch the show? Yes. No judgement here. I believe in letting children pick their own books more than I believe in being rigid about this — I’m trying to raise readers, after all, and choosing what one reads is a key ingredient — but when I am the one doing the picking and/or buying, I never, ever choose character books or any other kind of twaddle. Taste comes from quality and exposure and this is a thing I’m serious about.)

ANYWAY. This particular title may be my favorite Angelina book, not only for its Halloween-ness, which is rendered as adorably as ever through Craig’s carefully detailed and evocative illustrations, but because it’s just so Angelina. She can be a bit of a dick sometimes — not only to her little sister, Polly, as in this story — but overall. Here, it’s Halloween night and Polly, who just wants to be included in Angelina’s world, goes trick-or-treating with the big kids, supposedly under the watchful eye of her older sister. When they all make the decision to go into an old abandoned house, Angelina loses track of Polly but doesn’t realize it until Polly’s absence is revealed during the town costume contest. Angelina frantically backtracks until she finds Polly safe on the steps of the old house, having made herself sick on candy while sitting with some new friends. They return home to the literal and figurative warmth of family — Holabird’s depiction of Angelina’s loving, accepting family is my favorite aspect of this series — and all is well. Angelina gets a little humbled here, and that’s okay, as she also gets forgiven, and it’s all a good reminder not to take anything — or anyone — for granted.

Arthur’s Halloween by Marc Brown (1982)

I think it’s interesting to see how Brown’s Arthur illustrations have evolved over time — in this 1982 title, he and his family are still very aardvark-y, with elongated faces and features that are less round and cute than they are now. It fits well with the dark theme here (well, darker than all the other Arthur books, which isn’t to say it’s sinister in the least) and the story of Arthur, forever a beleaguered older brother, who has to take his little sister D.W. trick-or-treating. (D.W. is one of my favorite characters ever and regularly makes me LOL.) Of course D.W. wants to go to the haunted house where, allegedly, a witch resides — and she’s inside before Arthur can stop her. He follows, and what he finds is a surprise to him and the reader alike — instead of a witch, it’s just a kind old woman who is no longer able to maintain her house, which is why it’s in such disrepair. After cider, chocolate donuts, and a promise to return on Saturday to rake leaves, Arthur and D.W. leave in the same good condition as they arrived, a little less afraid of unknown things. There’s a subtle and unexpected tenderness in this title that doesn’t exist in other Arthur books (though his family is always real, warm, and loving), and I appreciate how the narrative explains, in an understandable and concrete way, why some older folks might seem scary and what kids can do to help. Neighbors helping neighbors seems to be something that’s disappearing (has disappeared?) somewhat in our culture. This title tells and shows it plain, as Mia Birdsong wrote in her book, How We Show Up: Reclaiming Family, Friendship, and Community: we are each other’s business.

Corduroy’s Best Halloween Ever! based on the character created by Don Freeman, illustrated by Lisa McCue (2001)

While I don’t love every Corduroy book out there, this is one of the good ones: Corduroy and his sweet little group of friends are all excited for Halloween, and everyone has a costume in mind except Corduroy, who is hosting a Halloween party. When he finally decides to be a dinosaur, he fashions his outfit himself out of an old pair of green pajamas and some scraps of fabric — he’s proud of himself and loves his costume. On the night of his party, however, his friend Puppy arrives with his own costume in shambles, and Corduroy makes the selfless and gracious choice to give Puppy his dinosaur costume — which solves Puppy’s problem, but creates one for Corduroy. Nevertheless, Corduroy cheerfully attends his own party and enjoys his guests, and when it’s time to go trick-or-treating, rather than pouting and panicking (likely my default in such a situation, let’s be real), he rolls with it, whips a stained tablecloth out from under the food and punch bowl, and transforms into a “a ghost who just came from a Halloween party.” Corduroy books are characterized by their sweetness, but this one is super sweet, with a narrative so full of friendship and kindness it makes me wonder about the last time I was so open-hearted with myself and my things. Is there a “spirit of Halloween?” If there is I think it’s about giving, and this title is full of it.

The Widow’s Broom by Chris Van Allsburg (1992)

Forgive the imperfect photo here — this is what happens sometimes when you buy used books online — but I couldn’t not include this title, even though it’s not exactly about Halloween. It is, however, about a witch — more specifically, her broom, and what happens when it has reached the end of its flying life. “Witches’ brooms don’t last forever. They grow old, and even the best of them, one day, lose the power of flight.” When this happens suddenly and a witch falls from the sky and lands in widow Minna Shaw’s garden, the witch takes care of herself and quickly disappears, but her broom remains with Minna, sweeping and chopping wood and fetching water and generally being of great help around the house and farm, even playing the piano. Minna and the broom get along well, but of course, this harmless doing-good can’t last — and it’s doesn’t, because after Minna tells her neighbor Mr. Spivey about the broom, people become suspicious of its intentions. One afternoon two of the Spivey boys encounter the broom and decide — since they have heard at home that it’s a thing of evil — to torment it. This ends in what amounts to a mob scene for a broom — men come to burn it, and they do. If you’re not familiar with Van Allsburg’s breathtaking, black-and-white style of illustration, well, it’s worth seeking out any of his books just to see his art, which always heightens and adds to the story exponentially, and this title is no different (see photo below). Minna’s grief over the broom is evident in the bend of her shoulders, and the reader thinks maybe this is it, maybe this is just the depressing end to the story — until one morning Minna reports to the Spiveys that she has seen the ghost of the broom. I won’t spoil the ending except to say that it’s a good one for both Minna and the broom, and shares a lovely — and absolutely vital — message that just because one cannot understand a thing (at first, or even ever) doesn’t make it dangerous or evil.

Who Said Boo? Halloween Poems for the Very Young by Nancy White Carlstrom, illustrated by R.W. Alley (1995)

What, did you think I was going to do a whole special edition without a poetry book? (Poetry is important! I’m just going to keep shouting this! READ YOUR KIDS POETRY!) This is a new-to-me title this year, plucked out of the very small seasonal selection shelf available at my wonderfully COVID-safe express library service right now, and I’m so glad I found it, because it was been delightful to dip into every morning. A fun romp through all aspects of Halloween — from monsters to masquerades, bones and carnivals — this is both amusing to read and look at and seems especially suited to toddlers and preschoolers (though my 6yo first grader literally never complains about any book we read that’s for a younger age group — I think there is a certain sense of comfort in it, and not just for kids). I love Alley’s bright, expressive and playful illustrations. This is worth adding to your Halloween stash (be it a box with a large offering or a small selection on a shelf).

🕷🕸🦇🔮🧙🏻‍♀️🕷🕸🦇🔮🧙🏻‍♀️🕷🕸🦇🔮🧙🏻‍♀️🕷🕸🦇🔮🧙🏻‍♀️

Highly recommended (but I ran out of energy writing a full review):

Mercy Watson: Princess in Disguise, Kate DiCamillo
The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything, Linda Williams
The Vanishing Pumpkin, Tony Johnston

Rhyming titles:

In the Haunted House, Eve Bunting (may be scary for really little ones)
Scary, Scary Halloween, Eve Bunting (ditto)
Wee Witches’ Halloween, Jerry Smath

Titles about witches:

(Curiously, only one of these titles mentions Halloween — nevertheless, I categorize them as Halloween books, because where else are they going to go? Actually don’t answer that — I could make a compelling case for witch books in springtime but to my knowledge, thus far no one has written one.)

The Curious Little Witch, Lieve Baeton
Dorrie and the Goblin, Patricia Coombs
Little Witch’s Big Night, Deborah Hautzig (this is an early reader but the Little Witch series is funny, charming, and particularly well-done)
The Witch Who Was Afraid of Witches, Alice Low (an advanced early reader)

Everything else:

Spooky Pookie, Sandra Boynton
Happy Halloween Biscuit, Alyssa Satin Capucilli (the rule of Biscuit books is that you have to do all the “woofs” like you mean it, even if it makes you want to throw every Biscuit book out the window for so much damn woofing)
Skeleton Hiccups, Margery Cuyler
Mouse and Mole: A Perfect Halloween, Wong Herbert Yee
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Washington Irving, this version illustrated by Will Moses
I Spy Spooky Night: A Book of Picture Riddles, Jean Marzollo
Only a Witch Can Fly, Alison McGhee (this is written in a sestina, and the lexical repetition is lovely but, I think, confuses our brains that are used to the iambic pentameter, or at least a more recognizable meter, of most rhyming children’s books… but the illustrations are so charming I can’t exclude it)
Nate the Great and the Halloween Hunt, Marjorie Weinman Sharmat

There, I did it!

Thanks for wading through my opinions and digressions and for being here, period. I offer these newsletters to you in the spirit of sharing and usefulness, but I’d also be remiss if I didn’t admit how much I get from doing this — it’s not always easy for me to write every week but I think there’s something helpful, comforting, possibly profound in showing up, even now (especially now?) It would be meaningful no matter what — the show up — but it’s more so because there’s someone on the other end receiving it. When I say thank you every week, that’s what I mean: thank you for receiving. There’s energy in the exchange, the reciprocity, that is powerful and important and more necessary than ever to me. I’m grateful, that’s all.

🦇 Happy Halloween 🦇

Can we read?