A Halloween anatomy lesson sure to tickle funny bones.
“Head and shoulders, knees and toes. / Trick-or-treating, here we goes!”
Skelly Bones Skeleton is excited for Halloween; after all, skeletons sleep the whole rest of the year, so he likes to really live it up on Halloween. But what should his costume be this year? Not a witch—he couldn’t stay on the broomstick. Not a monster—too scary. A ghost! In no time, he’s ready to go. Only he hadn’t planned on the wind, which catches his sheet and lofts him up and then drops him…in separate pieces. And in a twist that will remind readers of “Humpty Dumpty,” the other trick-or-treaters can’t put Skelly back together correctly—they make him look like them: a snake, an ant, and a chicken. Finally some human kids come by. They’re at first scared by the pile of bones (more so when it talks!), but Skelly convinces them he’s friendly and needs a hand, and once he’s back together, they all set off trick-or-treating together. Richmond’s illustrations, done with pen and ink, foam stamp, and Photoshop, use a palette heavy on purple, orange, and green. Skelly’s personality shines, his eyebrows and mouth doing much of the emoting. The skeleton is an unconnected group of bones, most long and skinny save for the pelvis, which resembles tighty whities, and the skull. The three children include a brown-skinned girl skeleton, a pale-skinned pirate with glasses, and a beige-skinned chef.
A Halloween anatomy lesson sure to tickle funny bones. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 7, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-250-12706-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: July 15, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies.
Pigeon finds something better to drive than some old bus.
This time it’s Santa delivering the fateful titular words, and with a “Ho. Ho. Whoa!” the badgering begins: “C’mon! Where’s your holiday spirit? It would be a Christmas MIRACLE! Don’t you want to be part of a Christmas miracle…?” Pigeon is determined: “I can do Santa stuff!” Like wrapping gifts (though the accompanying illustration shows a rather untidy present), delivering them (the image of Pigeon attempting to get an oversize sack down a chimney will have little ones giggling), and eating plenty of cookies. Alas, as Willems’ legion of young fans will gleefully predict, not even Pigeon’s by-now well-honed persuasive powers (“I CAN BE JOLLY!”) will budge the sleigh’s large and stinky reindeer guardian. “BAH. Also humbug.” In the typically minimalist art, the frustrated feathered one sports a floppily expressive green and red elf hat for this seasonal addition to the series—but then discards it at the end for, uh oh, a pair of bunny ears. What could Pigeon have in mind now? “Egg delivery, anyone?”
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9781454952770
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2023
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.
A ghost longs to be scary, but none of the creepy personas she tries on fit.
Misty, a feline ghost with big green eyes and long whiskers, wants to be the frightening presence that her haunted house calls for, but sadly, she’s “too cute to be spooky.” She dons toilet paper to resemble a mummy, attempts to fly on a broom like a witch, and howls at the moon like a werewolf. Nothing works. She heads to a Halloween party dressed reluctantly as herself. When she arrives, her friends’ joyful screams reassure her that she’s great just as she is. Sadler’s message, though a familiar one, is delivered effectively in a charming, ghostly package. Misty truly is too precious to be frightening. Laberis depicts an endearingly spooky, all-animal cast—a frog witch, for instance, and a crocodilian mummy. Misty’s sidekick, a cheery little bat who lends support throughout, might be even more adorable than she is. Though Misty’s haunted house is filled with cobwebs and surrounded by jagged, leafless trees, the charming characters keep things from ever getting too frightening. The images will encourage lingering looks. Clearly, there’s plenty that makes Misty special just as she is—a takeaway that adults sharing the book with their little ones should be sure to drive home.
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2024
ISBN: 9780593702901
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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