A cute addition to any Halloween shelf.
Stand out in a crowd by being yourself!
Sleepy Sheepy returns just in time to prepare for some spooktacular celebrations. As October approaches, he and his family visit a Halloween store to select Sleepy Sheepy’s costume. He discovers the last werewolf costume, and he pictures himself as a “sheep in wolf’s clothing.” Although Pa has a few other suggestions, Sleepy Sheepy remains adamant, and he gets the costume. On Halloween, the outfit is less comfortable than he expected, but he suits up and heads out…only to discover that his “lone wolf” is actually one of a very large pack. His disappointment at having picked out a less-than-original costume doesn’t last long; he soon reemerges from home in a different get-up, one that’s more in line with his general vibe. All is well, and a tired sheep eventually heads home to bed. Astute readers may pick up on a few visual hints about what’s to come: a sale flyer in Sleepy Sheepy’s hand as he and his family enter the store, sale signs, and a near-empty rack of costumes. Savvy caregivers and educators can use these clues to start a conversation to build predictive skills in young readers. The book is also a useful example for showing kids the importance of pivoting when life doesn’t go as planned. The illustrations—a combination of scanned watercolor textures and digital paint—are simple but amusing, particularly when relaying emotions through facial expressions. Not too sweet and not too scary, this one is just right.
A cute addition to any Halloween shelf. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: July 15, 2025
ISBN: 9780593693896
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Flamingo Books
Review Posted Online: March 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Not enough tricks to make this a treat.
Another holiday title (How To Catch the Easter Bunny by Adam Wallace, illustrated by Elkerton, 2017) sticks to the popular series’ formula.
Rhyming four-line verses describe seven intrepid trick-or-treaters’ efforts to capture the witch haunting their Halloween. Rhyming roadblocks with toolbox is an acceptable stretch, but too often too many words or syllables in the lines throw off the cadence. Children familiar with earlier titles will recognize the traps set by the costume-clad kids—a pulley and box snare, a “Tunnel of Tricks.” Eventually they accept her invitation to “floss, bump, and boogie,” concluding “the dance party had hit the finale at last, / each dancing monster started to cheer! / There’s no doubt about it, we have to admit: / This witch threw the party of the year!” The kids are diverse, and their costumes are fanciful rather than scary—a unicorn, a dragon, a scarecrow, a red-haired child in a lab coat and bow tie, a wizard, and two space creatures. The monsters, goblins, ghosts, and jack-o'-lanterns, backgrounded by a turquoise and purple night sky, are sufficiently eerie. Still, there isn’t enough originality here to entice any but the most ardent fans of Halloween or the series. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Not enough tricks to make this a treat. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-72821-035-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: May 10, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Serve this superbly designed title to all who relish slightly scary stories.
Kids know vegetables can be scary, but rarely are edible roots out to get someone. In this whimsical mock-horror tale, carrots nearly frighten the whiskers off Jasper Rabbit, an interloper at Crackenhopper Field.
Jasper loves carrots, especially those “free for the taking.” He pulls some in the morning, yanks out a few in the afternoon, and comes again at night to rip out more. Reynolds builds delicious suspense with succinct language that allows understatements to be fully exploited in Brown’s hilarious illustrations. The cartoon pictures, executed in pencil and then digitally colored, are in various shades of gray and serve as a perfectly gloomy backdrop for the vegetables’ eerie orange on each page. “Jasper couldn’t get enough carrots … / … until they started following him.” The plot intensifies as Jasper not only begins to hear the veggies nearby, but also begins to see them everywhere. Initially, young readers will wonder if this is all a product of Jasper’s imagination. Was it a few snarling carrots or just some bathing items peeking out from behind the shower curtain? The ending truly satisfies both readers and the book’s characters alike. And a lesson on greed goes down like honey instead of a forkful of spinach.
Serve this superbly designed title to all who relish slightly scary stories. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 21, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4424-0297-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 1, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2012
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