Halloween is my favorite time of year. Not only do you get to have CANDY CANDY CANDY given to you for no reason (or as an adult you can finally buy the good stuff) but you also get to dress up and have fun that is not allowed the rest of the year! And a tradition I try and do is find a couple new books to add to the Halloween collection of treats
Bone Soup A Spooky Tasty Tale is the stone soup story with a Halloween twist. Three witches, some scary neighbors and one simple bone make up the yummiest of treats going. And trust me no tricks! The illustrations of Tom Knight are sweet, funny, clever and full of detail. Alyssa Satin Capucilli’s story is fresh and tasty for the eyes to read. It will be a great read aloud for your child, grandchild, nieces and nephews or for your school classroom or library story time. It is not scary at all (though there are monsters, witches, ghouls, vampires and ghosts) as it is all round shapes and fun images. The very young might be a little wary but for the four to eight-year-old this is perfect. You can truly read this year around, but of course is a great holiday read.
The other book I found is Samurai Scarecrow by Rubin Pingk. I was a little put off by it at first. A very traditional looking Japanese brother and sister are talking about the local scary story of the Samurai Scarecrow. It is also a story about a little sister who wants to do everything her big brother does, but he does not always understand why. It is not until Halloween that he learns why having a little sister can be extra cool (though I am still trying to figure that myself. Really parents? You had perfection, why did you go for round two?) Seriously, it is a lovely Halloween story and an interesting one to give to an older sibling. Yet, it still would work for a classroom setting. It could be read anytime, but as it mentions Halloween, it might be a little bit more geared to that time of year. Unless you are like me and know that Halloween is not once a year, but a lifestyle.