treats for all… on Halloween

Today, I’ve got a mix of Halloween titles so you can choose your perfect treat.

Something for small-fry:

Sophie’s Halloween Disguise, written and illustrated by Rosemary Wells
published in 2018 by Viking, Penguin Young Readers

And irresistibly darling board book. I mean, baby Jane gets dressed up as a small carrot!  Meanwhile, Sophie and her pal Grover swap their swell costumes in an effort to fool Granny.

Granny manages to have the last laugh, though bowls of candy corn and a dab of ice cream mean everyone has a most happy Halloween. Ages 18 months and up.

Something for traditionalists:

The Teeny-tiny Woman, told and illustrated by Paul Galdone
published in 1984 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

This is the age old tale we all told around the campfire about that teeny tiny woman and her teeny tiny bone.

Such a nicely-tingly story, simply told and marvelously illustrated by the one-and-only Paul Galdone.  This is the one my kids remember reading over and over. Ages 3 and up.

Something for Star Wars fans:

Are You Scared, Darth Vader?, written and illustrated by Adam Rex
published in 2018 by Disney, Lucasfilm Press

For all you crazed Star Wars kiddos and parents out there, this book is made to order for you.

Darth Vader stands alone in a murky woods.  One by one a parade of unearthly creatures enters. Is he scared of any of them? Of course not! He’s Darth Vader!  But — it turns out there is one thing Darth Vader is scared of.  One thing he cannot control.  What is it?! Good, silly fun for fans ages 4 and up.

Something for clever knitters…and everyone else:

How to Knit a Monster, written and illustrated by Annemarie van Haeringen
first published in the Netherlands in 2014; first U.S. edition 2018 by Clarion Books

This is probably my favorite on the list today.

Greta the goat is a very, very good knitter. Oh, the things she knits! But when Mrs. Sheep enters the room and insults Greta’s knitting, Greta gets distracted and before you know it, she’s knit a wolf! Who jumps right off her needles and wreaks havoc!! Toothy havoc!

What’s a girl to do? Never fear.  Greta is monstrously clever!! You will love Greta, her solution, and the colorful mayhem yarning through this book. A delight for ages 4 and up.

Something for comics fans:

That Night a Monster, by Marzena Sowa and Berenika Kolomycka
published in 2018  by Odod Books

A bad hair day takes on a whole new level of meaning in this funny, surprising graphic novel.

Thomas awakes one morning to discover that his mother has been replaced by some sort of giant, menacing…fern! How did this happen? Where did his mother go? And why is his father so nonchalant about the whole business?!

It’s a goofy, relatable tale coming to us from Poland and I think it’ll tickle the funny bones of kids ages 8 and up.

Something with a touch of kindness:

Stumpkin, written and illustrated by Lucy Ruth Cummins
published in 2018 by Atheneum Books for Young Readers

Stumpkin is one of many pumpkins on display at the corner bodega.

One after another, his pumpkin-mates are bought, taken to a new home, and carved into marvelous jack-o-lanterns, then placed on windowsills to gladden the neighborhood. But Stumpkin, who lacks that all-important stem, is left, like the last kid to be picked for the baseball team. Very Charlie Brown-ish.

Halloween at last arrives and Stumpkin is still hanging out, alone and forlorn. Such a melancholy scene.  Until a lovely turn of the tables leaves us all grinning. Tender,  hopeful, with striking illustrations, for ages 4 and up.

There’s gobs more monstrously good stories in my Halloween archives which you can find here.