Category: Halloween

Naturally Supernatural

10/29/2020

Two delightful new comics invite young readers into the world of the occult, confirming that there is a more to supernatural powers than tales of grisly terror. Explore the warm and welcoming side of the supernatural.

Witches of Brooklyn by Sophie Escabasse

Oh, you’d be surprised how many things there are in this neighborhood!

Eleven-year-old Effie, recently orphaned, has been sent to live with her sharp-tongued step-aunt Selimene and mild-mannered partner Carlotta. These new living conditions come as a huge surprise and major adjustment for everyone.

Feeling unwanted, but with no other choice but to stay, Effie and Selimene come to a tentative truce. As she adjusts to her new home, Effie discovers a few oddities. The attached greenhouse is filled with a vast selection of medicinal plants which have healing properties. There is also an adjoining acupuncture office.

Most astonishing of all, in addition to their work as herbalists and acupuncturists, the two are witches. They are committed using their powers to help others.

Their supernatural abilities have awakened a latent power inside Effie. She discovers that she too is a witch. The two seasoned witches and their young protege are presented with a perplexing problem. A massively popular singer has developed a ghastly change in her facial coloring, making it impossible to publicly perform.

With the help of ancient book of magic, some extraordinary meteorological powers, and an assist from three of Effie’s new friends, the singer’s disfiguring skin condition is cured and she can resume her concert schedule.

Escabasse captures the quirky personalities of her witches with a deft hand. Petite fashion-conscious Selimene wears oversized statement jewelry and stylish footwear. Carlotta is a large woman with an extra-large heart who must smooth over difficulties often exacerbated by Selimene’s short fuse. Characters are loveable because of their idiosyncrasies.

Readers will want to return to this world of unconventional witches. More Witches of Brooklyn stories please.

Uncorrected copy provided by publisher.

Pub date: September 1, 2020 Publisher: Random House Graphic; Illustrated Edition ISBN: 978-0593119273

Séance Tea Party by Reimena Yee

Time doesn't care...sooner or later - Everyone grows up. They change. They move on.

Twelve-year-old Lora is lonely. Her friends no longer share her interest in imaginative play.

Lora decides to her own Séance Tea Party, surrounded by her stuffed animals and a Ouija board. A surprise guest joins the festivities. Her name is Alexa and she’s the ghost of a young girl who died years ago. Lora is delighted. She discovers that Alexa was her imaginary childhood friend.

The two become fast friends, accommodating Alexa’s spirit into the corporeal world. Alexa gently nudges Lora to move out of her comfort zone. She accepts a spur-of-the-moment invitation to attend a Halloween party. Her new friend is draped in a sheet. The perfect disguise for a ghost.

Lora gradually expands her circle to include an older woman. She begins to experiment with make-up, opting for a deep shade of lipstick and definative eyeliner.

The human is not the only one moving on. Alexa comes to realize that it is time for her to leave her earth-bound connection. A bittersweet scene touchingly shows the dear friends, acknowledging their affection for one another while recognizing the desire to step away from their present lives. A sweet story of growing up, letting go, moving on.

Yee captures Lora's innocence and Alexa’s wistful longing. There is an expressive quality to the art. The images begin with a juvenile sensibility that gradually morphs into a more mature perspective.

Bonus pages include a sneak peek into the artists craft, illustrated with numerous sketches.

Séance Tea Party will be appreciated by a variety of audiences. It's a story of Halloween, ghosts, death, maturing, enduring friendship, multi- generational relationships, and the inevitability of becoming older.

Uncorrected copy provided by publisher.

Pub date: September 15, 2020 Publisher: Random House Graphic; Illustrated Edition ISBN: 978-1984894151

1 Comment

Creeptastic!

12/26/2019

0 Comments

Out to Get You: 13 Tales of Weirdness and Woe
by Josh Allen ill by Sarah J Coleman

Librarians who work with children know that kids love scary stories: chilling tales reread until the spines break and pages fall out. They constantly ask for more fright-filled short stories. More. More. More.
Maintaining a selection of hair-raising tales is a never-ending task. Finding middle grade narratives with just the right amount of fright factor, but not veering into gristly gore can be a challenge.
J osh Allen has this covered with Out to Get You: 13 Tales of Weirdness and Woe. Stories are quick reads: tightly structured tales told briefly in a few pages and concluding with a macabre twist.

Each begins with an everyday encounter. Then the ordinary takes an unexpected turn and young readers wonder what will happen next. Warning: "what happens next" is not a "happily ever after." Example: There's a stain on the school cafeteria floor. When a stray dime lands on the spot, the coin instantly vanishes. What happens when something or someone much larger accidentally lands on the stain?

A teacher has perfected her use of "The Voice" to dominate and control her students. One small girl with mousy brown hair is not intimidated by this overbearing teacher. Instead, a tiny black box appears on the teacher's desk with the note "For all you've done, you deserve this."

Meet the boy who has been waiting all year for the frog dissection in biology. He can't wait to become a mad scientist, don a pair of gloves, and take a scalpel to the dead frog. When he begins to work on his specimen, something frightening happens.

Pay attention to the female characters. The girls are rarely helpless victims. They are often the perpetrators of some horrifying stuff. They can deliver their own forms of justice. Lesson: Don't mess with a smart girl!

Sarah J. Coleman's full-page eerie black ink drawings and a glow-in-the-dark cover complete the package.

Librarians would do well to order several copies of these middle-grade tales of terror. Satisfy young appetites for horror-lite with these creeptastic tales.

Copy provided by publisher.

Pub date: September 3, 2019 Publisher: Holiday House ISBN: 978-0823443666

0 Comments

Weird on Top of Weird. Squared.

10/22/2019

0 Comments

Weird Little Robots
by Carolyn Crimi ill by Corinna Luyken

Real live robots and their pet squirrel. It's like weird on top of weird squared.

Penny Rose is lonely. In the past, she has always enjoyed friendships with other children in her neighborhood. Now everything has changed. Her family moved and she can't connect with any of her new classmates. She spends her free time sequestered in the shed in her family’s backyard, creating a collection of tiny robots from found objects: outdated technology, broken bits and pieces, even a set of false teeth. She names each creation and fills her days tinkering with these mini-friends.

Then she meets her nerdy neighbor Lark. A budding ornithologist, Lark has a yard brimming with an incredible collection of birdhouses created from assorted curiosities that the birds leave for her,

Lark wasn’t afraid to let her weirdness show, and Penny Rose thought that was very brave.

The two loners combine their shared resources and talents to create roboTown, an intricate metropolis for robots, complete with multilevel buildings, lights, and a battery-operated elevator. One night they discover that the robots have come to life.

Every story must have a dark moment and it arrives for Penny Rose in the form of a mysterious invitation to join a Secret Science Society. In a moment of weakness, Penny Rose shares her robots with members of the secret group. She does this without the knowledge or consent of Lark, betraying the trust of her best friend and the magical robots. There are consequences. Most of the robots are stolen, roboTown demolished, and her friendship with Lark damaged.

In the process of attempting to reclaim and repair broken relationships and the lifeless toys, Penny Rose makes her own discoveries: What does it mean to be friend? What is science? Can all mistakes be fixed?

Crimi brings the story to a satisfying conclusion, including a miraculous recovery of one robot and a repaired friendship. But she leaves a few threads open. Does this mean that there will be more adventures for Penny Rose, Lark, and their robots? Count my vote for an absolutely, positively, without a doubt yes. More Weird Little Robots. More Penny Rose and Lark. Please.

There are so many things to love about this charming little tale of friendship and creativity, science and magic. The girls are interesting and interested in the world around them. But it's the robots who steal the show. There's iPam, made from a cell phone. Her cracked screen displays text messages to the girls. Fraction, the friendly bot, is an old calculator with a heart-shaped sticker, Clunk with a meat thermometer head atop a transistor radio takes over plugging in the lights. Sharpie created from a pair of old dentures, can sometimes be a bit grouchy. Data with a marble eye keeps watch out the window. She can see the future.
I absolutely adore these robots!

Luyken's full page illustrations accentuate the story's magic. She captures the essence to the two girls and the distinctive personality of the robots. Images of roboTown glow with the wonder of the girl's imaginations and cast a bewitching spell over the tale.

Build Your Own Robot

Penny Rose loved the idea of dressing up in the same costume for Halloween..."We'll be Best Friends Robots!"

The girls want to dress up as robots for Halloween.
Although their plans fall through, young readers can create a cardboard robot costume and make their own magic.

Uncorrected copy provided by publisher.

Pub date: October 1, 2019 Publisher: Candlewick ISBN: 978-0763694937

0 Comments

Which Witch

8/20/2019

0 Comments

The Okay Witch by Emma Steinkellner

I have to be both a witch and a person.

It’s Halloween and thirteen-year-old Moth Hush has given a lot of thought to the costume that she will wear to school. She decides that she will definitely be a witch. Black dress. Pointed hat. Nothing unusual about that.
The girl who doesn't fit in decides that a traditional Halloween costume is a great way to assimilate. Maybe not.
While trying to help the new kid in school, she discovers that she has extraordinary powers. Her mother confirms that she is, in fact, a witch. Moth learns that she comes from a long line of witches, both her mother and maternal grandmother are witches.

I’m a witch... Everything finally DOES make sense. I always thought I was just weird.

Local lore tells of a witch colony that disappeared centuries ago. Each year students reenact the story. In a strange twist of fate, Moth the costume assistant and her friend Charlie assume the roles of their ancestors in the production. Will they follow the script, or will they choose to reject the town’s traditional witch mythology and create a new reality?

There is ongoing tension between generations of women in the Hush family. Grandmother flees from an oppressive community and creates a new protective world. Mother rejects this exclusive society of witches and chooses to live among humans, never using or speaking of her latent powers. Moth is intrigued by her newly discovered identity. She wants to learn more about herself and her magical abilities.

This wide-eyed thirteen-year-old navigates the perilous life of middle school while simultaneously exploring Hecate, a witch’s realm existing in a parallel universe. It's new and exciting but strange and frightening. When history collides with the present, old wounds are reopened and past injustices exposed.

Three generations of witches. Three manifestations of Hecate: maiden, mother, crone. Three different perspectives on the practice of witchcraft. Mothers try to protect daughters. Daughters seek to break away and create a new life. Who is right?

Magic is an integral story element. Moth explores the past by jumping into her mother’s diary with a cat who is the reincarnation of a family friend and benefactor. Moth's mother, who appears ageless, reveals that she was born in 1675.

Mommy looks a lot younger than she actually is. And it's not just because she moisturizes regularly.

This graphic novel can be enjoyed on several levels. The Okay Witch is an entertaining story of a girl discovering her true nature. It's a fascinating examination of the mother-daughter dynamic. Readers will also find similarities to historical accounts of early New England witchcraft.

The tale is chock full of delightful tidbits: references to classic movies " I don't think we're in Massachusetts anymore," clever asides "I don't do 'safe.' You've seen me eat expired yogurt,” and interesting visual clues. It will take several readings to catch all the goodies Steinkellner packs into every page.

While the book is marketed for middle grade readers, it has wide-range appeal. Libraries will want to feature this comic in Halloween book displays. Classroom teachers searching for a fresh fictional companion to the study of Salem Witch trials can ditch the well-worn play and add The Okay Witch to the curriculum. It would also make a thought-provoking selection for mother-daughter book clubs.

Steinkellner's graphic novel debut is smart, quirky, and clever.

Uncorrected copy provided by publisher.

Pub date: September 3, 2019 Publisher: Aladdin ISBN: 978-1534431461

0 Comments

Book It

10/20/2018

0 Comments

It's that time of year. Time to think about a costume. You can drag out that tired old black cape and plastic vampire fangs... again. Or you can try for something different. Looking for fresh costume ideas? Books for youth can be a source of inspiration. Check out these creative costumes and the books that inspired them.

There are many clever homemade ideas here. Don't miss the pink Darth Vader. Pair it with the new picture book Are You Scared Darth Vader for a eye-popping ensemble. Dog Man and Frida Kahlo costumes are easy to put together. The plain blue dress with stars and a planet headpiece for Miss Frizzle is perfect for the DYI designer who wants a more detailed outfit.

With a little bit of imagination, costumes will celebrate the joy of reading.

0 Comments

Here Be Monsters

8/20/2018

0 Comments

Monster School by Kate Coombs ill Lee Gatlin

Coombs has applied her considerable talent for creating clever rhymes to the subject of monsters. In this collection, the monsters are students. Common school occurrences are given a slightly macabre twist: a science fair project created by Frankenstein’s grandson, baseball played in the graveyard, a student who constantly misplaces school supplies in addition to losing his body parts. These clever and entertaining riffs are monstrously fun.

Verses include a variety of poetic forms and rhyme schemes. Most patterns are predictable, making it easy for students to sense the rhythm and rhyme within each stanza.

Gatlin captures the zany shenanigans happening at Monster School with full page illustrations. Muted autumn shades of grays, browns, and greens make the ghostly white faces and eyeballs pop out of each page

School is in Session

These poems are too delightful to keep to oneself. They beg to be shared. How about creating some puppets based on the monsters depicted throughout the pages? Gather up a handful of craft supplies, a copy of the book, and a fertile imagination. Viola! You have the beginnings of one monstrously good puppet show. There are endless possibilities for puppets: finger, sock, glove, stick, paper sack, or create something more inventive. The choice depends on what is on hand and the skill level of the puppet makers.

A few of the craft supplies that I assembled: foam squares, felt, yarn, pom poms, chenille stems, goggly eyes, yarn, and even some corn husks. Add some wooden skewer sticks and hot glue gun. Operation Frankenstein-esque Creature Lab was underway.

This would make an engaging activity for middle grade students. After reading Monster School, students could select verses to share with younger students. Construct puppets to match the characters in the poem. Then design a creepy-looking school backdrop and prepare for a spook-tacular performance. Tweens sharing poetry with younger students doubles the book’s potential audience.

I looked for clues in the text to help create my puppets. The head of snakes featured in "Hair Care" was made with chenille stems, shaped by twisting them around a pencil. I used tiny green buttons for the snakes' heads. The purple hair mentioned in "Monster Mash" is a scrap of tulle, tied off at intervals. The hair for "Song of the Freckles" does not follow the image in the book because.... we had some fresh corn and the husks and silk were too funky to throw away. I twisted the damp husk slivers around a pencil and let them dry. They made the perfect curls for a monster girl.

Went a bit overboard on the freckles. The text specifically mentions twelve freckles on the face. I think the marker took possession of my hand and I couldn't stop. Googly eyes provide the finishing touch to the faces. Wooden skewer sticks were glued to the back of each figure. For safety, cut or sand off the pointed end of the stick before using. These puppets are fun to make and easy to manipulate

Consider these suggestions: “Steve the Loser" would be a terrific showstopper, with body parts falling off. Maybe secure the appendages with tiny Velcro dots for easy removal. “Fernanda Kabul” poem would be another fun puppet performance. As Fernanda casts her spells, substitute the student character puppet for a puppet resembling the hexed character.
So many possibilities. So much fun!

Copy provided by publisher.

Pub date: August 28, 2018 Publisher: Chronicle Books ISBN: 978-1452129389

0 Comments

Teeny Tiny Treat

10/24/2016

2 Comments

A Teeny Tiny Halloween by Lauren L Wohl ill by Henry Cole

Just in time for Hallowen is this delightful rif on the teeny tiny woman folktale.

A Teeny Tiny Halloween cover art features a view of a charming little house, overwhelmed with autumn leaves. Comparing the size of the leaves with the size of the house informs the reader that this is indeed a very small house. As darkness falls and leaves begin to blanket the house, the teeny tiny woman living inside begins to be fearful and cries out, "Oh, who will save me?" An oil lamp illuminates her face, revealing her rising terror as her cries for help go unheeded.
What to do? This resourceful woman tries making noise with various kitchen utensils. These baking implements give her an idea and she formulates a plan to attract rescuers.

Help comes in the form of a cat, a ghost, and a witch who get to work, removing the mountain of leaves and uncovering the source of the delicious aroma wafting from inside the house.

Wahl's use of expressive language begs to be read aloud.
The cat kicks away dry leaves: crackle crackle.
The witch sweeps leaves with her broom: swoosh, swish.
The ghost fans leaves away with billowing sleeves: whooooo, whoooo.

Text size and placement enhance the storytelling experience.

"Oh, who will save me?" cries the
teeny tiny woman in her teeny tiny voice.
No one hears her.

Cole captures the expressive faces of the teeny tiny woman and the little treat-seeking hobgoblins. Note: Love the charming details. Take a look at the witch's monstrous green nose.

The Teeny Tiny Halloween is a storytelling treat. Don't forget to add some freshly baked chocolate chip cookies.

2 Comments

Naturally Supernatural

Witches of Brooklyn by Sophie Escabasse

Séance Tea Party by Reimena Yee

Creeptastic!

Out to Get You: 13 Tales of Weirdness and Woe
by Josh Allen ill by Sarah J Coleman

Weird on Top of Weird. Squared.

Weird Little Robots
by Carolyn Crimi ill by Corinna Luyken

Build Your Own Robot

Which Witch

The Okay Witch by Emma Steinkellner

Book It

Here Be Monsters

Monster School by Kate Coombs ill Lee Gatlin

School is in Session

Teeny Tiny Treat

A Teeny Tiny Halloween by Lauren L Wohl ill by Henry Cole

Category

Archives

Barbara Moon

Naturally Supernatural

Witches of Brooklyn by Sophie Escabasse

Séance Tea Party by Reimena Yee

Creeptastic!

Out to Get You: 13 Tales of Weirdness and Woe​by Josh Allen ill by Sarah J Coleman

Weird on Top of Weird. Squared.

Weird Little Robotsby Carolyn Crimi ill by Corinna Luyken

Build Your Own Robot

Which Witch

The Okay Witch by Emma Steinkellner

Book It

Here Be Monsters

Monster School by Kate Coombs ill Lee Gatlin

School is in Session

Teeny Tiny Treat

A Teeny Tiny Halloween by Lauren L Wohl ill by Henry Cole

Category

Archives

Barbara Moon

Out to Get You: 13 Tales of Weirdness and Woe
by Josh Allen ill by Sarah J Coleman

Weird Little Robots
by Carolyn Crimi ill by Corinna Luyken