Click, Clack, Boo! A Tricky Treat

Farmer Brown and the cows, chickens  and Duck from Click, Clack, Moo Cows That Type are back in a new adventure from Doreen Cronin and Betsy Lewin: Click, Clack, Boo! A Tricky Treat.

Farmer Brown does not like  Halloween. As the night approaches,  he puts a bowl of candy on the porch, closes up the  house and goes to bed. In the barn, a party is just getting started. As the party goers approach the barn, Farmer Brown hears sounds he does not like: crunching, creaking, tapping. Then he hears quack, quack, quackle Quackle? Farmer Brown goes to his door, the candy is gone and there is a note on the door: Halloween Party at the Barn. Angry, he runs to the barn, where he is invited in and awarded “Best Costume”. A book for Halloween that is spooky but not scary.

 

The Sonoma County Library has several copies of Click, Clack, Boo!. The AR level is 2.5. This book has been kid-tested and approved.

A Very Brave Witch

Did you know that witches are afraid of humans? Why? Because they are not green, they are afraid to fly and they seldom cackle. One brave little witch finds out, on Halloween, that she and a brave little girl dressed up like a witch have lots in common.

Alison McGhee (Bink & Gollie books) has written a charming, not at all scary Halloween tale. The cartoonist, Harry Bliss, illustrates. His pictures of the Witches’ Estate are filled with plenty of interesting detail. I especially liked the Library, the sub-basement costume unit and the looks of horror on the adult witches’ faces.
There are a few copies of A Very Brave Witch at the Sonoma County Library and they also have an video recording of this book and other Halloween favorites. The Yulupa Library also has a copy of this book. The AR level is 1.4 with 0.5 points.

Fly Guy and the Frankenfly

Buzz and his pal, Fly Guy, are back with a new adventure called Fly Guy and the Frankenfly. Tedd Arnold’s Frankenstein inspired book comes just in time for Halloween. On a dark and stormy night, Buzz  and Fly Guy are pretending to be Frankenstein’s  monsters. Before Buzz goes to bed, he draws a picture of Fly Guy and himself with the caption, “Fly Guy is my best friend”. As he goes to bed, he sees Fly Guy making something.

Soon, Buzz is having a nightmare. Fly Guy has made a huge Frankenfly who is coming after Buzz. Fly Guy saves his friend. In the morning, Buzz wants to know what Fly Guy was making. He finds a picture of himself captioned “Buzz iz bezt frienz”. Great minds think alike!

The Sonoma County Library has many copies of Fly Guy and the Frankenfly  The AR level is 1.6. The book is also available from Scholastic.

Frankenstein: A Monstrous Parody

Wandering around Whole Foods yesterday. I spotted this book  Frankenstein A Monstrous Parody by Ludworst Bemonster. Actually, I spotted a parody of a Caldecott Honor sticker on the book that said “A CaldeNOT Horror Book”. Just had to pick it up!

Turns out that this book is a wickedly funny parody of the 1940 Caldecott Honor book Madeline  by Ludwig Bemelmans.  Instead of twelve little girls this book has 12 little monsters who are as imperfect as the little girls were perfect.

Ludworst Bemonster is the pen name for author Rick Walton and illustrator Nathan Hale. They decided one Halloween that Madeline would be much better with monsters in it.

The Sonoma County Library has three copies of this book.

“Spooktacular” Picture Books for Halloween

I looked at three fairly new Halloween books published within the past two years. Halloween Night by Marjorie Dennis Murray and lushly illustrated by Brandon Dorman is a  parody of  The Night Before Christmas. It  tells the story of  some very special party preparations and the best Halloween night ever. The Sonoma County Library has several copies.

Trick or Treat by Leo Landry is about another very special party preparation and some unexpected guests and making new friends. Be sure to read the front flap as well as the pages in the book. The Sonoma County Library has several copies on order.

The Monster’s Monster by Patrick McDonnell (creator of the Mutts comic strip) is about three fellows who fancied themselves to be monsters. They argued among themselves was the biggest, baddest monster. One day they decided to make the biggest, baddest monster ever. Like Frankenstein, a lighting bolt enlivened their creation. But unlike, Frankenstein, this monster was happy to be alive and grateful to his creators. Patrick McDonnell is the  Caldecott Honor illustrator of Me... Jane. The Sonoma County Library has two copies of this book.