Books that go Bump in the Night

"Mommy"
by Arthur Yorkins
Ill. Maurice Sendak
Paper Engineering Matthew Reinhart

This is definitely THE BEST pop-up spooky storybook on the planet. I can say this not just because Maurice Sendak has a place in my heart but because I spent a long time trying to figure out how each piece of pop-up art managed to unfold and re-fold itself like a great big paper machine - the paper art is stunning and shockingly complex. Simply stunning. Story? adorable, but really it's the mechanics of the pop-up art that will win you over ... so i took some photos which can only whet your appetite but will in no way convey the delight that you will experience when you open this book for the first time.



two more here ( Read more...Collapse )

"Magic Trixie Sleeps Over"
by Jill Thompson
Ill. Jill Thompson

This is a new series from Jill Thompson of "Scary Godmother" fame. Same style, but written for a slightly younger audience. Jill spends some time introducing Trixie, her family and her friends; wee versions of Frankenstein's monster (Dr. Frankenstein is a wonderful mom by the way), a mummy girl, a werewolf and twin vampire children. The storyline revolves around Trixie and her lack of enthusiasm with her bedtime routine. She spends several nights trying out the routines of each of her friends and finds them (especially the vampires) not half as nice as her own. The storyline celebrates diversity with a good sense of humor and reinforces that parents do - really - have a reason for making you brush your teeth and take baths ;p

This would be a GREAT series for a child that is growing up in a Goth family ... any kid that might look around the house and wonder why THEIR family has green hair and tattoos and doesn't dress like everybody else's family (sans magic and werewolves of course ... unless you are and you do ;p). The family itself is not the focus but it's a familiar backdrop that those of us in the scene will recognize - it is, shall we say, Freak Friendly. The usual good life-lessons are at the core here so it's a win-win situation for all. Recommended!

"Where's my Mummy?"
by Carolyn Crimi
Ill. John Manders

This one is definately for the younger set. Little baby mummy off in the woods playing Hide and Shriek with his mom before bedtime gets separated and ... meets a few other denizens of the deep dark forest getting ready for bed: a skeleton brushing his teeth, a goopy moster washing it's face, and dracula (absolutely delightful in a red plaid nightrobe that wooshes out behind him like bat wings) scrubbing his long pointy ears. He doesn't even get scared until ... read it and see! But no worries, Mommy Mummy is there to save the day ;p

short, sweet, and fairly cute with plenty of monsters and spiderwebs to qualify as spooky bedtime fare for little ones.

"Boris and Bella"
by Carolyn Crimini
Ill. Gris Grimly

Bella Legrossi and Boris Kleanitoff are the oddest version of "The Odd Couple" imaginable. Both mosters of course, one is a messy slimy slob and the other is a compulsive neat-freak (emphasis on FREAK of course ... heh). These neighbors are perfectly horrible in their own way and of course they get on each other's nerves, until they both throw a Halloween party. Well, I won't spoil it for you.

BUT I do want to say that this is one of THE most charming books that I have seen in a while, very clever and just a little bit creepy. Illustrations are beautifully detailed and colored in shades of olive greens, browns, purples and greys - a little too dark and spooky for very young kids, but with a great rolling narrative that's fun to read. Do your kids know who Boris Karloff and Bella Lugosi are? If so, all the better. Though I do beleive the original duo never fell in love ;p

Fans of Cinderella Skeleton and Scary Godmother will love this <3

"Pumpkin Town! (Or, Nothing Is Better and Worse Than Pumpkins)"
by Katie McKy
Ill. Pablo Bernasconi

To be perfectly honest Pumpkin Town is not, strictly speaking, a halloween book. However, it's about pumpkins and it's a fairly adorable story that will be perfectly fun to read during this time of year. It's about 5 brothers that are a little less than careful about scattering their left-over seeds from the pumpkin harvest and how that affects the townspeople that live in the village below them. "soon the townspeople were stepping over pumpkins/ and around pumpkins and under prumpkins/ it was hard to even walk a block" the 5 brothers help the villagers harvest and sell their unwanted pumpkins but ... did they really learn their lesson? I won't spoil the ending for you.

The illustrations are really interesting. Actual photos were used as clip-art collage to make up the different scenes. So real pumpkin photos were used to cut/paste together for the images of pumpkin fields for example.

This is a great buy for younger children who can't handle anything too "spooky", kids interested in gardening, or just a refreshing change of pace for the Halloween season.

"Los Gatos Black on Halloween"
by Marisa Montes
Ill. Yuyi Morales

This is a Halloween book with an ulterior motive ... teaching you a bit of spanish. Each page has a new word in spanish incorporated into the storyline in such a way that even if you don't peek at the glossary in the back you will be able to figure out what it means due to context.

"las calabazas fat and round/ carved pumpkins guard a hallowed ground/ their eerie faces burning bright/ form spooky beacon in the night"

It's actually quite well done and doesn't come off the least bit "educational" (in a negative, boring way, if you know what i mean). The illustrations are surprisingly dark and spooky. The colors are not saturated, rather all the characters are transparent and ghostly and they almost blend in to the shadows around them. It's a bit dark if you prefer intensely colored books, but it sets a wonderful tone.

I'm going to be lazy and link to it so you can check out the artwork.

"Halloween Night"
by Marjorie Dennis Murray
ill. Brandon Dorman

"Halloween Night" has simple concept, but it's executed beautifuly and in full appreciation of the spirit of the season. Assorted ghouls and monsters prepare for a Halloween party and welcome a group of Trick-or-Treaters into their midst. Here is a sample of the cadence: "the walls were aflutter with little brown bats/ while hordes of black spiders crept out of cracks/ by the fire in the kitchen the witch stirred her brew/ to make it more smelly she threw in a shoe"

The real reason to buy this book, however, is the illustrations. Brandon Dorman gives the viewer a perspective from below or above the scene, showing both panoramic views and up-close details. The colors are very lush and there is a lot too see on every page. Most pages show the characters lit from below which gives everything a spooky aura. I'd give this book my highest recommendation - if you buy only one Children's Halloween book this year, make it this one.

This is one of my favorite childhood books, written by Barbara Sleigh, about a little girl in London who finds a talking black cat. The cat (Carbonel, who is the King of the cats), has accidentally become the minion of a witch and the book is about the adventures the cat and little girl have un-doing the spell that binds Carbonel to the witch and regaining his kingdom from a dangerous imposter. This is a book for older children (and young-at-heart adults) who love a good story and is out-of-print and difficult to find, but very fun and quirky. It has a couple of sequels, but the first one is the best. While not specifically a Halloween book, there is magic and traditional witch lore, with brooms, cauldrons, and a peaked witch's hat.

by Denys Cazet.

"Pumpkins, pumpkins, pumpkin pie!
I must have one before i die.
It must be round and brown as toast,
or I'll haunt this house a hungry ghost"

... is the refrain from this ghoulishly demanding gourmand, tragically struck down before he could taste his beloved wife's perfect pumpkin pie. But can the new owners of the haunted cottage (Grandma and young Jack) make a pie perfect enough to satisfy this picky ghoul?

"A pumpkin pie without whipped cream?
It's enough to make a dead man scream.
This pie is bland, it's underdone
Next time please, more cinnamon!"

Aimed towards the younger end of the age-scale, it's nonetheless a bit gorey with the ghost/ghoul's rotten and falling-off flesh and removable eyeballs. Still, it's not terribly scary and a rather fun read, if a bit short on storyline.

Written by Stephanie Laslett
Ill. by Nigel McMullen

Finding a new house is never easy, and the Steins are particularly picky it seems. After having exhausted all other avenues with their long-suffering real estate agent he shows them the house that *nobody* wants to buy; the Castle. Luckily the Steins (Wolfensteins maybe?) seem charmed by the slugs, skeletons in the bathtubs and other unmentionable creatures scattered throughout the unsightly piece of real estate. Turns out, it's the home of the nightmares ;p

By the way, the 8 creatures infesting the castle are holograms in the book, kind of a fun touch, though if you read this to your kid, do so in strong light since the holographs don't *pop* otherwise.