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The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything 0nce upon a time, there was a little old lady who was not afraid of anything! But one autumn night, while walking in the woods, the little old lady heard . . . CLOMP, CLOMP, SHAKE, SHAKE, CLAP, CLAP. And the little old lady who was not afraid of anything had the scare of her life! Children's Choices for 1987 (IRA/CBC) Notable 1986 Children's Trade Books in Social Studies (NCSS/CBC) Children's Books of 1986 (Library of Congress) 1988 Keystone to Reading Book Award (Pennsylvania Reading Association) Copyright, 1988: Paperback Price: $6.99	Click for larger image

Which Witch? Arriman the Awful, Loather of Light and Wizard of the North, needs a wife. How else can he have a wizard baby to carry on the family tradition of blighting and smiting, blasting and wuthering? The problem is, wizards can only marry one kind of person--a witch. Arriman dreads the thought. "A great black crone with warts and blisters in unmentionable places from crashing about on her broom! You want me to sit opposite one of those every morning eating my cornflakes?" But a witch it must be, so Arriman holds a contest to decide which witch. The local witches are all atwitter over what spell they'll perform for the contest--all except Belladonna, who is, to her great shame, a white witch. She looks rather like the girl on the Clairol Herbal Essence bottle, with a sweet face and flowing blonde hair. "There was usually something in Belladonna's hair: A fledgling blackbird parked there by its mother while she went to hunt for worms, a baby squirrel wanting somewhere safe to eat its hazel nuts, or a butterfly who thought she was a lily or a rose." Black spells are cast, enchantments are woven, and even Belladonna manages to do a little damage in this wonderfully clever 1979 book by Eva Ibbotson (of The Secret of Platform 13). Young readers will delight in the way Ibbotson glories in the ghoulish and the gory--and in her engaging characters who are kindly and fiendish all at once. Which Witch (finally reissued in the United States) begs to be read aloud, with before-bed-length chapters and lots of opportunities for funny voices. (Ages 9 and older) --Claire Dederer Copyright, 1999: Paperback Price: $5.99	Click for larger image

The House That Drac Built One by one, a bat, a cat, a werewolf, a monster, a mummy, a zombie, and other frightful creatures emerge in the dark house. They chase, wrestle, and roar--until the doorbell rings and in walks a group of fearless trick-or-treaters who know exactly what to do. Copyright, 1995: Paperback Price: $6.99	Click for larger image

The Bones of Fred McFee In this rhythmic story, an unsuspecting brother and sister bring a toy skeleton home from the harvest fair. They name it Fred McFee and hang it from a sycamore tree. Soon, eerie things begin to happen. And then on Halloween night, Fred vanishes! Copyright, 2002: Paperback Price: $5.99	Click for larger image

In the Haunted House All we see are two pairs of sneakers--one large, one small--as a little girl and her father tour a dark, mysterious house. Copyright, 1994: Paperback Price: $5.95	Click for larger image

The Witches' Supermarket While trick-or-treating on Halloween night, Helen and her dog Martha happen upon a very unusual supermarket -- for witches and cats only -- where they are most unwelcome! Copyright, 1991: Paperback Price: $6.95	Click for larger image

The Hallo-wiener Ages 4^-7. Oscar the dachshund is a dog with a problem: it's hard to win doggy respect when your mother calls you "my little Vienna Sausage." Mom's idea of a Halloween costume is a bun with mustard, but Oscar makes the most of the outfit, defeating a monstrous pair of masquerading cats to get his nickname changed from Wiener Dog to Hero Sandwich. Pilkey's wacky humor comes out in both story and pictures--a recalcitrant pupil at school writes on the chalkboard, "I will not sniff my neighbor." Set against a series of vivid, clearly painted skies, the pictures promise a world in which menace is only artificial and underdogs can become wonderdogs. Mary Harris Veeder Copyright, 1995: Paperback Price: $5.99	Click for larger image

Ten Timid Ghosts (Read With Me Paperbacks) A witch tries to scare ten ghosts out of the haunted house where they live, but in the end, they play a trick on her. The illustrations are so great that I bought this without even reading the book! When I read it to my daughter I was very happy with the story. A witch decides to move into the TEN TIMID GHOSTS' happy haunted house. She scares each ghost away, one-by-one, using a different disguise or prop each time--skeleton, bat, ghoul, cat, owl, vampire, monster, spider, rat, and mummy. The last clever ghost the witch frightens away figures out that it was her the whole time and tells the other ghost friends who are now homeless in the woods. Now we've got ten Angry ghosts...I'm not going to give away the ending but it is terrific! I highly recommend this book; not only is it entertaining with wonderful illustrations but it is a countdown backwards from 10 so it is good for any age child to enjoy! My daughter is 2 and can count to five (well sometimes... so this will come in handy once she has learned to count to ten then she can have a fun way to count backwards! --An Amazon reader Copyright, 2000: Paperback Price: $3.99	Click for larger image

The Night Before Halloween "'Twas the night before Halloween, and all through the house, All the creatures were stirring, except for the mouse. The monsters had gathered to plan and prepare, For the trick-or-treaters who soon would be there...." Little monsters and goofy goblins take center stage in this silly, spooky spin on Clement C. Moore's beloved poem. But what will happen on Halloween when the monsters come face to face with human trick-or-treaters in this fun-filled book by the author of The Night Before Easter? * Ages 4-8 Copyright, 1999: Paperback Price: $3.99	Click for larger image

Shake Dem Halloween Bones It's Halloween night. The city is quiet. The city is still. But as the lights go down, the music comes up - and the guests start to arrive at the hip-hop Halloween ball! And oh, what a party it is. Told in hip-hop rhyming text, L'il Red Riding Hood, Goldilocks, Tom Thumb, and all of their fairy-tale friends come together for a rapping, stomping, shaking Halloween romp. Scoo-bee-doo-bee-doo-wah. Yeah! Copyright, 1997: Paperback Price: $6.95	Click for larger image

Big Pumpkin The witch has grown the biggest pumpkin ever, and now she wants to make herself a pumpkin pie for Halloween. But the pumpkin is so big she can't get it off the vine. It's so big the ghost can't move it, either. Neither can the vampire, nor the mummy. It looks as if there'll be no pumpkin pie for Halloween, until along comes the bat with an idea to save the day. How can the tiny bat succeed where bigger and strong spooky creatures have failed? You'll be surprised! Copyright, 1992: Paperback Price: $6.99	Click for larger image

Dem Bones Ages 5^-8. A snappy introduction to the human skeleton, this picture book is based on the African American spiritual "Dem Bones." Those looking forward to singing along may stumble a bit, with all the "--the refrain given only at the end of the entire bony list. Each double-page spread illustrates one phrase from the song, which dances through the spread, while in smaller letters Barner discusses one of the 10 bones named in the song in a few lines of simple, informative text. The last spread features a reclining skeleton with 20 major bones labeled. Although this is not primarily a song book, the music comes through loud and clear in the jazzy, jiving positions of the skeletons, who play a variety of instruments as they illustrate their knee bones, head bones, and so on. Bold in form and vibrant in color combination, the collages of torn and cut papers create a series of lively illustrations. Engaging up close and even more effective at a distance, the artwork makes this an inviting picture book to read aloud in primary-grade classrooms. Carolyn Phelan Copyright, 1996: Hardcover Price: $16.95	Click for larger image

The Halloween Activity Book Chock-full of creepy crafts, spooky costume ideas, Halloween lore, and a cauldron of spooky recipes, this pumpkin-shaped paperback is sure to engage young tricksters. Price: $5.95	Click for larger image

Miss Fiona's Stupendous Pumpkin Pies I cannot say enough about this story. The way the author writes his poems, combined with the glorious pictures is wonderful. My two daughters have been so excited about this book, they argue about who will get to read it in bed. It is a wonderful tale about a nice witch, who is not beautiful outwardly, but on the inside. She makes wonderful pies for the Trick-or-Treaters on Halloween. Her house is the last stop at midnight for some excellent pie and cider. We highly recommend this book to any "Halloween lovers"... Reviewer: Wendy Haslam Copyright, 2001: Hardcover Price: $14.95	Click for larger image

Alice and Greta: A Tale of Two Witches Alice is a good witch. And Greta . . . well, Greta and trouble are never far apart. Alice spends her time helping others by weaving her enchanting spells. All Greta does is wreak havoc. But when a forgotten spell comes back to haunt her, Greta's stuck learning something she should have learned long ago. Copyright, 1997: Paperback Price: $6.95	Click for larger image

Scary, Scary Halloween Four pairs of eyes stare from the blackness to watch fearsome creatures trick-or-treat. I love this little book about Halloween night! It has the usual bright, colorful work that we have come to expect from the talented Jan Brett. Eve Bunting's fun-filled rhymes have just the right amount of spookiness for little ones. The Halloween images are fresh and creative and include the autumn ambiance of the orange Chinese lantern flowers on the cover. You will see a marvelous, flowing ghost, a jaunty dancing devil, a hunched and sauntering werewolf and so much more. Be sure to notice the mummy costume...what kind of kid is in there under those winding cloths? This will be a Halloween treat for any little goblin that you love. Reviewer: Terrie Reese Copyright, 1986: Paperback Price: $6.95	Click for larger image