Events

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Great Books for Halloween Part 2

There are so many really good books out here that is it hard to pick just one. As a children's librarian, it is always best to keep an arsenal of books on hand to keep children interested, and entertained for the annual Halloween story time. For parents, educators or avid readers, a full list of Halloween tales is available by contacting me at lvnlibrarian@yahoo.com In the meantime I will be remiss not to mention two more outstanding picture books for the younger crowd and two for the older elementary crowd who want a little more "scary in their holiday.
Frankie Stein by Lola M. Schaefer is a great book about a little monster of a boy who has to find his place in his very scary Frankenstein family. His parents don't think he looks like them, his hair is the wrong color. His skin is not the right shade of green either. Actually it is quite soft and peachy. And walking like them, well that seems to be a bit of a problem too. So little Frankie decides he will find his own way of being scary. Children will love to find out how he accomplishes this task.
The Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid Of Anything by Linda Williams is a delightful story of a woman on her way home being followed by shoes, pants, shirts, top hat, gloves and a scary pumpkin face. By the end of the story, the readers find out that the Old Lady is not only fearless, but also a very clever lady. Pick up the book to find out how she uses her wits.
Now, on to the books for the Older Children. The first selection and perhaps the best book about Halloween is The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury. This book weaves the many traditions and historical facts about the holiday into one fantastic trip for eight little boys who want to save their best pal, Pip. The children travel through Ancient Egypt, the Roman Empire, Scotland, England, Latin America and home again in a journey that is literally life changing. There is a small part of the book where the children make a deal "with the devil" to save their friend, Pip. Was the deal worth it? Or was it too late for Pip? Only way to find out is to pick up the book. It is a fun ride!
The Boy of A Thousand Faces by Brian Selznick reminds adult readers what it is like to sit up late at night and watch those awful black and white monster movies that scared us silly when we were younger. For the reader in which this book was intended, it is a story about a Alonzo, a boy who born on Halloween, loves monsters and knows that they exist. Who's gonna believe him? He has the proof when The Beast comes to town and everyone is wondering where it is from and how to capture him. Alonzo tries to solve this intriguing mystery and find a birthday/Halloween surprise that is shared with the entire neighborhood, including nostalgic grownups.

As stated earlier, if anyone would like a full list of Halloween titles please email me at lvnlibrarian@yahoo.com

Happy Haunting for great books ;-) !



3 comments:

Maria said...

My favorite spooky books when I was a kid were The Ghost of Windy Hill by Clyde Robert Bulla & The Ghosts by Antonia Barber.

Mrs Nowc Librarian At large said...

I found the book The Ghost of Windy Hill and I liked it too. Poor Bruno... at least he had a happy ending:

Mrs Nowc Librarian At large said...

I found the book The Ghost of Windy Hill and I liked it too. Poor Bruno... at least he had a happy ending: