Readers may pick up a few frightening pointers of their own for Halloween night, but will they make the grade? (Picture...
Where else but Fright School will goblins, ghosts, and ghouls learn to scare trick-or-treaters?
Human schools might not expect their students to learn how to “moan,” “leer,” or “swoop” (or hold graduation in October), but other parts of Fright School will seem quite familiar, if with an eerie twist. There are picky eaters in the lunchroom (“Our apples don’t taste rotten!”) as well as students who will eat seemingly anything, and at recess, the jungle gym is popular with the spiders. On the way in, “The janitor tells birds of prey / to wipe their dirty claws. / The nurse yells from her office, / ‘Hey, I’m running out of gauze!’ ” (Both nurse and patients are mummies.) But although the students have learned all kinds of things, courage is not among them: When there’s a knock at the door, the students run away at the sight of three costumed trick-or-treaters: cowboy and princess who present white and a pirate (with eye patch) who presents black. Lawler’s rhythm and rhyme are mostly spot-on. Galletti’s seemingly digital illustrations display a delightful array of student stereotypes, including a nerdy cat with a ruler, a bat with braces, an ultra-girly witch bedecked in pink, and a skeleton who skateboards into class.
Readers may pick up a few frightening pointers of their own for Halloween night, but will they make the grade? (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-8075-2553-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Whitman
Review Posted Online: July 15, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Not enough tricks to make this a treat.
Another holiday title (How To Catch the Easter Bunny by Adam Wallace, illustrated by Elkerton, 2017) sticks to the popular series’ formula.
Rhyming four-line verses describe seven intrepid trick-or-treaters’ efforts to capture the witch haunting their Halloween. Rhyming roadblocks with toolbox is an acceptable stretch, but too often too many words or syllables in the lines throw off the cadence. Children familiar with earlier titles will recognize the traps set by the costume-clad kids—a pulley and box snare, a “Tunnel of Tricks.” Eventually they accept her invitation to “floss, bump, and boogie,” concluding “the dance party had hit the finale at last, / each dancing monster started to cheer! / There’s no doubt about it, we have to admit: / This witch threw the party of the year!” The kids are diverse, and their costumes are fanciful rather than scary—a unicorn, a dragon, a scarecrow, a red-haired child in a lab coat and bow tie, a wizard, and two space creatures. The monsters, goblins, ghosts, and jack-o'-lanterns, backgrounded by a turquoise and purple night sky, are sufficiently eerie. Still, there isn’t enough originality here to entice any but the most ardent fans of Halloween or the series. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Not enough tricks to make this a treat. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-72821-035-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: May 10, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
These reindeer games are a bit tired but, given the series’ popularity, should have a large, ready-made audience.
The How to Catch A… crew try for Comet.
Having already failed to nab a Halloween witch, the Easter Bunny, a turkey, a leprechaun, the Tooth Fairy, and over a dozen other iconic trophies in previous episodes of this bestselling series, one would think the racially diverse gaggle of children in Elkerton’s moonlit, wintry scenes would be flagging…but no, here they lay out snares ranging from a loop of garland to an igloo baited with reindeer moss to an enticing candy cane maze, all in hopes of snagging one of Santa’s reindeer while he’s busy delivering presents. Infused with pop culture–based Christmas cheer (“Now I’ve already seen the shelf with the elf”), Comet prances past the traps until it’s time to gather up the kids, most of whom look terrified, for a group snapshot with the other reindeer and then climb back into harness: “This was a great stop but a few million to go / Christmas Eve must continue with style!” Though festive, the verse feels trite and unlikely to entice youngsters. A sprinkling of “True Facts About Reindeer” (“They live in the tundra, where they have friends like the arctic bunny”) wrap up this celebration of the predatory spirit. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
These reindeer games are a bit tired but, given the series’ popularity, should have a large, ready-made audience. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Oct. 4, 2022
ISBN: 9781728276137
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Dec. 12, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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