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LITTLE PUMPKIN'S HALLOWEEN by Algy Craig Hall

LITTLE PUMPKIN'S HALLOWEEN

From the Little Holiday Books series

by Algy Craig Hall ; illustrated by Algy Craig Hall

Pub Date: Sept. 3rd, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-910716-67-0
Publisher: Boxer Books

Little ones learn about Halloween traditions—costumes, tricks, and treats—in this un-scary board book.

This entry in Hall’s Little Holiday Books follows the same cast of racially diverse children wearing costumes fashioned from footie pajamas on a not-too-scary Halloween hunt for treats. Their costumes are not elaborate: hoods for Little Pumpkin and Little Franken, a cape for Little Bat, a hood and sheet for the child dressed as a ghost. Little Pumpkin starts out alone but quickly finds Little Franken behind the curtains. As each trick-or-treater is discovered, Little Pumpkin declares “Good trick.” These toddlers act like actual toddlers, climbing the stairs on all fours and cheerfully tumbling over one another. The black kitten on each spread and treat bags decorated to match each child’s costume are details that will help young readers focus on the slight story. As in Little Darling’s Book of Love (2019), the text is sometimes cloyingly cutesy. Curtains are described as “swishy, swooshy”; a door is “spooky-wooky.” These minor missteps will be forgotten when the final page turn reveals “Halloween treats galore.” (Curiously, candy canes feature prominently amid the Halloween candy.)

A cheerful addition to the holiday bookshelf that might even last longer than the Halloween candy.

(Board book. 1-4)