THE HALLOWEEN HOUSE

by Erica Silverman ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 22, 1997

A natural candidate for reading aloud, this book puts a Halloween twist on a familiar counting rhyme: ""In the Halloween house,/in a dark dingy den,/a papa werewolf crouched/with his little ones ten."" Silverman (Mrs. Peachtree's Bicycle, 1996, etc.) populates her creaky mansion with tried and true creatures, both natural and supernatural: baby vampires, worms, spiders, witches, monsters, ghosts, young skeletons, bats, etc. With splashy watercolors reminiscent of those in James Stevenson's Grandpa yarns, Agee not only creates a plotline--two escaped convicts spend a terrifying night touring the derelict place before dashing back to their cells--but depicts all the creepies as more cute than frightening, or at least harmless-looking. Children will need little encouragement to imitate the howling, squirming, swooping, ""Booooooo""-ing cast, without fear of nightmares when it's time for bed.

Pub Date: Sept. 22, 1997

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: 32

Publisher: "Farrar, Straus & Giroux"

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1997

Categories: CHILDREN'S