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
Maybe these kids should try babysitting Santa.
The creators of the bestselling How to Babysit a Grandpa (2012) and How to Babysit a Grandma (2014) continue their series with this story about a brother and sister who want to capture Santa on his annual visit to their home.
The children discuss improbable ideas for spotting or catching Santa, including a complicated sequence with notes to lure Santa up to their bedroom. They wait up for Santa, and a nighttime view of Santa and the reindeer on the neighborhood’s roofs makes his arrival seem imminent. Then, in a disappointing conclusion, the children fall asleep with no sign of Santa’s arrival. In the morning it’s clear Santa has been there, as the presents are under the tree and the cookies and carrots have been eaten. There is a trail of red glitter leading to the chimney from the letter the kids sent to Santa, but that’s the only surprise this story has to offer. Readers might be expecting some sort of exciting trap for Santa or some clever way the children get to meet him or ride in his sleigh. No…just a sprinkle of red glitter. Digitally produced illustration are bright and cheery, with cute kids and amusing details, but sharp-eyed readers will notice the decorated Christmas tree in the living room is inexplicably placed in four different locations on different pages.
Maybe these kids should try babysitting Santa. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Oct. 20, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-553-49839-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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