A riotous Halloween story with some bite to it.
A shark has a hard time getting into the spirit of spooky season.
Snaggle-toothed Edgar—whom readers may remember from Santa Shark (2023) and Pizza Shark (2024)—isn’t keen on Halloween. After hearing a loud shriek coming from Edgar’s house, his friend Lotta Crab finds him cowering under his bed after having seen a ghost. Lotta explains that the “ghost” is just their pal Tim in a costume and urges Edgar to go outside and join the festivities. Edgar suddenly has a whole list of “important things that I shrimply must do.” Lotta persists and shows Edgar the fun of activities such as carving pumpkins, decorating the house, and donning costumes (Edgar dreams up “Count Sharkula”) until their friends stop by while trick-or-treating. After they compliment his get-up, Edgar joins the group—so Lotta won’t be scared, he alleges. This comical holiday story will hopefully allay potential fears about Halloween; while giggling, readers will be reassured by the idea that even a dreaded undersea predator can feel a bit apprehensive at this time of year. The funny proceedings move along at a brisk clip, with Edgar frequently spouting marine-themed puns—also expressed visually—that may go over kids’ heads. The zany illustrations are set in panels, sometimes with captions, comic book–style, and the expressive protagonists’ conversations (presented in all caps, with numerous exclamation points) appear in speech bubbles.
A riotous Halloween story with some bite to it. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: July 1, 2025
ISBN: 9781546110781
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Orchard/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: March 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2025
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
This bunny escapes all the traps but fails to find a logical plot or an emotional connection with readers.
The bestselling series (How to Catch an Elf, 2016, etc.) about capturing mythical creatures continues with a story about various ways to catch the Easter Bunny as it makes its annual deliveries.
The bunny narrates its own story in rhyming text, beginning with an introduction at its office in a manufacturing facility that creates Easter eggs and candy. The rabbit then abruptly takes off on its delivery route with a tiny basket of eggs strapped to its back, immediately encountering a trap with carrots and a box propped up with a stick. The narrative focuses on how the Easter Bunny avoids increasingly complex traps set up to catch him with no explanation as to who has set the traps or why. These traps include an underground tunnel, a fluorescent dance floor with a hidden pit of carrots, a robot bunny, pirates on an island, and a cannon that shoots candy fish, as well as some sort of locked, hazardous site with radiation danger. Readers of previous books in the series will understand the premise, but others will be confused by the rabbit’s frenetic escapades. Cartoon-style illustrations have a 1960s vibe, with a slightly scary, bow-tied bunny with chartreuse eyes and a glowing palette of neon shades that shout for attention.
This bunny escapes all the traps but fails to find a logical plot or an emotional connection with readers. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4926-3817-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: Jan. 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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