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HONK! QUACK! BOO!

From the Duck & Goose series

Gentle Halloween fun from two beloved friends.

The understated, concrete-thinking best friends enjoy Halloween.

Goose is a joy. When asked on Oct. 30 what he will be tomorrow, he replies, “Well, I think I will be myself, Duck. It’s important to always be yourself.” Duck is going to be a ghost, and Thistle, who pops up to share her excitement with the duo, won’t tell what she will be—it’s a secret. But they should “beware the swamp monster!” Even knowing Duck will dress as a ghost, Goose is still scared of his friend until the latter points out his signature feet. But both are still worried about that swamp monster (readers are in on it, as an earlier illustration shows Thistle getting ready down at the water, some green slime under her wing). Trick-or-treating amid the forest residents is fun until an owl-cum-daisy tells them a swamp monster’s been looking for them, and here it comes! The two, hiding in a bush, believe they are goners as they hear the feet getting closer. But then Goose, dressed as a brave superhero, points out that it’s two to one, and they leap out to frighten the monster away, downplaying the scariness of Thistle’s costume now that they know the truth. Goose and Duck are wonderfully childlike in their innocence and naiveté, echoed in Hills’ illustrations. While costumed, the characters are never scary, and readers will easily be able to identify each one.

Gentle Halloween fun from two beloved friends. (Picture book. 3-6)

Pub Date: Aug. 22, 2017

ISBN: 978-1-5247-0175-8

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random

Review Posted Online: July 14, 2017

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017

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HOW TO CATCH AN ELF

From the How To Catch… series

A forgettable effort that fails to capture any of the magical charm of Santa’s story. (Picture book. 3-6)

Wallace and Elkerton continue their series about catching elusive mythical creatures (How to Catch a Leprechaun, 2016, etc.) with this Christmas story about an elf who must avoid traps constructed by children before Santa’s annual visit.

The unnamed elf narrator is the sole helper traveling with Santa on his delivery rounds on Christmas Eve, with each house featuring a different type of trap for elves. The spunky elf avoids a mechanical “elf snatcher,” hidden in a plate of cookies, as well as simple traps made of tinsel, double-sided tape, and a cardboard box concealing a mean-looking cat. Another trap looks like a bomb hidden in a box of candy, and a complicated trap in a maze has an evil cowboy clown with a branding iron, leading to the elf’s cry, “Hey, you zapped my tushy!” The bomb trap and the branding iron seem to push the envelope of child-made inventions. The final trap is located in a family grocery store that’s booby-trapped with a “Dinner Cannon” shooting out food, including a final pizza that the elf and Santa share. The singsong, rhyming text has a forced cheeriness, full of golly-jolly-holly Christmas spirit and too many exclamation marks, as well as rhyming word pairs that miss the mark. (No, little elf-boy, “smarter” and “harder” do not rhyme.) Bold, busy illustrations in a cartoon style have a cheeky appeal with a focus on the freckle-faced white elf with auburn curls and a costume with a retro vibe. (Santa is also white.)

A forgettable effort that fails to capture any of the magical charm of Santa’s story. (Picture book. 3-6)

Pub Date: Oct. 4, 2016

ISBN: 978-1-4926-4631-0

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky

Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2016

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5 MORE SLEEPS 'TIL HALLOWEEN

Lighthearted and un-scary enough for bedtime.

Talk show host Fallon and illustrator Deas follow up 5 More Sleeps ’Til Christmas (2020) with a story of a youngster preparing for Halloween.

“It’s FIVE more sleeps ’til Halloween, / that spooky time of year / where all the ghosts are wide awake / as nighttime’s drawing near.” A calendar page with a large numeral 5 curls before a bright orange pumpkin. An orange-haired, light-skinned moppet wearing an enormous pair of blue glasses is hunkered down in bed with Gary the dog, whose vibrant blue coloring matches the bedspread. Occasionally accompanied by a sibling, the young narrator counts down day by day, describing seasonal activities: picking out a costume, navigating a corn maze, watching scary movies, taking part in a parade, going on a hayride, and trick-or-treating. The rhyming verses are sometimes a bit rocky but always fun. The text is periodically punctuated by the word boo, which appears in large, cartoonlike lettering; that, along with the calendar countdown motif, adds a pleasant repetition. Though the child confides feelings of trepidation (“What if bats fly in my room? / I think I’ll close my window now”), descriptions of scary moments are always offset by brightly colored, exuberant artwork. Humor abounds: Gary looks both hilarious and sweet dressed in a ghost costume that matches the narrator’s. The final page neatly closes the circle as the child goes from anticipating the holiday to participating in it and back again.

Lighthearted and un-scary enough for bedtime. (Picture book. 3-6)

Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2024

ISBN: 9781250857798

Page Count: 48

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

Review Posted Online: May 31, 2024

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2024

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