Halloween is a holiday that has disparate meanings for different developmental ages. Toddlers fear the frights, young children love the fun, and older children savor the scare. This year there are books that will please them all. Begin reading early in October to either prepare or delight your children, depending on their ages.
For toddlers and preschoolers, the masks, scary noises, and witches and ghost are often something to dread. At this developmental level children need their parents to demystify the holiday.
Benjy Bear's Halloween by Harriet Ziefert (Candlewick Press, $7.99; ages 3-5) lessens fear with involvement. Reusable stickers show children how to decorate a house and pumpkin, familiarizing them with traditional Halloween symbols. The book holds an acknowledgement of the range feelings by stating them and offering choices. As Benjy dresses in costume, the text asks: "Do you think he needs a mask?" The book cleverly addresses comfort levels while stressing a child's control of the situation.
Carla Dijs' Up Pop the Monsters 1-2-3! (Scholastic, $8.95; ages 2-5) is a festive counting pop-up book filled with rhyme and fun , but there's a important psychological advantage in the book. Not only are children shown some of the important symbols of Halloween to desensitize them; but throughout, a host of characters are masked and unmasked. It's a great way to demonstrate and approach conversation about how a person doesn't change when a mask is donned!
Elementary-aged children dream of their costumes for months, adore carving pumpkins, and feel the excitement throughout October. Their parents' role is to help them fulfill all the dreams of delight.
Jean Marzollo adds to her series with I Spy Spooky Night: A Book of Picture Riddles (Scholastic, $12.95; ages 3-10) Marzollo's riddles walks children through a haunted house where they search for objects (everything from a skeleton key to a palindrome) which she's hidden in rhymes ("I spy four pumpkins, a ruler, a bat,/ Eight pine cones, a ladder, three acorns, a cat"). Photographs by Walter Wick are perfect for setting a spooky mood, but safe at the same time.
History meets ghost story in two new picture books set in the colonial era. Robert San Souci's The Red Heels (Dial, $15.99; ages 6-9) is based on folklore of the time and tells the story of an itinerant cobbler who falls in love with a puzzling woman and is able to put aside his fear of witchery to follow her into the sky to "dance beneath the moon." Illustrations by Gary Kelley emphasize romance and mystery while documenting the flavor and feel of the long ago period. Tony Johnston's The Ghost of Nicholas Greebe (Dial, $14.99; ages 5-8) tell the story of a newly buried man whose bone is stolen from his grave by a dog. The ghost returns to haunt his family "till all my bones together rest." Johnston has lots of fun with words that play with language of the period and in devising a circular plot that reveals different customs around the world in bygone times.
Young scientists can celebrate Halloween with Sandra Markle's Creepy, Spooky, Science (Hyperion, $3.95; ages 8-12). With simple grocery store items, children can perform science experiments like whipping up vampire blood to learning about real blood suckers!
The oldest Halloween celebrants love a spooky story. Parents can deliver spine chills by reading scary stories out loud (and in the dark for the bravest listeners. )
Tailypo: A New Fangled Tall Tale by Angela Meaderis (Holiday House, $15.95; ages 6-10) is a new version of child-loved spooky tale with wonderful repetition and sounds that make it fun to share. When a young boy captures the tail of a beast he's haunted night after night . Meaderis gives the story a Texas setting and adds humor in her version about Kennie Ray a young Texan who owns Fang, the fiercest Chihuahua in the state. New in paperback is Jan Wahl's retelling of the classic Tailypo! (Henry Holt, $5.95)
There are some wonderful new collections guaranteed to send shivers up the backs of listeners. American scary stories fill the pages of Angela Meaderis' Haunts: Five Hair-Raising Tales (Holiday House, $15.95; ages 9-12), a volume illustrated by award-winning artist Trina Hyman. Gary Kelley's amazing artwork creates an extraordinary volume in Poe: Tales of Mystery and Imagination (Creative Editions, HBJ, $28.00; ages 12 and up). New in paperback is reteller Robert San Souci's More Short and Shivery (Delacorte, $10.95; ages 9 and up) a collection of "thirty terrifying tales". and also in paperback is Sherry Shahan's Wait Until Dark: Seven Scary Sleepover Stories (Dell, $3.99; ages 9 and up).
BookPage When children are young, parents work hard to make Halloween feel safe. As they grow older, spine-tingles become the most important element of the holiday. This year there are a whole treat bag of new tales to make your brave children's hair stand on end.
Sometimes the young are brave, but often they're not quite as courageous as they'd like to believe. Writer-illustrator Marc Brown is an artist who understands children and he proves this once again in his new collection, Scared Silly! A Book for the Brave (Little Brown, $18.95; ages 4-8) His anthology of poems, riddles, jokes, songs and stories is gathered from some of the most well-known names in children's books and they, too, have a sense of how to feed a young children's enjoyment of the season and calm them at the same time. All are accompanied by Brown's colorful, friendly illustrations.
For a slightly older child, Diane Goode, another expert collector, composes Scary Stories & Songs (Dutton, $15.99; ages 6 and up), a collection she introduces as being "full of scary fun". This well-told mixture of tales might hold chilling moments for the very youngest listeners, everything comes out with a laugh at the end.
Jacqueline Ogburn's Scarlett Angelina Wolverton-Manning (Dial, $14.99; ages 6-9), "has the Wolverton smile" and the "Manning eyes" and is an unusual child right from the beginning of the book. She lives in a castle, surrounded by tutors and private lessons, but doesn't seem a bit spoiled.
When Angelina is kidnapped by someone posing as the chauffeur, she calmly faces the new adventure. That seems a little strange, but odder yet is the way Angelina gobbles rare hamburger, animals around her disappear, and she and her parents demand she be back before dark ("and tonight of all nights, there is a full moon!") Older children may unravel the surprise ending, but listeners will demand a re-read that will make them howl with laughter and delight as they discover Angelina's carefully-hidden secret.
For the new reader who enjoys the tricks of the season and wants to share them, there's Rose Wyler and Gerald Ames' Spooky Tricks (HarperCollins, $3.50; ages 6-9). With simple words, directions and illustrations, kids can learn to spook friends with over twenty illusions. Good luck keeping this out of the hands of curious older brothers and sisters!
Elizabeth Levy has three new books starring imaginative mystery-solvers Sam and Robert who are given to the ghostly. There's a mid-scare level for early chapter book readers...spooky and mysterious on the surface with safety lurking beneath. Together the young detectives humorously solve: Dracula is a Pain in the Neck, Frankenstein Moved in on the Fourth Floor, and Gorgonzola Zombies in the Park. (All from Harper Collins, $3.95; for ages 7-10)
For children who are willing to step beyond the levels of safety to receive shivers, Alice Low has compiled Spooky Stories for a Dark & Stormy Night (Hyperion, $19.95; ages 8 and up). The stories span a great many traditions and times, and many are written by some of kid's favorite contemporary authors. My eight year old daughter, captured by Bruce Coville's humorous writing in "Duffy's Jacket" made me re-read the tale three times in a row. These nineteen stories give pleasant quivers, but won't wake a child up with trembles in the middle of the night.
The absolutely most popular series in upper elementary classrooms is R.L. Stine's Goosebump series. The books feature young protagonists who are threatened with scary dangers and after facing fears come out on the winning side. Four new books kids will clamor for are: Ghost Beach, Go Eat Worms!, The Scarecrow Walks at Midnight and Return of the Mummy. (All from Scholastic, $3.25; ages 10 and up)
I can't read ghost stories without remembering my early camping years when day wasn't done until the ghost story at evening's end. This year there are a wealth of stories to choose from.
Master story teller Robert San Souci's Short & Shivery (Doubleday, $6.95; ages 10 and up) makes a paperback appearance and there's an additional surprise, his sequel, More Short & Shivery (Doubleday, $13.95; ages 10 and up). Both reflect San Souci's amazing ability to draw from a large number of traditions and sources, tell a story guaranteed to involve listeners, and perhaps best of all for parents weary at the end of long days...these stories are short, but sure to please. You might not be able to stop with one!
Two authors write to please middle school readers. Colin McDonald's Shadows and Whispers: Tales from the Other Side (Cobblehill, $13.99; ages 11 and up) has young heros and heroines who experience the shadowy side of life where the lines of reality are blurry and spooky might be just down the school hall.
In the last year, Robert Westall has written two companion books to please young accomplished adult readers who want to be electrified by great writing and eerie strangeness. Demons and Shadows and Shades of Darkness (both from Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $16.00; ages 11 and up) hold a host of unique characters in superbly told stories that will haunt readers after the covers close.
And from the most famous frightening locale comes Spariosu and Benedek's Ghost, Vampires and Werewolves: Eerie Tales from Transylvania (Orchard, $16.95; ages 10 and up). The purity of the sixteen stories is insured by the fact that they are brought directly from the country of origin by the two authors who were raised by storytellers and do they ever have stories to tell! The tales are steeped in ancient wisdoms and will set readers reeling with their authenticity. These are not tales for the feint of heart, but pure undiluted spook stories where heros face all kinds of chilling supernatural forces. A book that will impress ghost story lovers of all ages!
Writer Nancy Loewen and photographer Tina Mucci bring amazing representation to a biography of the father of all ghost stories in Poe (Creative Editions, $16.95; ages 10 and up). The author's pain-filled life is told with remembrances of those who knew him, quotations from letters, and a sprinkling of his works. Accompanying photos would have made Poe proud. Double images, eerie scenes, and soft, blurred, glowing monochromatic still lifes give proper testament to Poe.
In the last year I have discovered my tendencies toward over- work and have begun looking to my children for tutoring in how to find fun. Halloween, more than any other holiday, represents a non-ageist invitation to play. This fall's harvest of Halloween books provide easy entry for parents like me who are re-learning how much fun play can be.
And the fun begins early. Six Creepy Sheep by Enderle and Tessler is a rhythmic telling of the adventure of four sheet-covered sheep who venture out ghosting one Halloween night. There is little that is scary in the book and much that supports a young child gaining comfort in what can be a frightening season. There are join-in repetitions, costuming, counting, and a happy surprise ending. Ages 2-5 (Boyds Mill, $12.95)
Happy news for Good Dog Carl fans--he's back and ready for Halloween in Carl's Masquerade. This time baby and dog follow the parents to a costume ball. Author-illustrator Alexandra Day fills the near-wordless book with clever costuming, visual humor and the tension of possible discovery. Young fans who enjoy tracking dog and heroine may realize that a costume party is a fine way to celebrate the season. Older fans may discover some great new Halloween disguises. Ages 3-6 (Farrar Straus, Giroux, $11.95)
Erica Silverman's Big Pumpkin is a wonderful transition book for young listeners who still seek comfort during Halloween and are ready for a story. The repetition, internal rhymes, and places for chorusing involve and reassure young listeners. The story presents traditionally frightening figures in a friendly light. The tale centers around a green-faced, grumpy witchy who's craving pumpkin pie, but can't separate her huge pumpkin from its vine. A ghost, vampire, mummy believe themselves strong enough to triumph, but success only comes with cooperation. The satisfying end brings shared pumpkin-pie and friendship, providing yet another subtle reassurance. There are also sounds and speech that make this a natural read-aloud for parents. Ages 3-7. (Macmillan, $14.95) Writer Florence Parry Heide and illustrator Victoria Chess turn ghoulish humor into poetry in Grim and Ghastly Goings-on. The collection of twenty-one verses feature extraordinary characters like Sir Samuel Squinnn who has no skin, fantastical adventures with come-alive furniture while telling the truth about things children wonder about. (Did you know that "jelly's made from jelly fish?") Ages 4-10 (Lothrop, $14.00)
Fun doesn't have to exclude learning. Several Halloween stories slip knowledge between cracks as cleverly and invisibly as a ghosts enter haunted houses. Nicole Rubel's humor of illustration and text is well-expressed in The Ghost Family Meets Its Match. It tells the history of a family who moves into a deserted 1880's mansion and successfully scares of potential residents for a century until they meet the Merry family. The Ghost family's scare tactics only endear the house to the new owners. This confuses both ghosts and readers until the surprise ending when we learn that the Merrys are werewolves! Discerning readers will note the changes in periods from Rubel's spirited detailing. Ages 4-10 (Dial, $14.00)
Writer-illustrator Patricia Polacco also steeps her Halloween tale in history. William, the hero of Picnic at Mudsock Meadow is a boy who likes science more than art. After being tormented by his own failure and by the teasing of Hester Bledden, William disproves the widespread tale of local ghosts and earns Hester's admiration and friendship. Polacco uses word and visual image to portray a the refreshing setting of a Grange Hall picnic celebration. Instead of our commonly known tradition of candy-grabbing, the diversions of pumpkin carving, seed spitting and a dress-up competition take center stage. Ages 5-10; Putnam, $14.95)
Both adult and young adult historical fiction readers will be fascinated by A Break With Charity: A Story About the Salem Witch Trials. Author Ann Rinaldi is a historical fiction has an uncanny talent for slipping into the skin of her characters. In this novel, her viewpoint character is Susanna English, the daughter of a rich merchant. Susanna's money and station place her outside the circle of girls at the center of the hysteria, and yet not outside their sphere of influence. Susanna knows that the accusations are put forth by young adolescents driven by revenge and a wish to escape the boredom of church and Bible reading. Fearing for her family, she refuses to share this knowledge. As the fervor builds, so does Susanna's guilt and sorrow until finally she is rescued from "going down a dark road" by a loving friend and her own moral code. Rinaldi is a flawless researcher and her period familiarity is captivating, but her storytelling As the fervor builds, so does Susanna's guilt and sorrow until finally she is rescued from "going down a dark road" by a loving friend and her own moral code. Rinaldi's research is flawless, her period familiarity striking, but her strongest power is as storyteller. Ages 12 to adult, HBJ, $16.95)
Any time of year is the time for an ecological tale, especially when fun is prominent and didacticism is missing. Mary Lyn Ray's Pumpkins has at its center a man with a large heart who loves a field and cries when he views development on the horizon. The man and the land together decide to grow pumpkins and the man devises a wild and wonderful scheme to promote pumpkins all over the world. They succeed and so does the book with the soft orange hues of Barry Root's art and the messages who come from the man and the land rather than the author. (Ages 5-adult; HBJ, $13.95)
Families looking for good ghost stories will get satisfying shivers from Alvin Schwartz's three collections of folklore's Scary Stories. The best-selling collections, illustrated by Stephen Gammell, have now been boxed in one spine-tingling set of over eighty stories. Ages nine and up. (HarperCollins, $11.85)
A two-year-old with an older sibling will begin, like my daughter, in late September to ask questions like, "What happen Halloween, Mama?" Her pre-school teacher is wisely concerned about a child who might fear this holiday and begins, nearly a month in advance to bring Halloween into the school enviroment. Masks are mixed in with toys and she serves Bat Wing Sandwiches, (bread topped with peanut butter, topped with cream cheese, topped with a piece of sugarless fruit-leather cut into the shape of a bat) and she begins to read Halloween books.
There are an amazing number of them. There are books that help explain the holiday to a toddler, help a young child cope with the fears of the season and help an older child revel in the fun of the holiday.
Perhaps the simplest Halloween book for a toddler is Harriet Ziefert's Where's the Halloween Treat? For weeks, in our house my daughter heard her brother chant, "Trick ot treat, trick or treat./ Give me something good to eat." This chant repeats throughout Ziefert's counting, flap book. The format of flap book provides a good opportunity to talk about the surprises of Halloween as well as discussing traditional characters and costumes. There were certain figures that frightened my daughter at first. Once we read through the book several times and talked about her feared creatures that they no longer made her afraid. Available paperback only Ages 2-6. (Penguin, $4.95)
Involving a child in the story may help them becomes less fearful. In Beau Gardner's Whooo's a Fright on Halloween Night? the pull tabs and flaps accent the fun of Halloween! Ages 2-5. (Putnam, $10.95)
Cathrine Stock's Halloween Monster describes the plight of a young boy who is afraid of monsters. Only when he becomes a monster does he relax and enjoy the holiday. (Bradbury, $11.95)
A child who understands Halloween may still be unable to celebrate with joy because of fear of the elements of the holiday. Masks and the traditional scary characters and customs are factors that may frighten a young child. A fewrful child may find comfort knowing that two series characters they are familiar with have these same fears. Marc Brown's Arthur's Halloween (Little Brown,$13.95, $4.95) and Nancy Carlson's Witch Lady (Carolrhoda, $8.95; Puffin, $3.95) tell similar stories in which Arthur and Louanne Pig are frightened and able to conquer their fears. Both books present a very important Halloween truth: that things are not always what they appear to be, that things that may seem scary, are in truth, not scary at all. Both books are appropriate for three to six year olds.
One way to make Halloween less scary is to make traditional figures, like witches, more real. That's what Mem Fox does in Guess What?, the story of crazy old Daisy O'Grady, an eccentric witch who is not really mean. The detailed illustrations by Vivienne Goodman will make you want to fetch a magnifying glass and the question-answer pattern of the book helps children join in the experience. Ages 3-6. (HBJ, $13.95)
Eve Bunting tells the story of a Scary,Scary Halloween and the rhythmic, rhyming is accompanied by ghoulish illustrations by Jan Brett. Again, things in this story are not as they appear, for it becomes clear near the end that the ghoulies are trick-or-treaters and the frightened observers are a Mama cat and her babies. Brett's graphic representations make a good vehicle to discuss costumes and frightening figures and Bunting's story puts these in proper perspective.
Ages 3 to 6. Available hardcover and paperback. (Clarion,$12.95, $4.95) Ms. Bunting creates chills and tingles in her newest book, In the Haunted House. (Clarion, $13.95)
Linda William's Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything is the spooky story of a woman who is followed by a conglomation of clothes with a pumpkin head. Each has its own special noise and the cumulative, repetition of these noises makes for a great read-aloud. The ending reveals a strong female protagonist who is not afraid of things that go clump in the night and even gives them a way to make sense in the world. (Harper and Row, $11.95, $3.95)
Another way to fight the Halloween horrors is by emphasizing the holiday in an alternate ways. Parties are a great way to celebrate Halloween and avoid both the traditional fears and the traditional sugar-buzzes. A lovely way to introduce this idea is with Frank Asch's Popcorn. Sam's parents leave him alone one Halloween night and he calls his friends to have a party. All of the costumed bears arrive with popcorn and Sam decides to pop it all at once. The house is filled with popcorn and the bears have to munch their way through it to be able to see and move. They straggle out, filled to the brim with popcorn. Imagine Sam's nauseau when his parents arrive home with a gift. . .you guessed it . . . POPCORN! Ages 3-6. Available in hardcover and paperback. (Parents, $5.95; Crown, $2.95)
And if one does make a decision to celebrate with a traditional trick-or-treat, humor is an excellent way to battle away the scaries. One of the funniest trick-or-treaters ever is James Marshall's Space Case, who comes from outer space to have a look around on Halloween night. Earth and its inhabitants seem dull until the thing goes trick-or-treating with Buddy and his friends. The thing stays beyond Halloween, going home and to school with Buddy and James Marshall makes the most of this ridiculous situation. The book is easy to dramatize, the thing's voice makes this a great read-a-loud. (Dial $12.95, $4.95)
Another book that celebrates friendship and trick-or-treating is Liza Donnelly's Dinosaurs' Halloween, a must for dinosaur lovers. In it the young protagonist and his dog dress as dinosaurs and meet another dinosaur trick-or-treater. When the three meet a bunch of bullies, masks are removed and the boy's companion turns out to be a real dinosaur who calls in his large lizard friends to save the day. Ages 3 and up. (Scholastic,$12.95, $3.95)
Older readers are seldom frightened by Halloween and love to be a little bit scared. They also love humor. Halloween books for older readers represent both of these themes.
An I-Can-Reader will enjoy Alvin Schwartz's In A Dark, Dark Room. Seven "scary" stories are related in an easy to read manner with just the proper amount of tension and humor to please a young reader. Ages 6-8. (Harper and Row, $9.89)
Boo! Stories to Make you Jump is a series of scary short stories and poems compiled by Laura Cecil. The stories have just a tinge of scary so that a younger listener can enjoy and get the shivers without having nightmares. Ages 4-8. (Greenwillow, $16.95)
Jack Prelutsky, a favorite poet of young listeners, has written three Halloween collections. It's Halloween , the simplest, celebrates ghosts, witches, pumpkins, trick-or-treating and the pure fun of the holiday. (Greenwillow,$9.95; Scholastic, $1.95 )Ages 5-8. His other collections, Nightmares, Poems to Trouble Your Sleep and The Headless Horseman Rides Tonight, More Poems to Trouble Your Sleep, are chilling, haunting sketches of all the most horrible creatures you can imagine. Great to read to older listeners in a darkened room. Ages 8-12. (Greenwillow, $11.75)
The humerous side of scary is found in James Howe's Bunnicula series. In these short novels, Harold, the dog, is the narrator who tells the story of the bunny, Bunnicula. Harold imagines Bunnicula is a vampire bunny. Bunnicula's arrival in the Monroe home changes their life forever. There are three books in the series. Each as funny as the one before. Ages 7-12 (Macmillan, $11.95,Avon, $2.95)
Witches by Roald Dahl begins with a cigar-smoking grandmother identifing witches for her grandson. (Did you know they're all bald and so, women that scratch at their heads are probably witches scratching their wigs?) Imagine the boy's surprise when he finds himself in the midst of a witch convention. The witches transform the boy into a mouse who has the final victory at the end. Ages 7 to adult. (Fararr, $13.95, Puffin, $3.95)
A good treat this Halloween might be the Random House series that has such horrifying titles as Dracula, Frankenstein, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. These stories are edited and retold at a second-third grade reading level. Unlike many retellings, they read smoothly and capture well the true sense of story. Paperback only. (Random House, $3.95)
There are a collection of truely scary stories for older listeners by Alvin Schwartz entitled Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. (Harper, $11.25, $4.95) I recommend these stories, illustrated in black and white by Caldecott-winning Stephen Gammel, be pre-read by parents to judge if these stories fit their children's emotional level because some are really scary. Schwartz has collected another group of scary stories entitled More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark for young adults who want more. Ages 8-12. (Harper, $12.25, $2.95)