Halloween Night Is A Nibble Of A TREAT!
Written: Oct 31 '06 (Updated Nov 06 '06)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: ● Brilliant illustrations
● Fun to read aloud
● Not scary
Cons: ● Currently only available in hardcover
The Bottom Line: An excellent choice for the very young!
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| marybatson's Full Review: Elizabeth Hatch - Halloween Night |
It’s Halloween, so why not review another treat for those who trick-or-treat. Halloween Night by Elizabeth Hatch is a rhyming story about a smart, little mouse. The tiny creature hides inside a jack-o-lantern to keep safe from all the tricks on Halloween night. After a host of events, the little mouse discovers Halloween treats are free for the taking, and partakes in consuming them. This delightful tale is patterned after This is the House that Jack Built.
This is the owl who hoots at the bat
who dips and dives up in the sky
above the mouse hiding inside the jack-o-lantern.
I happened upon Halloween Night while searching for additional works by the brilliant artist, Jimmy Pickering. I admire Pickering’s illustrative genius in Somethin’ Pumpkin, thus, I was intrigued to discover he illustrated another holiday book. Though the rhythm for Halloween Night is unoriginal, the artwork is innovative. It looks Burtonesque. If you're familiar with Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas then you'll know what I mean when I say Burtonesqe. The characters in the book are modern looking, but have an edge. The paintings are saturated in deep hues: blues, greens, oranges, and reds, and although the illustrations are rich in color, they are not dark and creepy. The pictures are happy, and humorous, and carry wonderful comic expressions. For instance, when the mouse decides to hide inside the jack-o-lantern, he has a Cheshire Cat smirk on his face, like he knows he’ll wind up with pilfered treats at the end of the book.
My son has enjoyed this book over the last few weeks, though it’s probably one I won’t purchase, unless we’re blessed with another child. William mentioned the book seemed short, which is his way of telling me he’s outgrown it. I find his comment amusing, since the book Skeleton Hiccups is similar in length, yet he sleeps with it nightly. The recommended age for Halloween Night is 3 to 6 years, which I think is accurate; however, an attentive 2-year old would enjoy it as well. There’s nothing frightening about this book, except that the trees look a little like tentacles.
This is a short book that's fun to read aloud. It takes less then a minute from cover to cover, but I like to read it with emphasis, so it takes me a bit longer. The writing flows and the word selections are appropriate for the age group. Hatch uses descriptive concepts like inky black, draped in white, and merry and safe, which I think young children will find stimulating. Adults won't tire of this book like they may with others because it's easy reading, amusing, and the illustrations are bright, and cheerful.
Halloween Night is Hatch’s first work, and although clever, it’s not original. Several others borrowed the same beat well before this work was published. As far as I know, Judy Sierra was the first to make use of the familiar cumulative rhyme in a Halloween book. This is the House that Drac Built was written by Sierra in 1995, which in my opinion is a must-have Halloween book for those who love the holiday. The artwork is a bit creepy for the very young, and perhaps the reason the successive writers choose the same rhyme for their works. In 2001 Harriet Ziefert duplicated the cadence in her story about a little girl dressing for trick-or-treating in On Halloween Night. Now, Hatch borrows the same rhythm for yet another Halloween book. The narratives in all three works are unique, and certainly the artwork’s dissimilar, it just seemed uninspired to me.
There seem to be few choices in Halloween books for the very young, and this is one of them. Thus, despite my desire for works to be completely unique, I highly recommend this book.
ISBN: 0-385-74622-9
Random House Children’s Books a division of Random House, 2005
This is my first entry in mmcphee’s Reading Write-Off.
Additional Halloween Treats:
Monster Mischief
Skeleton Hiccups
Somethin' Pumpkin
Dragon's Halloween
Sheep Trick or Treat
The Runaway Pumpkin
Halloween Night by Arden Druce
Halloween Mis-Treats:
Happy Halloween, Biscuit!
Recommended:
Yes
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marybatson
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Member: Mary
Location: Phoenix
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