  | Full Text Reviews: School Library Journal - 08/01/2013 PreS-Gr 2—"There's a ghost in the house/In the creepy haunted house/On this dark, spooky night, all alone./And he goes slip-slide/With a swoop and a glide/Until suddenly he hears… a groan!" The next page reveals a skinny mummy with an egg-shaped head; together they prowl around the house until they find a monster. The group discovers a skeleton and then a witch. But the last creature they find is the most frightening of all: a boy! The discovery sends the five creatures running from the house in a panic as the child calls, "Good night!" At first, the ghost and his friends are worried about who they will meet around the next corner, but smile when they encounter another of their ilk. This cumulative counting story consists of full-spread, digital artwork that features nonthreatening creatures set against smudgy backgrounds that evoke the feeling of an old, abandoned house. The simple rhyme has a bouncy rhythm that would make this book an enjoyable read-aloud for a not-so-scary storytime. This slightly spooky tale does not mention Halloween, so it can be enjoyed year-round.—Martha Simpson, Stratford Library Association, CT - Copyright 2013 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission. Bulletin for the Center... - 09/01/2013 In this cumulative rhyming story, a ghost host goes on to meet four unusual friends: a groaning mummy, a growling monster, a click-clacking skeleton, and a shrieking witch. Finally, the five creepy characters encounter the scariest creature of all: a red-headed, wide-eyed human boy in pajamas who unwittingly frightens them all away. Paquette’s rhyme scheme is slightly unusual, with shifts between internal line rhymes and end rhymes, but it’s but solid and lilting; once mastered, the cadence is both catchy and appealing, and the sound effects make it a natural winner for readalouds. Record creates digital scenes wherein deep, dark tones of black, gray, and brown are offset by playful splashes of periwinkle and mustard that perfectly match the a-little-but-not-too-scary tone of the tale. There is a lot of contrast and texture in the digital art, with shadow effects around the crisp figures suggesting collage-type layering, the monster’s golden stripes subtly dappled with aqua, and the mummy’s wraps possessing a burlap-like grain. While the ending is a bit anticlimactic, this is a solid offering for preschoolers who prefer friendly over frightening at their October storytimes. HM - Copyright 2013 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. Loading...
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