Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Curl up on a cold day with one of these new children's fiction books!

Mistress of the Storm by M.L. Welsh


A wind-swept, salt-sprayed novel that will whisk you away...
Verity Gallant knows she'll never be as pretty and popular
as Poppy, her perfect little sister - she doesn't quite fit in.
But when a mysterious stranger hands her an ancient
red book, everything changes.
Verity becomes embroiled in a tale of dark magic and intrigue; she
uncovers old rivalries and discovers new friends.  Together, she, Henry,
and Martha explore the secrets stirring in the ancient harbour town of Wellow.
But what will it take to stop a powerful witch hell-bent on revenge?

True Blue by Jane Smiley

True Blue is a beauty, a dapple gray, and when
Abby Lovitt gets to take him to her family's ranch,
she can hardly believe her luck.  The horse needs a 
home:his owner - a woman brand-new to the riding
stable - was tragically killed in a car crash, and no one
has claimed him.  Daddy is wary, as always.  But Abby is
smitten.  True Blue is a sweetheart, and whenever Abby calls out
"Blue, Blue, how are you?" He whinnies back.
But sometimes True Blue seems...spooked.  He paces, and
always seems to be looking form something.  Or someone.  Abby
starts to wonder about True Blue's owner.  What was she like?  What
did she look like?  And what are the strange whispers Abby sometimes
hears when she's with True Blue?

Maggie & Oliver or a Bone of One's Own by Valerie Hobbs

Maggie is always full of questions.  But a young
maid in a fine house isn't supposed to wonder so much, 
and one day Maggie is thrown out into the street with only
a tiny heart-shaped locket for a keepsake.  Who is 
the lady in the locket?
A little dog named Oliver is pushing his nose along an
icy sidewalk searching for his lost mistress, or at least
something to eat.  No matter how hard he looks, he can't find
either one, but he does see a girl with round blue eyes and a golden locket.
The girl calls him Lucky.
And perhaps Lucky is the right name after all, for the little dog
helps Maggie find a warm, wonderful home of her own-and one for him, too.

R My Name is Rachel by Patricia Reilly Giff

It's 1936, and twelve-year-old Rachel's family doesn't
have two nickels to rub together.
Rachel lives in the city with Pop and her younger
brother and sister, Joey and Cassie.  Rachel's mother
died long ago, but the family had a special friend in Miss 
Mitzi at the flower shop, and they know everyone on their block.
Pop needs a job.  His search for work lands the family on a farm
upstate, in North Lake.  But times are hard there, too- the school
and the library are closed.  Their isolated house is falling
apart.  Still, Rachel loves the farm.
Miss Mitzi and Rachel write to each other constantly, exchanging
letters that sustain Rachel as the three city kids adjust to life
in the country.  When Pop's job takes him away from home for
a while, Rachel is determined that she and Joey and Cassie will do just fine on the farm.




Wednesday, December 14, 2011

New picture books that are fun for adults and kids alike!

Children Make Terrible Pets by Peter Brown

Meet Lucy. (a bear)  Meet Lucy's pet. (a boy)
She calls him Squeaker.  Lucy and Squeaker have the
best day ever.  Until things start to go wrong...
Do children make terrible pets? What do you think?

An Annoying ABC by Barbara Bottner

When Adelaide annoys Bailey, she sets off a chain reaction
of bad behavior among her classmates.  Soon Flora is fuming,
Kirby is kicking, Petunia is pestering, Todd is tumbling,
and Winthrop is weeping!
What will it take to fix this ABC catastrophe?  Readers will be
amazed to see what happens when Adelaide...apologizes.

Samantha on a Roll by Linda Ashman

"No Samantha. Not today. Please go put those skates away.
You're still too small. You don't know how! I can't help you-not right now."
But Samantha can't wait to try her brand-new roller skates.  While
Mama tends to other things, Sammy straps them on. First, she glides down
the hallway.  Then she tries the sidewalk.  Next she ventures a bit farther
down the street. She's doing great.  But when she finds herself cresting
Hawthorn Hill, it's too late to stop-in fact, she can't! Samantha is on a roll.

M.O.M. (Mom operating Manual) by Doreen Cronin

Mom/mam, mem/n. (homosabius momius)
1. a. a female parent; b. a lady of authority; c. utterer of "because I say so"
2. a complex machine who runs full speed on little fuel and almost no sleep whatsoever
also Wonder Woman.
Take care of Mom and she'll take care of you.




Thursday, December 8, 2011

Celebrate the season with these kid's holiday books

Celebrate Hanukkah by Deborah Heiligman

Families gather to sing songs, exchange fits, and remember
miracles that happened long ago.
Hanukkah is one of the most joyous holidays on the Jewish calendar, 
in in this book readers find out why.
Author Deborah Heiligman looks at how Jews from the
United States to Israel to Africa and India celebrate the
"Festival of Lights."

The Shortest Day by Wendy Pfeffer

Winter begins on the shortest day of the year, on or about 
December 21.  On short winter days, children walking home
from school drag long shadow behind them.  On long
winter nights, families eat dinner while it's dark outside.
Long agao, people grew afraid when each day had fewer
hours of sunshine than the day before.  Over time, they
realized that one day each year the sun seemed to stop
moving away and then started moving back toward them.
They celebrated this day by exchanging presents and decorating
their houses with evergreens.  Today people still celebrate the
winter solstice, not because they worry that the sun will disappear,
but because they know the days will get longer again.  They
celebrate because it's a new beginning.


Christmas Remembered by Tomie  dePaola

In this wonderful Christmas memoir, Tomie dePaola shares
his love of the season in fifteen vivid memories spanning six
decades filled with delightful twists and turns.
In the thirties at age three, Tomie watched his Irish-Italian family
and their friends prepare for and joyously celebrate the holidays.
It was no wonder that Christmas became his favorite time of the year.
Wherever he lived - as a teenager in Meriden, Connecticut, an art
student in Brooklyn, a novice monk at Weston Priory in Vermont, an
artist and professor San Francisco, or an artist and author in New
Hampshire - Tomie's enthusiasm for the Christmas season was
constant and infectious.


The Family Read-Aloud Christmas Treasury selected by Alice Low

Rejoice! Here is an irresistible celebration of the 
glory of Christmas, filled with all the sights, sounds, and
smells that make this holiday so special.  Well-loved poets
Jack Prelutsky, David McCord, A.A. Milne, E.E. Cummings, and
John Updike bring to life the quiet cheer of snowy days, the joys
of a brand new sled, the thrill of choosing and decorating the perfect
Christmas tree, the mysterious arrival of Santa Claus and his elves, and
of course, the delicious aromas of freshly baked Christmas cakes, apple
pies, and plum puddings. Families can join in their favorite carols and
songs, from "Away in a Manger" to "The Twelve Days of Christmas,"
and read aloud from more than fifty poems and stories, such as
Clement Clarke Moore's timeless "A Visit from St. Nicholas" and
the Christmas pageant from Beverly Cleary's popular Ramona and her Father.



Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Celebrate this unseasonable weather with new books about the seashore for kids!

Looking for Seabirds by Sophie Webb

To human eyes, the remote Aleutian Islands of Alaska
look barren and rocky.  The waters seem cold, the high winds intolerable,
and the seas rolling. Yet to seabirds of the northern hemisphere, these
waters are idyllic, a mosaic of habitats teeming with underwater food and
alive with currents of wind for soaring.
Joan Sophie Webb on a voyage in search of seabirds. Just as she did with 
her ward winning My Season with Penguins, she once again inspires our
curiosity.  As she watches for, writes about, and paints the
graceful Mottled Petrel, the huge Black-footed Albatross, or the clownish Tufted
Puffin, she makes tangible the delicacy yet hardiness of these seabirds -
creatures that have been on the earth much longer than humans yet remain vulnerable to
disturbances in the health of the ocean.


The Whales Scientists by Fran Hodgkins

They began as land creatures.  Then, for more plentiful
food, or so scientists believe, whales made the water their
home and evolved into the colossal, majestic creatures of the
sea that we know today - the same majestic creatures that man
learned to hunt and kill:first for food, then for oil, soap, candles, furniture, and
even wasp-waist corsets.  Rich in meat, blubber, bone, and baleen, the 
whale served so many purposes for humans that its stranding was seen as a gift
from the sea.
But now, with their numbers diminished worldwide, whales have become
the subject of scientific study.  Now humans hunt instead for a deeper
understanding of cetaceans. Now scientists are trying to solve the
mystery of whale strandings. 

Edward hopper Summer at the Seashore 

Edward hopper created not only some of the most
iconic images of American life in the city but also painted
many landscapes and works inspired by the seaside.  
Edward Hopper: Summer at the Seashore takes readers on
a trip along the coast of New England, where he spent the
summer months painting sailboats, lighthouses, seascapes, and
white clapboard houses.  This book brings together a selection
of Hopper's most memorable and appealing paintings, watercolors and drawings.

Far from Shore by Sophie Webb

From a boat over extremely deep waters, the vast sea appears
empty. But as the naturalist and artist Sophie Webb shows us, it is full of 
fascinating - yet difficult-to-study - life.  In a little corner of the
ship's lab, with her water jar duct-taped to the counter, Sophie Webb sits
and paints and journals, even when the ship bounces and rocks from winds 
and waves.  She chronicles all the strange life that she studies and
marvels at in these waters - the tropical Bryde's (broodas) whale, the leaping
manta rays, a frigatebird with a sea snake.
Sophie and her shipmates also count and collect samples of life in these
deep waters, from seabirds to dolphins, from winged fish to whales. Only their
long term monitoring can ultimately help scientists determine the health
of the remarkable creatures who need the clean deep ocean to survive.


Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Celebrate Thanksgiving with these children's books

Celebrate Thanksgiving by Deborah Heiligman

Thanksgiving began as an occasion to give thanks for 
bountiful harvests, but it developed into the ultimate American
holiday.  On this day, people all around the country are unified despite 
their diversity.  Family and friends come together to take stock
of the triumphs and challenges of the preceding year.  They also
share traditions that cut across cultures with parades, football games,
and lots of wonderful food.
In this visual odyssey, author Deborah Heiligman takes readers
back in time to the earliest harvest feasts in colonial America and
around the globe.  She chronicles the contributions of Sarah
Josepha Hale, the magazine editor who spent 40 years campaigning
to make Thanksgiving a national holiday.  And she looks at how today's customs
got their start and became ingrained in our national consciousness.

N.C. Wyeth's Pilgrims by Robert San Souci

The adventurous saga of the settling of the Plymouth Colony is
strikingly portrayed in this magnificent book.  Spectacular paintings
by renowned artist N.C. Wyeth gloriously bring to life the
carefully researched text by well-known children's book author
Robert San Souci.
The story of the Pilgrims, including the first Thanksgiving, is a 
central part of America's history and, over the course of time,
it has taken on an almost mythical quality.  Drawing on a variety
of resources, including the author's visit to the Plymouth Plantation,
the text dispels some popular misconceptions about the settling of our
nation as it broadens our understanding of the bravery and
determination of our forebears.

Mayflower 1620 by Plimoth Plantation with Peter Arenstam

The story of the ship called Mayflower is deeply woven
into the fabric of American history.  This is how it goes: Intrepid passengers
called Pilgrims sailed a stormy sea to find religious freedom in a new
world.  Against harsh odds, they carved a little cradle of civilization that
gave birth to a great democracy.  Well, that's how it happened, wasn't it?
Or was it? Actually, that's the myth.  The real history of Mayflower is a lot
more complicated.
Taking a new look at Mayflower means learning that these seafarers were
not a unified group, that not all of them came to America for religious
reasons, and that their new land was not an empty paradise for the taking.
They did not call themselves Pilgrims.  That name, which traditionally refers
to wayfarers in foreign lands, was given them later by historians.
Plimoth Plantation brings this critical and compelling period of history
to life by using careful research of primary sources as the basis of a richly 
informative text and scenes recreated by costumed interpreters.  Fascinating details
reveal what Mayflower passengers ate, how they passed their
time on the long voyage, and what they hoped and dreamed.

Tapenum's Day by Kate Waters

What is the greatest honor a young Wampanoag Indian boy can
hope for?  To e chosen to become a pniese, a warrior counselor.
That is Tapenum's dream.  But his dream is dashed when other
boys are chosen and he is not.
As Tapenum goes about his day, he can't stop thinking about his
disappointment.  But soon, with great determination, he makes a
plan.  today he will begin training himself to become stronger.  He
will improve his hunting skills and run long distances every day.  If
he can become very strong in body and spirit, perhaps he will be chosen next year.
The third book in the trilogy that includes Sarah Morton's Day: A Day in the Life 
of a Pilgrim Girl and Samuel Eaton's Day: A Day in the Life of A Pilgrim Boy,
this book explores the life of a Wampanoag Indian boy in the 1620s.  Photographed
in full color at Hobbamock's Homesite at Plimoth Plantation in Plymouth,
Massachusetts, here is an intimate and accurate portrayal of native life at the time
of colonization by Europeans.





Wednesday, November 9, 2011

New Fiction for Kids

Secrets at Sea by Richard Peck

Helena is big-sister mouse to three younger siblings,
living a snug and well-fed life within the ancient walls of the Cranston
family home.  When the Cranston humans decide to sail away to 
England to find a husband for one of their daughters, the
Cranston mice stow away in the name of family solidarity.
And so begins the scamper of their lives as Helena, her
siblings, and their humans set sail on a life-changing voyage into the
great world of titled humans..and titled mice, and surprise endings for all.

Titanic: Book one, Unsinkable by Gordon Korman 

The Titanic is meant to be unsinkable, but as it begins its
maiden voyage, there's plenty of danger waiting for four of 
its young passengers.  Paddy is a stowaway, escaping a deadly past.
Sophie's mother is delivered to the ship by police - after she and 
Sophie have been arrested.  Juliana's father is an eccentric whose riches
can barely hide his madness.  And Alfie is hiding a secret that could
get him kicked off the ship immediately.
The lives of these four passengers will be forever linked
with the fate of Titanic.  And the farther they get from shore,
the more the danger looms.....

The Cheshire Cheese Cat by Carmen Ara Deedy & Randall Wright

Tired of dodging fishwives' brooms and carriage
wheels, alley cat Skilley yearns for the comfort of
Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, a popular London inn.
When he hears that the innkeeper is in need of a mouser, he 
hatches a scheme so audacious it will surely set him up
for the rest of his nine lives.
Once installed at the Cheese, Skilley looks forward to
a life of ease.  But a resident mouse named Pip uncovers Skilley's
scandalous secret, and the desperate cat is forced to make a pact 
with him.  The two become allies, and harmony reigns until they
are drawn into an intrigue involving a tyrannical cook, a strange
visitor hidden in the attic, and an evil tomcat called Pinch.
The ensuing mayhem threatens the peace of Ye Olde
Cheshire Cheese - and the entire British Empire!


With the Might of Angels by Andrea Davis Pinkney

Twelve-year-old Dawnie Rae Johnson's life turns upside
down after the Supreme Court rules in favor of desegregation in
the landmark case Brown v. Board of Education.  Her parents
decide that Dawnie will attend Prettyman Coburn, a previously
all-white-school - but she'll be the only one of her friends to enroll 
in this new school.
Not everyone in Hadley supports integration, though, and much of the 
town is outraged at the decision.  As she starts school, Dawnie endures the 
harsh realities of racism.  but the backlash against her attendance of
Prettyman Coburn is more than she's prepared for, and she begins
to wonder if the hardship is worth it.  Will Dawnie be able to hold on to the 
true meaning of justice and remain faithful to her own integrity?



Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Great new picture books!

Hello Kitty Hello USA illustrated by Higashi Glaser

After a standing ovation performance at a White House gala, 
Hello Kitty meets a number of nice people from all across the nation.  Charmed 
by their warm hospitality, she decides to visit them in each of their home states.
So, along with her friends, Hello Kitty sets out across the country.  They
visit each state and learn a little about it along the way - including
its capital, motto, and official flower and bird.
Join Hello Kitty as she travels from sea to shining sea and learn what
makes each of the United States unique and special.

Amelia Bedelia's First Field Trip by Herman Parish

Amelia Bedelia is sure she will love everything about the
field trip to the farm.  Collecting eggs, milking a cow, riding
a tractor, planting seeds and the picnic lunch.  Amelia Bedelia
can't wait.  What could be better? A class field trip!  Hooray for
school! Hooray for the farm!


Press Here by Herve Tullet

Press here.  That's right. Just press the yellow dot. And
turn the page.  The single touch of a finger sparks a whimsical
dance of color and motion in this joyful celebration of the
power of the imagination.

Subway Story by Julia Sarcone-Roach

Meet Jessie! Jessie loves being a subway car.  She loves soaring
over bridges and racing through tunnels.  She especially loves helping people
get from place to place. 
But when sleek silver cars start taking over the tracks, Jessie must leave behind
everything she has ever known to embark on an off-track adventure, one
that will lead to new friends and a new home under the sea...
Based on the true story of 1960's era subway cars that are now
being used to create artificial reefs in the Atlantic, this train tale
will delight parents and kids alike!


Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Have some fun with these great poetry books for kids!

Button Up! by Alice Schertle

Do the clothes in your closet have a life all their
own?  From undies to jammies to a much-loved hand-me-down 
sweatshirt, the duds on display in this perfectly stitched
poetry collection are a unique as the critters who wear them.

Ubiquitous: Celebrating Nature's Survivors by Joyce Sidman

Ubiquitous: Something that is (or seems to be)
everywhere at the same time.  Enjoy this wonderful collection of unusual
poetry mixed with intriguing scientific information.


Dark Emperor & Other Poems of the Night by Joyce Sidman

Welcome to the night, when mice stir
and furry moths flutter.  When snails spiral into
shells a orb spiders circle in silk.  When the roots of
oak trees recover and repair from their time in the
light.  When the porcupette eats delicacies - raspberry leaves! - 
and coos to its mother.
Come out to the cool night woods, and buzz and hoot and howl -
but beware, for it's wild and it's windy way out in the woods!




I Heard if from Alice Zucchini by Juanita Havill

From the still chill of a winter night to the
ra-ta-ta, ra-ta-ta, ra-ta-too of a lively
vegetable stew, these twenty whimsical poems celebrate the joys of 
a garden from start to finish.  a tour de force of imagination,
I Heard if from Alice Zucchini invites you to join in the
Pea Pod Chant, wander through the Rhubarb Forest,
dance with the Dainty Doily Dill Weed, gossip with Alice Zucchini, 
and hold your breath on the pumpkin's enchanted evening.



Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Notable Kid's Non-Fiction

Is the Guitar For You? by Elaine Landau

The guitar is one of the coolest, most popular instruments around
rocers Jimi Hendrix and Eddie Van Halen are legendary for their 
guitar-playing skills.  The guitar is also a main instrument in country,
blues, jazz, and classical music.  But is the guitar the right instrument
for you?  Or would a different choice be better?  Hear what professional
guitarists like about their instrument, and learn what skills a good guitarist
needs.  Discover whether the guitar is your best choice for making music.

Climbing Lincoln's Steps by Suzanne Slade

The marble steps of our capital's Lincoln Memorial have
witnessed key moments in African American history.  Denied a place in 
Constitution Hall because she was black, Marian Anderson sang instead at
the Memorial in 1939.  On Lincoln's steps in 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 
gave his stirring "I Have a Dream" speech that so inspired a nation.  and
in 2009, the first African American president and his family made a
pilgrimage to this spot.
Suzanne Slade's powerful text and Colin Bootman's stunning paintings
interweave these important events with the story of black Americans' journey toward equality.

Energy Island by Allan Drummond

The island of Samso in Denmark was once a very ordinary
place, and the people who lived there were ordinary, too. In fact,
the only thing that made Samso unusual at all was that it was very, very, windy.
then the ordinary citizens of the ordinary island decided to do something
extraordinary: they drastically reduced their carbon emissions and became 
almost completely energy-independent.  And they did it all with the help of the wind!
This inspiring true story proves that, with a big idea and a lot of hard work,
anyone can make a huge step toward energy conservation.

The Taxing Case of the Cows by Iris Van Rynbach and  Pegi Deitz Shea

The Revolutionary War was over, but one of the
battles raged on.  Women hadn't won the right to vote,
even on matters that affected them directly.  In 1869,
Abby and Julia Smith of Glastonbury, Connecticut, were
unfairly taxed on their property.  They surprised the town
government by refusing to pay, since they hadn't had a voice
in the decision.  in response, the tax collector took away their
beloved Alderney cows - but not for long.
The little-known true story of the Smith sisters and their cows
is a fresh and funny chapter in the history of women's suffrage.



Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Check out these Kid's Biographies!

The Bravest Woman in America by Marissa Moss

Ida Lewis loved everything about the sea, so when
her father became the official keeper of Lime Rock Lighthouse
in Newport, Rhode Island, it was like a dream come true.
Throughout the years, Ida shadowed her father as he tended the
lighthouse, listening raptly to his stories about treacherous storms,
drowning sailors, and daring rescues.  under her father's watchful
eye, she learned to polish the lighthouse lens so the light would
shine bright.  She learned to watch the sea for any sign of trouble.
And, most importantly, she learned to row.
Ida felt ready for anything - and she was.

Dave the Potter by Laban Carrick Hill

To us it is just dirt, the ground we walk on...but to Dave it was
clay, the plain and basic stuff upon which he formed a life
as a slave nearly 200 years ago.
Dave was an extraordinary artist, poet, and potter who lived in 
South Carolina in the 1800s.  He combined his superb artistry with
deeply observant poetry, carved onto his pots, transcending the limitations
he faced as a slave.  In this inspiring and lyrical portrayal, National Book
Award Finalist Laban Carrick Hill and award winning artist Bryan
Colleir tell Dave's remarkable story, one rich in history, hope, and long-lasting beauty.

Nurse, Soldier, Spy by Marissa Moss

When Frank Thompson sees a poster requesting
recruits for the new Union army, he is ready and willing to enlist.
Except Frank isn't his real name.  In fact, Frank isn't a man - he
is really Sarah Emma Edmonds.
At only nineteen years old, Sarah had already been dressing
as a man for three years and living on the run in order to escape an
arranged marriage.  She had tasted freedom, and there was no going back.
Eager to fight for the North during the Civil War, Sarah joins a 
Michigan infantry regiment.  She excels as a soldier, and she even takes on the
grueling task of nursing the wounded.  Because of her heroism, she is asked
to becom a spy, cross enemy lines, and infiltrate a Confederate camp.  For her
first mission, Sarah must once again disguise herself and rely on the kindness
of slaves to help her do her job.

For the Love of Music by Elizabeth Rusch

By the time she was twelve, she was considered
one of the finest pianists in Europe, but today few people
know her name.
Maria Anna Mozart, like her famous brother, Wolfgang,
was a musical prodigy.  The talented siblings toured Europe,
playing before kings and empresses, were showered with gifts and
favors, and lived in a whirlwind of music and travel.  They were
best friends, collaborators, and confidants.  So why has Maria been forgotten?




Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Celebrate October holidays with these kids books!

Columbus Day: Celebrating a famous explorer by Elaine Landau

Christopher Columbus was born in 1451 in Genoa, Italy.  When he 
grew up, he realized that traders from Italy and other places
in Europe needed a safe, shorter route to Asia.  That was where
India, Japan, China, and the East Indies were.  These countries
had gold, silk, and spices.  At that time, spices were not just
for food.  They were also used as medicines, and people paid a lot
of money for them.
Christopher Columbus set sail in 1492 with three ships - the Nina,
the Pinta, and the Santa Maria - and a total of ninety men.  He never reached
Asia.  But, today he is famous for crossing the Atlantic Ocean to reach the
Americas.  We remember Christopher Columbus each year on Columbus
Day - the second Monday in October.

The Best Halloween Ever by Barbara Robinson

The Herdmans plus Halloween have always spelled disaster.
Every year theses six kids - the worst in the history of Woodrow
Wilson School, and possibly even the world - wreak havoc on the whole
town.  They steal candy, spray-paint kids, and take anything that's not
nailed down.
Now the mayor has had it.  He's decided to cancel Halloween.  There
won't be any Herdmans to contend with this year, but there
won't be any candy, either.  And what's Halloween without candy?
And without trick-or-treating? The Herdmans manage to turn the 
worst Halloween ever into the best Halloween ever in this
uproarious sequel to The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.

Celebrate Halloween by Deborah Heiligman

A night for costumes. A night for candy.  Visiting
pumpkin patches, carving jack-o'-lanterns, and telling
scary stories. Dressing up in masks and costumes, going to
parties, and trick-or-treating for candy.  These are just
some of the traditions that make Halloween one of the most
anticipated holidays of the year for many children - and for lots
of grown-ups too!
In these colorful pages, author Deborah Heiligman explores this
fun holiday, which began as a festival in ancient Ireland and Britain
and is now celebrated in a number of countries around the world.
Readers will learn why ghosts and skeletons and other creepy
creatures are associated with Halloween, and also about the origins
of such Halloween customs as wearing masks and trick-or-treating.

Who Said Boo? by Nancy White Carlstrom

Trick or treat! What could be better than a
smiling jack-o-lantern to light the way on the spookiest
night of all - Halloween!
Follow a family's Halloween capers in this collection of
twelve poems by renowned children's book author
Nancy White Carlstrom.  The children don their costumes in
"Who Said Boo?" dare to visit the eerie "Haunted House" ; and
bob for apples at the "Halloween Carnival." R. W. Alley's sprightly 
drawings of the little goblins make this collection an especially sweet treat.