Oops! A review from October that never got posted here! (or) If Janet Evanovich can publish "Plum Spooky" in January, why can't I do Halloween now?

Kasey Cox

Boo! Ooooooooooo! Screeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek! Sound effects from stories best told around a campfire, or with a flashlight at the slumber party. No matter how much adults may roll their eyes, or try to steer their kids away from the “Goosebumps” books, most kids like scary stories. What’s the attraction? There’s a lot of deep psychology behind that answer, as well as theories from many other fields of study, but suffice it to say here that what kids seem to like best is a story or song with equal parts of scary, gross, and funny mixed in. Do you know the old story about the voice chanting, “When I get you, I’m going to eat you!” and what the chanter was really after? If you can’t remember it from your childhood, ask a ‘tween. Be prepared: the story itself is creepy in the telling, but “ew!” in the ending.

“The Ugly Pumpkin” by Dave Horowitz. Retelling of the classic Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale, “The Ugly Duckling”. Bright drawings in leap-out-at-you Halloween and fall colors of orange, yellow, blue, and black. It’s autumn, and all the pumpkins are lined up, waiting to be chosen to become Jack-O-Lanterns. The Ugly Pumpkin gets passed over, again and again, but even more hurtful than this rejection is the scorn and teasing he endures, as other pumpkins, kids in Halloween costumes, skeletons, and even trees make jokes at his expense and say cruel things. In despair, he rolls down into a ragged garden to hide and be alone, and accidentally, joyfully, discovers the truth of his identity, that which should have been obvious: he is not a pumpkin after all. Perhaps my favorite part of this hilarious and touching story are the enormous letters of the words as he shouts first his misery than his jubilation to the sky: first, that he is the Ugly Pumpkin; finally, “Oh My Gosh! I’m a ……!” Far be it for me to ruin the end for you and the delighted children you’ll share this with. Besides, you’ve got to see these illustrations for yourself! I believe old Hans would get a big chuckle out of this rendition of the story he told people was autobiographical.

“Sipping Spiders Through a Straw: Campfire Songs for Monsters” – lyrics by Kelly DiPucchio, pictures by Gris Grimly. Grimly, whose style and work is now celebrated in its own right, cites his early influences from H. P. Lovecraft, Edgar Allan Poe, and artist Edward Gorey. As for the lyrics, for those of you who have lived through “Great Green Gobs of Greasy Grimy Gopher Guts” and/or “Jingle Bells, Batman Smells”, as a kid yourself or as an adult now, this collection is fine. Most of the words do not evoke anything too disgusting, and many are quite giggling-ly clever. Skip over any songs you don’t want your kids singing, enjoy the ones you all get a laugh from, and enjoy the whimsical, strange drawings. The images and the words may be a little too much for those younger than 5 years old, I think – with my kindergarten-going nephew in mind. He would enjoy them, but his younger sister might be a little scared, or just not quite language-ready to keep up with the words. I would gleefully share this with my friends ages 5 and up, and find it especially useful to fill time entertaining kids at upcoming Halloween events.