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| Eleanor, Halloween 2010. Because she refused to wear a costume at all in 2011. |
If, like me, you prefer to introduce your kids to new concepts via books... and your kid isn't old enough to remember Halloween last year, then I have some great recommendations for you. Halloween is only one week away - so hurry to your library or bookstore to find them!
First, my friend Dayna loaned us Duck and Goose Find a Pumpkin. We loved Duck and Goose at Easter time, and their Halloween shenanigans are just as fun. Bright, happy illustrations, and a fun, ironic text that will make parents chuckle make this book a win-win. We've read it about a bajillion times in the last week.
Rating: 5 out of 5 Recommended age: 1-3
From the library we got Halloween Mice. The text is a slightly clunky poem, it irritates me a little that the rhythm isn't just right, but it has cute pictures, and Eleanor likes how the mice use a flashlight and their spooky shadows to scare away a cat.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Recommended age: 2-4
At Bookmans we found Angelina's Halloween, from the Angelina Ballerina series. It's really cute (I especially love the little sister's ghost costume) but a little long for Eleanor's taste. So I loaned it to Dayna in exchange for the Duck and Goose book, since her girls are older. Verdict is: they love it!
Rating: 4 out of 5 Recommended age: 3-5
Another cute purchase was What is Halloween? A Lift-the-Flap Story. This one again stars mice (what is up with the mice and Halloween?!) But it's a really simple text explaining that Halloween is when we put on costumes, make jack-o'-lanterns, and go trick-or-treating. Thanks to this book Eleanor has been going around the house saying "Trick or treat, trick or treat, give me something good to eat!"
Rating: 4 out of 5 Recommended age: 1-4
But both Eleanor and I love It's Pumpkin Time! the best. It's Pumpkin Time!
is a really cute book that shows how the kids planted seeds way back in summer, and tended the pumpkins all fall till it was finally time to cut them, turn them into jack-o'-lanterns, and celebrate Halloween. I like that it explains Halloween, but also gives a lesson in natural science. She loves that the kids in the book cut the pumpkins off vines and "put them in a 'wheelbarrel'! Just like we did, Mommy!"
Rating: 5 out of 5 Recommended age: 2-5
What are your favorite Halloween books?
Do you ever swap books with friends?
