There’s a big round moon in a dark, dark sky. The chickens are nervous. Do you know why?
Happy Halloween! The ultimate Spooky Saturday! We LOVE Sandra Boynton books in this house. They are the perfect length for his attention span and the pages are bright and colorful. Board books are also really fun right now because J has learned how to turn the pages himself. We were gifted this book at the beginning of October and I can’t even tell you how many times we’ve read it. The illustrations are simple, fun and brightly colored. And while a number of different fonts are used throughout, they are all still easy to read. Highly recommend this one for any young readers!
Font Readability: 10/10 Illustrations: 10/10 Parent Engagement: 10/10
Trick or Treat in Texas – Eric James / Illustrated by Karl West
The full moon’s out on Halloween. The sky is starry bright. Above the state of Texas appears an eerie light.
An unexpected visitor arrives in town! But who is he? What is he? And where did he come from? Read on, if you dare!
We were gifted this book earlier this week from our fabulous friends in Texas, and what perfect timing! It’s Beggars Night here in Iowa so we are definitely reading this one again tonight! I absolutely love this book! The story is really cute, and while a little long for J’s attention span, I think he will also grow to love this one in the coming years. The illustrations are fantastic. Its a great Halloween-y color palette without being just black and orange. The characters are really cute and each page has so many details. I am so glad we have this one to add to our collection!
Font Readability: 10/10 Illustrations: 10/10 Parent Engagement: 10/10
Legend has it that if all seven of the precious orbs called “Dragon Balls” are gathered together, an incredibly powerful dragon god will appear to grant one wish. Unfortunately, the orbs are scattered across the world, making them extremely difficult to collect. Enter 16-year-old Bulma, a scientific genius who has constructed a radar to detect the exact locations of the Dragon Balls. She’s on a mission to find all seven orbs, but first she must convince young Son Goku to join her on her quest. With a monkey tail, superhuman strength and a magic staff for a weapon, Son Goku is ready to set out on the adventure of a lifetime…
I flew through this set. 16 volumes in under a month. To say I enjoyed it is an understatement! I have seen every episode of Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball Super… I was familiar with the story line and the characters when diving in. I think I had more fun reading through the Dragon Ball series than I did watching it. I can’t wait to continue on to the 26 volumes of Dragon Ball Z. These have been such a great way to end my day every evening. I am newer to the Manga scene – and so far I am loving it!
For more than two hundred years, the Owens women have been blamed for everything that has gone wrong in their Massachusetts town. Gillian and Sally have endured that fate as well: as children, the sisters were forever outsiders, taunted, talked about, pointed at. Their elderly aunts almost seemed to encourage the whispers of witchery, with their musty house and their exotic concoctions and their crowd of black cats. But all Gillian and Sally wanted was to escape.
One will do so by marrying, the other by running away. But the bonds they share will bring them back—almost as if by magic…
Somehow I have never seen this movie. So I was able to go into the book with no expectations or really even knowing what it was about besides sisters and witches. My sister loves the movie and has seen it a number of times so after discussing the book with her, we realized that the book and movie are quite different. That is not stopping me from hopefully watching the movie later this week just to see how different they are. All in all I really liked the book. The bond between sisters is always relatable, and who doesn’t love a little romance? Definitely a fun read for the Halloween season!
Would I recommend this book: Yes – just proceed with caution if you have seen the movie!
“The moon is always jealous of the heat of the day, just as the sun always longs for something dark and deep.”
“Some things, when they change, never do return to the way they once were. Butterflies for instance, and women who’ve been in love with the wrong man too often.”
“Always throw spilled salt over your left shoulder. Keep rosemary by your garden gate. Add pepper to your mashed potatoes. Plant roses and lavender, for luck. Fall in love whenever you can.”
Little Blue Truck’s Halloween – Alice Schertle Illustrated by Jill McElmurry
It’s Halloween! Little Blue Truck is picking up his animal friends for a costume party. Can you guess who is dressed up in each special costume? Lift the flaps to find out! Will Blue dress up too?
Little Blue Truck is a favorite in our house, so it makes sense that we loved this one! We have just started to figure out how flap books work and we have tons of fun with them! We will be reading this one over and over before Halloween is here!
Font Readability: 10/10 Illustrations: 10/10 Parent Engagement: 10/10
The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything – Linda Williams / Illustrated by Megan Lloyd
Once upon a time there was a little old lady who was not afraid of anything. Until one windy autumn night, while walking in the woods, she hears CLOMP CLOMP.
“I’m not afraid of you,” says the little old lady. But the noises keep growing. CLOMP CLOMP, WIGGLE WIGGLE, SHAKE SHAKE, CLAP CLAP… and the little old lady who was not afraid of anything has the scare of her life!
A book from my childhood! I saw this one when I was out one day and had to pick it up to add to our collection. Still a little out of his league length wise, but we love it! Especially when we act out all the sounds. Hopefully he still likes this one when he has a little bit more say in what we read. Happy spooky Saturday everyone!
Font Readability: 10/10 Illustrations: 10/10 Parent Engagement: 10/10
In a small New England town, in the early 60s, a shadow falls over a small boy playing with his toy soldiers. Jamie Morton looks up to see a striking man, the new minister. Charles Jacobs, along with his beautiful wife, will transform the local church. The men and boys are all a bit in love with Mrs Jacobs; the women and girls – including Jamie’s mother and beloved sister – feel the same about Reverend Jacobs. With Jamie, the Reverend shares a deeper bond, based on their fascination with simple experiments in electricity.
Then tragedy strikes the Jacobs family; the preacher curses God, mocking all religious belief, and is banished from the shocked town.
Jamie has demons of his own. In his mid-thirties, he is living a nomadic lifestyle of bar-band rock and roll. Addicted to heroin, stranded, desperate, he sees Jacobs again – a showman on stage, creating dazzling ‘portraits in lightning’ – and their meeting has profound consequences for both men. Their bond becomes a pact beyond even the Devil’s devising, and Jamie discovers that revival has many meanings. Because for every cure there is a price…
I’ll be honest… this was my second… maybe even third attempt for this book. Just not one I was super into. I tracked down the audiobook thinking maybe if I listened to it and got further in maybe just maybe it would hook me… nope. It ended and I just felt meh. No real strong opinions toward it either way. Didn’t hate it… didn’t love it… I will admit the climax of the book did creep me out a bit which I was hoping for with it being October and all. Completing this one means I’ve knocked out 18 Kings… 31% complete since I am including the Bachman books on this journey. Now do I return to reading them by release date? (this was the original intent, however I am easily distracted by read alongs) Or maybe I will just start drawing titles out of a hat.
Would I recommend this book: Meh, maybe? There are others I have enjoyed much more. I don’t expect this one to be brought up in conversation much.
“That’s how you know you’re home, I think, no matter how far you’ve gone from it or how long you’ve been in some other place. Home is where they want you to stay longer.”
Fairest of All: A Tale of the Wicked Queen – Serena Valentino
The tale of the young princess and her evil stepmother, the Wicked Queen, is widely known. Despite a few variations from telling to telling, the story remains the same—the Queen was jealous of the girl’s beauty, and this jealousy culminated in the Queen’s attempt on the sweet, naive girl’s life.
Another tale far less often spoken of is the one that explains what caused the Queen to become so contemptuously vile. Still, some have attempted to guess at the reason. Perhaps the Queen’s true nature was that of a wicked hag and her beautiful, regal appearance a disguise used to fool the King. Others claim that the Queen might have hated the girl for her resemblance to the King’s first wife. Mostly, the Queen is painted as a morally abhorrent woman who never loved another being during the course of her miserable life.
In fact, the theories about exactly what cause the Queen’s obsessive vanity and jealous rage are too numerous to catalog. This book recounts a version of the story that has remained untold until now. It is a tragic tale of love and loss, and it contains a bit of magic. It is a tale of the Wicked Queen…
I rather enjoyed this and am looking forward to continuing the series (I think there are 8 books now). I am always down for a Disney story and why not some villain origin stories? It was a fun way to kick off my October reading. Really easy quick read. I think I got through it in 3 sittings. Definitely geared for a younger audience, but that was to be expected. I had seen some mixed reviews before starting so I was a little hesitant, but in the end I thought it was a fun, origin story that *almost* makes you feel for the Queen a little. The cover art for this series is fantastic. I loved removing the dust jacket to find the Queen’s other form.
Would I recommend this book: Yes – if you are looking for a fun, quick read that doesn’t take too much brain power
We absolutely love this one. Maybe even more than the original. The illustrations are colorful and fun. It is the perfect length for a quick bedtime story, and we read it almost every night. There is a chance this one will stay out year round. Definitely recommend this one if you are looking to add to your halloween book collection!
Font Readability: 10/10 Illustrations: 10/10 Parent Engagement: 10/10
The witch and her cat are happily flying through the sky on a broomstick when the wind picks up and blows away the witch’s hat, then her bow, and then her wand! Luckily, three helpful animals find the missing items, and all they want in return is a ride on the broom. But is there room on the broom for so many friends? And when disaster strikes, will they be able to save the witch from a hungry dragon?
Kicking off spooky season with our first Halloween book! We really liked this one! There are more words on the page than Jensen has the patience for at the moment, but this will be a great one for years to come. It has large illustrations which help keep him interested, and I only stumbled over the words a few times. (I am the worst at reading out loud until I basically have the book memorized)
Font Readability: 10/10 Illustrations: 10/10 Mom Engagement: 10/10
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