Tag: Holidays

An Awesome Book of Thanks

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An Awesome Book of Thanks (2010) by Dallas Clayton

This self-published book has delightful rhymes, fun and unique illustrations, and a positive message.  An Awesome Book of Thanks points out all the things we can be grateful for in life, from the “ocean deep” to the “desert dry,” but also for goofy things like “alligator acrobats.”  One page shows us in pictures all the little things we may forget to be grateful for—mailboxes, hangers, fire hydrants, lamps, etc.  The author also reminds us that even “bad things” can turn out to be good.  This book is engaging, simple, and silly with a positive message.  We love reading this book and remembering to say “Thank You” for all that we’ve got.
(This could be a good book for Thanksgiving.)

Room on the Broom

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Room on the Broom (2001)
written by Julia Donaldson, illustrated by Axel Scheffler

A friendly witch and her cat fly happily on her broomstick, until things start dropping.  With each item dropped, they pick up a new friend to join them…until the broom can’t handle the extra passengers.

This book is told in such a delightful, rhythmical rhyme.  It has some repetition to keep it accessible for little ones, but also enough “story” to keep it interesting and fun for everyone.  I love that the book doesn’t shy away from words like, “clambered” and “bounded.” I love that the witch is kind and fun and that her friends stick together to help her.  The pictures in this book are vibrant and fit the story perfectly.  It’s so wonderful to add another Halloween picture book to our “must read annually” list.
Room on the Broom (2001)

Update: We finally watched the little animated short of this book.  While I’m normally opposed to “film” versions of books I love, this one was truly darling and followed the book exactly.  I highly recommend it.

 

 

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Halloween Books list

Halloween Picture Books

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I was on a search this fall for Halloween picture books I like; it was tougher than I imagined it would be.  I’m sure there are many great ones out there I have yet to discover, but I also came across many that didn’t really meet my expectations.  While not all of these are necessarily “Halloween” books, I felt all of them could fit into the category.

Here’s a list of some of the ones I’m keeping on our Halloween book reading list:

Bears in the Night
How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin?
Miss Fiona’s Stupendous Pumpkin Pies
The Monster at the End of This Book
Room on the Broom
What Was I Scared Of? (by Dr. Seuss)

 

“Ghost” stories for little ones:
Mrs. McMurphy’s Pumpkin
The Teeny Tiny Woman

 

 

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Switch Witch

How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin?

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How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin? (2007)
written by Margaret McNamara, illustrated by G. Brian Karas

Charlie’s teacher has an assignment one fall day—to guess and count how many seeds are in three different-sized pumpkins.  The class separates the seeds and comes up with methods for counting them.  All are surprised by the results, and Charlie also learns to feel better about being the smallest one in the class.

While not a life-changing book, this is still a great fall or Halloween choice.  The story is simple, and my daughter loved that it took place at a school.  It introduces “skip counting” by 2s, 5s, and 10s and can lend itself to so many activities and lessons.  I learned a couple new things from the book too, which is always good.

We set out to count our own pumpkin seeds.  Well, at this stage, mostly Mama did the sorting and counting.  We ended up with a whopping 460 in a small-sized pumpkin, thus proving one of the book’s points.

How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin? (2007)

 

You might also like:
Halloween Books list

Miss Fiona’s Stupendous Pumpkin Pies

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Miss Fiona’s Stupendous Pumpkin Pies (2001)
written by Mark Kimball Moulton, illustrated by Karen Hillard Crouch

Miss Fiona, the witch, uses secret ingredients to cook up pumpkin pies every Halloween.  She may look like a “kooky” witch, but Miss Fiona has “goodness deep within.”  In her warm and cozy house, she serves pumpkin pie to eager trick-or-treaters at the stroke of midnight every Halloween night.

This is a longer picture book, but the story and the rhyming verses keep it interesting.  I especially like that instead of the children being scared off by Miss Fiona, they see her home as the highlight of their night.  She’s good to them, serving pies and cider and passing out spider rings.  The illustrations are great.  I love that this is a Halloween book with all the trappings of Halloween, without being scary.

 

You might also enjoy:
Halloween book list