Tag: Picture books

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)

 

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Halloween Books list

I Dreamt I Was a Dinosaur

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I Dreamt I Was a Dinosaur (2006)
by Stella Blackstone and Clare Beaton

While looking for dino books for our 3-year old, I found surprisingly few that I actually liked.  This one gives a brief and easy intro to some of the dinosaurs during a short tale about a young child dreaming she’s a dinosaur.  The flowing, simple rhymes are cute, but the real highlight of this book for me is the amazing collage art done with fabric, ribbons, sequins, and the like.  (I want to be Clare Beaton’s friend, peek into her art studio, and take classes from her.  I am itching to get my hands on more of her books!)  My other favorite part of this book is actually the little glossary at the end that tells facts about the 13 dinos introduced in the book.

 

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Our Seasons

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Our Seasons (2007)
by Grace Lin and Ranida T. McKneally

In my quest to get everything Grace Lin, I came across this book.  It introduces the seasons by focusing on four children experiencing them.  Each page contains a delightful illustration by Ms. Lin, a haiku for younger readers, and then a longer scientific explanation of some natural occurrence of the season.  Examples are: “Why do my cheeks turn red in the cold?”  “Why do I tan?”  “Why do the leaves change color?”  What a clever book!  I love that it not only holds the interest of our 3-year old, but also offers me new information.  It’s a book that will grow with your child and can give you plenty of jumping off points for more learning and exploring.  Brilliant!

 

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Fall (Autumn) Book list