48. Pumpkin Heads

Pumpkin Heads. Wendell Minor. 2021. [August] 32 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: October is here. It's time to pick a pumpkin!

Premise/plot: Pumpkin Heads is a picture book celebrating the carving of pumpkins for Halloween.

My thoughts: The text is simple and straight forward. Each spread shows off a...you guessed it...a pumpkin head. What makes this an interesting read--at least as an adult--are the illustrations. I absolutely love, love, love the illustrations. They are absolutely beautiful and so realistic.

I don't personally celebrate Halloween and I've never carved--or decorated--a pumpkin. But these illustrations are so wonderful.

I would recommend this one for those who *do* celebrate Halloween and do actually select pumpkins to carve.

The publisher, Charlesbridge, says it releases August 2021. But GoodReads has an earlier publishing date of 2000! My guess is this one is being reprinted.

 

© 2021 Becky Laney of Young Readers

Poetry Friday: Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich

Frankenstein Makes A Sandwich. Adam Rex. 2006. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 40 pages.

When Frankenstein
prepared to dine
on ham-and-cheese on wheat,
he found, instead,
he had no bread
(or mustard, cheese, or meat).
What could he do?
He thought it through
until his brain was sore,
And thought he ought
to see what he could
borrow from next door...

In 2008, I read Adam Rex's Frankenstein Takes The Cake. (It's full title is Frankenstein Takes the Cake Which Is Full of Of Funny Stuff Like Rotting Heads and Giant Gorillas and Zombies Dressed As Little Girls and Edgar Allan Poe. The Book We Mean--Not The Cake.) I loved it. I just LOVED it. I knew there was a previous book, Frankenstein Makes A Sandwich, but it's taken me until now to read it.

The full title of this one? Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich And Other Stories You're Sure to Like Because They're All About Monsters, And Some Of Them Are Also About Food. You Like Food, Don't You? Well, All Right Then.

Even if you're not the world's biggest poetry fan, you should pick up these two by Adam Rex. They're very funny! And they offer a little bit of everything. There's sure to be something that satisfies!!!

I enjoyed following the misadventures of The Phantom of the Opera. The Phantom was being tortured by different songs he couldn't get out of his head... And I also really enjoyed the opening poem "Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich."

© Becky Laney of Young Readers

The Runaway Mummy

The Runaway Mummy: A Petrifying Parody. Michael Rex. 2009. Penguin. 32 pages.

Once there was a little mummy who wanted to run away.
"If you run away," said Mother Mummy, "I will get you! For you are my rotten little mummy!"
"If you try to get me," said the little mummy, "I will turn into a serpent that lurks at the bottom of the sea."
"If you turn into a serpent," said Mother Mummy, "I will become a sea monster that will wrap around you and never let go."

The Runaway Mummy is a parody of The Runaway Bunny. It is one of three picture book parodies by Michael Rex. The others include Goodnight Goon and Furious George Goes Bananas.

I enjoyed this one! I thought Rex did a great job.

© Becky Laney of Young Readers

Goodnight Goon

Goodnight Goon. Michael Rex. 2008. Penguin. 32 pages.

Just in time for Halloween comes a monster-filled parody of a children's classic, Goodnight Moon. Goodnight Goon has it all--Martians, mummies, bats, werewolves, and much, much more. This book will make a great read aloud treat in October. And would definitely be a fun addition to school and classroom libraries everywhere. (This may just inspire a few more parodies of Goodnight Moon.)

In the cold gray tomb
There was a gravestone
And a black lagoon
And a picture of--
Martians taking over the moon
And there were three little mummies rubbing their tummies...



To find out what else there is...to eventually say goodnight to...in this parody, you'll need to track down a copy at your local bookstore or library and read it yourself.

© Becky Laney of Young Readers

Mercy Watson Princess in Disguise

Mercy Watson Princess in Disguise. Kate DiCamillo. 2007. Illustrated by Chris Van Dusen. 73 pages.

Mr. Watson and Mrs. Watson have a pig named Mercy. Mr. Watson, Mrs. Watson, and Mercy live together in a house at 54 Deckawoo Drive. One October afternoon, in the living room of the house on Deckawoo Drive, Mrs. Watson had an idea.

It's Halloween. And the Watsons are celebrating. Mercy just has to go trick or treating, you know! What should her costume be? I bet you can guess just from the title alone! I bet you can also guess that things won't quite go according to plan. (They never seem to when Mercy is around!) Yes, trouble is to be found once again on Deckawoo Drive. Good thing, these three have become chummy with the police and firemen!

I like this series because it's funny. It's funny in a strange way at times.

© Becky Laney of Young Readers

Callie's Rules

Zucker, Naomi. 2009. Callie's Rules. Egmont USA. 225 pages.

Calliope Jones?"
There it is--my name, my very own name, a name that only a mother like mine would bestow on an innocent baby. I can't even blame my fate on a wicked fairy godmother. It was all my mother's doing. My father wanted to call me Jane. But no, it had to be Calliope. I was doomed at birth.

What did I like about this one? The Jane-Eyre loving heroine Calliope Jones. She's slightly stubborn. Not in a completely inappropriate way. But just enough of her own spirit to make things interesting. (For example, her stubbornly refusing to read Lorna Doone because it was boring, and instead rereading Jane Eyre. Of course, this backfires, as you might imagine, because her English teacher isn't that stupid and can tell a fake when she sees one.)

What is this one about? Well, it's about Halloween. One small town's struggle over this 'dangerous' holiday. Should the town ban Halloween? Should they create a holiday of their own? Should the town dictate what costumes are allowed to be worn? Should the town dictate what displays on lawns and porches are acceptable? Should the town dictate what 'treats' are good, and which are bad?

Of course, the book is about much more than that. It's about individuality versus conformity. It's about being yourself, knowing yourself, accepting yourself. It's about friendship too. Callie and her best friend may be growing apart. Can her friend learn to love Callie as she is? Or will her friend choose to go with a new crowd? It's about family as well. Learning to love and appreciate your family for what they are and not focusing on what they're not.

This one is an interesting book--in a way--for me. I've never been one to celebrate Halloween. I grew up in a family that does view it as 'evil.' (And I never even once felt deprived, by the way.) But the weird thing for me is even though I agree with 'the enemy' in this one. I don't agree with their tactics. Not even a little bit. It's one thing for a concerned parent (or two) to say to their own children, you will not do this or that. To keep their children from going trick or treating. To keep their children from attending parties and parades and such. To not allow their kids to dress up in costumes, etc. But to start dictating what every family in the community can and can't do. That's just so wrong it's pathetic.

© Becky Laney of Young Readers

There's No Such Thing As Ghosts!

Eeckhout, Emmanuelle. 2008. There's No Such Thing As Ghosts!

This is a small picture book with big charm. I didn't think I'd like it all that much, but it surprised me in a way. I'll try to explain. It's very simple. And simple can sometimes be a very good thing. In this story, the words say one thing, but the illustrations say something very different. There are two stories going on essentially--one revealed by text, one revealed through art. And for some reason or other, this really worked for me. I can't quite explain why.

"When we moved to our new neighborhood, I had to promise my mother that I wouldn't go near the strange old house on the corner. "People say it's haunted," she whispered. Haunted? There's no such thing as ghosts! But if there is...I'm going to catch one!"

So this little boy goes on a ghost-hunt in this house...room by room by room with no luck. But as the illustrations show, there were ghosts here, there, and everywhere.

© Becky Laney of Young Readers

Josh's Halloween Pumpkin

Lay, Kathryn. 2008. Josh's Halloween Pumpkin.

Josh's Halloween Pumpkin is the story of a brother, Josh, and a sister, Callie, who find a great, big, giant pumpkin in their Grandpa Frank's pumpkin patch. Both love the pumpkin and think it must be magic because it is so big. Josh has plans for this pumpkin. And they don't include selling it along with the others in the patch. But when Callie becomes lost in the woods on Halloween, Josh sacrifices his giant pumpkin in a rescue effort: a jack-o-lantern big enough to light her way back home.

© Becky Laney of Young Readers

Trick or Treat On Monster Street

Schnitzlein, Danny. 2008. Trick or Treat On Monster Street. Illustrated by Matt Faulkner.

I used to be a scaredy cat
afraid to sleep in my own bed.
Late at night, when things went bump,
I'd conjure monsters in my head.

My brothers knew my weakness well.
Every time they got the chance,
They'd think of ways to make me scream,
and laugh when I would wet my pants.

But now I've changed. I laugh at ghosts.
Monsters fill me with delight.
It happened, as you might have guessed,
one dark and spooky Halloween night.

Thus the book begins. There were several things about the book that I wasn't so crazy about. I thought the rhyming was lacking. It felt unnatural and forced in places. It seemed the story was being directed--in a way--by what rhymed. Not all the time. Not every stanza. Not every spread. But enough that it bugged me. The second thing that I disliked was the lack of rhythm. Lack of rhythm in a picture book is offensive to me. Rhythm, contrary to popular opinion, doesn't necessarily correlate with rhyming. And despite me trying several different times, I couldn't find a rhythm to read this one aloud where it sounded good...like it flowed...like it worked. It was just all over the place.

The story itself--minus the rhythm/rhyming issues--was okay. A boy is scared of monsters until he learns that they are scared of him and new friendships are formed. The illustrations I didn't personally care for, but I think it is just personal taste.

© Becky Laney of Young Readers

Ghosts in the House

This is a fun and playful Halloween book. Ghosts in the House Written & illustrated by Kazuno Kohara.



I thought this was fun. I liked how the "ghosts" in the house became useful-and-fun friends for the girl who lived in this "haunted" house. The illustrations are just cute.
© Becky Laney of Young Readers

Where's My Mummy?

Crimi, Carolyn. 2008. Where's My Mummy? Illustrated by John Manders.

What is Little Baby Mummy afraid of? The answer just might surprise you. In this tale, perfect for this time of year, we meet a character who does NOT want to go to bed. Little Baby Mummy wants to play. And on this night, he goes off on his own and encounters many spooky things, things that might be considered fearful or frightful. But is Little Baby Mummy afraid? NEVER! He's much too brave to call out to his mummy mommy. Isn't he....

I liked this one. It was light and fun.

© Becky Laney of Young Readers

Tucker's Spooky Halloween

McGuirk, Leslie. 2007. Tucker's Spooky Halloween.

Tucker is a dog. A dog who is tired of his owners dressing him up in cute outfits. This Halloween, Tucker has big dreams of dressing up in a spooky costume? Can this dog thwart his owner's plans? Will this be the Halloween that he can finally elicit a scare instead of an "awwww!"? You'll just have to read and see.

© Becky Laney of Young Readers

Frankenstein Takes the Cake

Rex, Adam. 2008. Frankenstein Takes the Cake Which Is Full of Of Funny Stuff Like Rotting Heads and Giant Gorillas and Zombies Dressed As Little Girls and Edgar Allan Poe. The Book We Mean--Not The Cake.

This book, Frankenstein Takes the Cake, is the follow up to Adam Rex's Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich. (A book which sadly I haven't read yet though I have heard wonderful stuff about it.) The book is a collection of semi-related poems--funny poems about the lighter side of the dark and spooky. The illustrations are perfectly paired with the text.

Here's one of my favorites:

New Glasses
In her classes, without glasses,
she could barely see the board.
With her specs she checks the teachers,
sees their frightened, frozen features--

Oh so that's why,
when she raised her hand,
Medusa was ignored.

My other favorite from the book was "E.T. Mail."

E.T.-Mail
We assumed it was the case
that in a place as big as space
we'd find some trace of other races
with our scientific bases.

When a signal was detected,
it was not what we expected.
In the subject line it pleaded,
Please reply--
Assistance needed
SALUTATIONS TO YOUR HEALTH.
PLEASE HELP ME TRANSFER ALL MY WEALTH
INTO YOUR BANK ACCOUNT ON EARTH--
ELEVEN MILLION DOLLARS WORTH.
I NEED YOUR ANSWER RIGHT AWAY.
PLEASE SEND A LETTER BACK TODAY
(ALONG WITH FIFTY DOLLARS, PLEASE,
TO PAY THE MONEY-TRANSFER FEES).
We gasped--a message from the stars!
And then another came from Mars:
NEED BIGGER, YELLOWER ANTENNAE?
HAVE TOO FEW OR HAVE TOO MANY?
LOSS OF VIGOR? LOUSY SLEEPER?
OUR PRESCRIPTION DRUGS ARE CHEAPER!!!
We were noticing a pattern,
when a bunch arrived from Saturn:
FANCY WATCHES! CLICK AND SEE!
and GET YOUR HYPERSCHOOL DEGREE.
At SINGLES IN YOUR SECTOR!!!
we disabled our detector.
Then we emptied out the cache
and dragged the letters to the trash.
So that's the fact we had to face:
There's no intelligence in space.
But that's okay--for what it's worth,
there isn't much of it on Earth.

Anyway, this was a fun book. A really fun book. I can't really compare it to the first book (better, worse, bout the same) but I can say that I enjoyed it all on its own.

© Becky Laney of Young Readers