Children looking for goosebumps and chills will get them in this A to Z just right for Halloween or anytime. Rich, spooky paintings help set the stage for a frightfully good time.
August 30, 1999
Yuck! According to this grisly/gross-out compendium by a first-time author, M is for Mummy ("A rotting smell seeps in the room/ as Mummies stagger from their tomb") and E is for "Eyeballs lined up by the sink." Manders renders the malicious details in keenly observed watercolor-and-gouache panels. Ages 6-9.
October 1, 1999
Gr 1-4-A two-line verse accompanies each of 26 spooky sights in this chilling book presented in an alphabet format. While some of the rhymes are effective, e.g., "Ghosts/An eerie figure haunts the stair./You peek again-but no one's there," the writing is uneven. The pictures are striking, and some are gruesome; all reinforce the creepy mood of the text. The scary subject matter and dramatic illustrations will appeal more to older, reluctant readers than to young children, but there isn't enough depth to keep them entertained for long.-Robin L. Gibson, Muskingum County Library System, Zanesville, OH
Copyright 1999 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
September 1, 1999
Ages 4^-7. These clever couplets featuring spooky scenes and creatures of the night are great for reading aloud anytime but will prove especially popular during the Halloween season. Well-known favorites like Dracula and Frankenstein's monster come alive in Kutner's lively rhyming text and Manders' gruesome watercolor-and-gouache illustrations. There is plenty of blood and gore, but the language of the rhymes is fairly simple: "Dracula rises in the night, / searching for a neck to bite." And as the title indicates, there is an alphabet theme: one creature or object (""X " marks the spot") is used for each letter. A quality book for younger children wanting to get in the holiday spirit. ((Reviewed September 1, 1999))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1999, American Library Association.)
January 1, 2000
"Dracula rises in the night, searching for a neck to bite." From aliens to zombies, this spooky book features denizens of the dark for each letter of the alphabet. Although the rhyming text is occasionally inconsistent and Kutner fudges a bit with the letter "Q", the moody illustrations are appropriately gruesome. Young horror fans will enjoy the creepy subject matter on a dark and stormy night.
(Copyright 2000 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)