Halloween Night
Fiction picture book
Murray, Marjorie D. (2008). Halloween Night. New York, NY: Greenwillow Books.
This picture was obtained from: http://www.harpercollinscatalogs.com/harper/511_1321_333039353731.htm
“Stiff-legged zombies awoke from the dead,
As moth-eaten mummies arose from their beds.”
-page 3 from Halloween Night by Marjorie Murray
A Little about the Book:
Halloween Night is a rhyming story about a witch and other monsters making a Halloween party for the tricksters. The Witch prepares a brew, green creepies make treats and treat bags, and ogre and Olaf put together a buffet for the guests. When the tricksters arrive, they run away screaming because all they wanted were treats, and instead were invited into a party full of monsters.
The book is based somewhat on “The Night Before Christmas”.
The Illustrations:
The illustrations are absolutely amazing. My favourite picture is when the tricksters are walking on the path on pages 13 and 14. You can see faces in the trees if you look closely. In addition, the tricksters’ costumes are just amazing!
All of the pictures remind me of a cartoon show. They seem to pop off the page at you. The illustrator, Brandon Dorman, did an excellent job at creating the perfect Halloween pictures.
Themes:
- Halloween
- Throwing a party
- Monsters, Witches and Goblins
Age Level:
Halloween Night is great for kids between the ages of 4 and 9. Children can easily understand the story, and love the illustrations. When I read the book to two four year olds, they absolutely loved the book.
I would recommend the book for Kindergarten to Grade 4. I believe children in the higher grades will not appreciate the book as much. Children in Grade 3 should easily be able to read this book by themselves around Halloween time. Some children in Grade 2 may be able to but some of the words are advanced for a Grade 2 student to read by them self.
Personal Response:
I enjoyed the story a lot. The whole book is fun in a spooky way. The illustrations are entertaining. Between the stories flow and the pictures, I fell in love with the book. I would recommend Halloween Night to everyone, and will definitely use it in my own classroom around Halloween!
Teacher Ideas:
Physical Education:
While you read the story to the children have them move like the different creatures in the book. This is great for younger children. It helps them use their imagination to move their body in a variety of different ways.
Language Arts
Read the story to the children. When you finish reading the story, discuss with the children what happened in the story. Afterwards have the children write what they think the tricksters would say to their friends and family about what they saw when they looked in on the monsters party.
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