Hi, Avi...I know you may be too young to understand that October is known for having Halloween! I remember what you wore last year, but I'm already wondering what will be selected for your Halloween pics this year! Can't wait!
First, is a lovely and quite delightful story that is both mysterious, but a perfect story for young children. You see, once the story moves forward, each of the potential scary things are revealed to be just ordinary happenings... I was enchanted with this twist!
ALL HALLOWs’ EVE - It’s All Hallows’ Eve, 24 hours before the spookiest day of the year—Halloween. Sebella felt her insides were about to burst like the fireworks she saw in July. She leaped out of bed ready for action. Her feet were off and running before her pink-painted toes hit the ground. “There’s so much to do,” she said under her breath. Bags of candy needed to be bought: Butterfingers, Milky Ways, Candy Corns and all her favorite treats. Her mom never bought candy until the day before Halloween. “It’s too tempting,” she would say. Her mom had a bigger sweet tooth then Sebella. And Sebella really liked candy! Skeletons, ghosts, gravestones and every other creepy creature needed to be unpacked from the garage. Every year Sebella and her dad turned their front lawn into a haunted graveyard. This year Sebella wanted to win the Grand Prize ribbon for the scariest house in Skullvilla.
And she still had to get ready for her annual All Hallows’ Eve dinner and sleepover with Grandma. Each year Grandma took Sebella, Prudence and Drac to the Black Cat Cafe. And this year Sebella’s best friend Kendall was coming! The Black Cat Cafe is a hidden restaurant that is known only to the magical world. Sebella licked her lips thinking about the tasty and usual meals they were going to eat. Her little brother Drac dashed into her bedroom sliding across the floor in his pajamas. “Hurry! Breakfast is ready,” he shouted and then bolted out of her room. Sebella flew down the stairs skipping every other step. Sebella’s dad was in the kitchen making pancakes in the shape of jack-o-lanterns. He flipped each pumpkin sending the cakes flying gracefully through the air to fall on two small plates. He gave each plate a wrist-swirling toss, sending them sliding across the table landing in front of Sebella and Drac.
“Who’s ready for a riddle?” he asked. Her dad liked jokes and riddles and recited a new one everyone morning. “What holiday do the Three Little Werewolves like to go trick-or-treating?” he asked with wide eyes. Sebella stopped eating. “Howl-Howl-Howl-oween!” Her dad grinned from ear to ear. Drac yelled out, “What’s Dracula’s favorite holiday?” Before anyone could even answer Drac shouted, “Fangsgiving!” Drac took a drink of his tomato juice and let the red drip from his mouth. “Vampire,” Sebella mumbled. “Stop teasing your brother. You know he isn’t a vampire,” her mom said as she walked into the kitchen. Sebella tilted her head. How does Mom hear everything, even when I whisper? “Hurry and finish your breakfast. The spookiest day of the year is only 24 hours away,” Sebella’s mom added.
~~~
Sebella's family was from the magical world, but they lived in a small community that included everybody who wanted to live there! But, Halloween was always more fun since they got to dress up in costumes that could be either to match a favorite television show or even a character from a book. Trick or treating was even more fun since they got free candy! Who wouldn't be excited about that!
Visiting Grandma would include going to the Black Cat Cafe! And guess what? All they had to do was say "meow" to get in... And they were even able to find the secret portal that was supposed to be there...
The only thing is that when they turned around to find their grandmother, all they saw was a strange paw that reached out, grabbed her, and disappeared! Want to help find Grandma from possibly being hurt by the monsters?! Well, I recommend this story for early and later readers--'cause everybody loves a Halloween story!
!!!
And for your Halloween bag from Gabbie, you'll find another touch & Feel book, this time focusing all of the machinery that are normally made into toys for you to play with... Or, you'll find out that your Dad also likes to play with them...Big toys for Big Boys!
If you don't have any of these as toys yet, we can use this book so you can learn about them first. How's that? This great big truck can haul lots of things, but look, you can see the back can be lifted...so you could haul lots of things, maybe even coal to keep your house warmer.. Or, maybe you can add a big shovel in the front, so snow can be pushed away easily:
Snow Plow...I lower my blade down to the ground to shovel the snow that is falling down
And you may also see a similar truck which is much longer:
As a tractor trailer, I always smile. I'm delivering goods, mile after mile.
One of the trucks you'll see coming to visit quite often! It's a garbage truck and is a very important service
If there is trash around, do not frown. It's my job to gather garbage all around town
going to tell my other friends about this last book called, One Dark Halloween Night!
By the way, I started reading this story and was finding a number of issues with grammar and proofreading. But I decided to keep on reading, and, soon, was caught up in the story so much that I didn't stop reading until I was finished... So I figured that the story deserved a rating that reflected my assessment of the overall book. However, I do urge the author to take a look at the first part of the book and do some major updates.
Smiling, Jason rode off down Main Street with his three buddies trailing behind. Pedaling at a leisurely pace, they were halfway down the block before anyone spoke again. Drake, who rode beside Jason, said, “Let’s see, now that we have our costumed suits of armor, which I’m not sure how they’ll protect us, our next move should be trying to find as much information as possible about Halloween.”
Jason agreed. “Since our town is so Halloween obsessed, the library should have a ton of books about the holiday.” Fred looked over at the two, frowning. “No! Not the library! Books are my worst enemies!” Walt, Jason, and Drake came close to crashing into each other as they all broke into laughter. Regaining control, they turned down a small side street that ended at the town’s library. Autumnville Library was an ugly old gray building built in the ’50s. It was an overly large structure with no windows, and surprising for the town, no Halloween decorations. The place looked empty, since most of the town’s folks who could read now-a-days preferred the Internet and books on tablets. The boys felt unease as they approached the building because they knew the stories. The library was famously rumored to be haunted, with tales of books mysteriously being dropped on readers’ heads and spooky whispers that would not be shushed. Whole cacophonies of strange disturbances were rumored to plague the place. The rumors were probably made up by a few high school students trying to get out of doing research, but to Jason’s friends the building still made them skittish.
The four climbed off their bikes and parked them on a bike rack, except for Fred. He was having trouble again, and Walt was teasing him for taking too long. After quickly breaking up another annoying fight between his friends, Jason led them to the entrance and said, “Now, we need to be on the lookout for books on Autumnville, and of course Halloween. Hopefully, one will clue us in on what to do next.” “Scooby-Dooby Doo!” Walt joylessly cried out, feeling like he was caught up in a cartoon mystery. “Do you think they will have Scooby-Doo books?” Fred asked. Walt cringed. “I don’t know, dork bulb. Why don’t you check the kid’s section to find out. Also, while you’re there, look for Chip Mouse’s Halloween Party. I hear that book’s a real useful resource.” “Yeah, that’s right, for crashing the Halloween parties!” Fred said, grinning brightly. Walt went into a tittering chuckle as he shook his head. Jason and Drake ignored the two boys as they opened the entrance door to the library.
All four gasped at a musty smell then assaulted them. This lent a strange thrill, like great explorers entering an ancient Egyptian pyramid. Before them was a lonely dark corridor, causing them to hesitate. Slowly gaining courage, they moved through while Walt’s nonstop chattering echoed off the walls. His mouth tended to run on when he was nervous. His attempt to add a humorous spin to such a creepy place was a prime example. In a deep menacing voice, Walt spoke out, “Prepare for a sight that has scared millions of illiterates. A place so terrifying that you’re only allowed to whisper. It is a dungeon to children that have term papers to do, and a trap for book nerds that love their books too much.” Opening a double door at the opposite end of the corridor, the four friends stepped into the library proper. “Welcome to the Hall of Literary Doom!” Walt loudly proclaimed. “SSSHHHH!!!” his friends answered. “Walt, you’re going to get us kicked out,” Jason quietly whispered with an edge to his voice. “I would be doing us a favor,” Walt snickered back. Before them was a large room that took up most of the building. A single set of stairs in front of them led down to a sunken floor that was filled with row after row of bookshelves. It was a maze of literature. Jason felt worried about their chances of finding any useful books before it got too late. It was a school night after all.
In the center of the book maze was a large checkout desk, and lording over it was the maze’s Minotaur, Bradley Carter, the town’s librarian. At 6 foot 2 he towered over the counter, so old that his hair was completely gray and his face was full of wrinkles. He was looking at the boys, his expression unhappy, but he remained silent. Drake, noticed Jason’s concern and said, “I think we shouldn’t stay here too long. That dude doesn’t look too happy with us. Fortunately, I know where the Halloween area is. Jason, we’ll head over there while Walt and Fred babysit each other in the children’s section.” “Sounds like a good idea,” Jason replied and nodded. “Cool, kids books,” Fred said quietly as he was led away by Walt. Jason watched, feeling sorry for his buddy Fred. Ever since he’d hit his head while doing bike stunts he had become more simple-minded. Walt, the friend that hung out with Fred the most, only did it because he enjoyed how Fred was such an easy target for his jokes. He wondered which one was the greater fool. True to his word, Drake led Jason to a large Halloween section that covered three long rows of shelves. Overwhelmed, Jason stepped back, unsure where to start. Drake, nodding to his friend, began riffling through the books. “Now, let me see, if I was going to write a report on the holiday I would start out with the smallest book I could find on its history.” “Why the smallest?” Jason asked. “I doubt you would want to read a thousand-page monster. I sure wouldn’t. A smaller book will summarize information without going into much detail. You don’t want to spend the next two weeks reading it.” “No, we’ve only got two days.” Drake stopped at a particularly thin book, read its spine, and then pulled it out. “How about this one? A History of Halloween. Right to the point.” “Sounds good to me,” Jason said as he glanced around the library, feeling watched. Bradley, the librarian, was staring at him intensely from behind the counter. He looked like a sentry guarding his fort. This really creeped Jason out, and whispering to Drake he said, “I think we should hurry. Count Book-ula has his eyes on me.” “Yeah, just a moment, I want you to hear this. Celtic tradition held that on Samhain, which took place on the 31st of October, a gateway to the underworld would open, allowing both spirits and fairies to enter the world of men. Costumes were of great use in disguising the wearer from these malevolent entities. Squashes often were carved with hideous faces and placed at people’s dwellings to protect their homes from these fairies and spirits. You know, I think your costume idea might have been a good one.” “Thanks, Drake. Grab a few more books and let’s get out of here.” Drake spotted the librarian making unnerving faces at them. Chuckling, Drake said, “Boy is he weird.” He shrugged and then turned back to Jason. “Don’t worry. I think he is shocked that someone our age would actually take the time to look for a book in the library.” “Please, get the books,” Jason replied impatiently. “You can read them at home and give the rest of us a Cliff Notes version.” “Sure, Jason, whatever,” Drake said as he started grabbing a couple of books off the shelf, reading off the titles as he went along. “The Secrets of Halloween, Small Town Halloween Folklore of Autumnville, Ghost and Goblins: The Who’s Who of Halloween, and Stop the Trick: How to Keep Trick or Treaters away from Your Home.” Jason wondered about that final title. “What’s with the last book?” “I don’t know. What works on kids may work on spirits.” Jason just nodded and helped gather up the books. “Let’s go get Walt and Fred.” In the children’s section, Fred was having a great time. Amazed that there were so many children’s Halloween books, he had found such titles as Yellow Duck’s Halloween Quacktacular, Furry Bear’s Haunted Honey, and many others. He was a little disappointed on not finding the Chip Mouse book. Walt sat on the floor with a book over his face, laughing each time Fred read one of the titles.
On arriving at the children’s section, Jason asked, “How’s the research going, guys?” Fred turned to Jason with a sad look on his face. “I can’t find Chip Mouse’s Halloween Party. How will we learn about party crashing?” “Don’t be too concerned, Fred. We’ve found plenty of good books here. Now we’ve got to roll.” Pointing toward the librarian, Jason bravely led his friends to the checkout counter. Watching the approaching boys, Bradley Carter regarded them with a look of curiosity. Drake stepped forward and took out his library card. As the librarian began scanning the books that the kids were checking out, he said, “I see you have quite a lot of interest in All Hallow’s Eve. That’s good. Most of the people in town don’t come in here anymore, even for Halloween books.” “We need them for the information,” Drake replied. “Are you researching a new technique on obtaining treats, or is it for some diabolical trickery you have in store for someone.” “Nothing like that,” Jason said as he bravely came to the counter. “We think something supernatural may happen here on Halloween.”
Librarian Bradley fixed Jason with a strange look. “Are you a believer?” “A believer?” The librarian nodded his head. “A believer in the other.” “Other what? Is this about church or something?” This was getting too weird for Jason. “No, son, what I am trying to say is other meanings, other worlds, other dangers.” Walt stepped forward and grabbed the library books while he whispered, “Jason, we’ve got to get going. This guy is going all creepy mystical on us.” “Yeah, too much homework, you know,” Jason said as he suddenly led his friends out of the library. “There are things I could tell you,” Bradley said as the kids left the labyrinth of books. “Answers I want to show you. Oh well, come back again.”
~~~
I continue to have mixed feelings about this book. While, other than proofreading errors, the book is well written and will keep you reading as it was written as a suspense mystery, I have some basic, maybe, personal opinions about the content... If none of these matter as issues in choosing a book for your children, that is, that they are older or even teens, I think your children will enjoy it--sadly.
For there is one child who has had a brain injury which has left him somewhat limited in his ability to understand... While the boy continues to be part of his boyhood friends, one of them is a bully, in my opinion, and uses his friend's slower mental actions to make jokes. This type of repetitive confrontation of his limitations by a close friend has to be hurtful to the boy. I had hoped when some of the supernatural parts of the story changed all of the boys, that this would have become a way for the author to do some "magic..." to generate a change. This did not happen.
The second issue for me was the "twist" in having the devil help the boys win over the monsters (witches, evil jack o'lanterns, ghosts) There has always been monsters in our lives--fiction, movies. But those who use a character from a religious book, the Bible, is in my opinion, something that should be avoided. I know, I know, there are many stories out there which center on the issue: The Exorcist, The Omen, for example. Yet, when you connect evil, lies, and violence with a child's story, there must be a sure knowledge and understanding that the story is fiction. Do, again, consider appropriateness on this issue.
In a world so divided as it is now, we must consider just how we approach those who do evil, purely for power, or from lies and disinformation... Yes, these are acts of humans, yet the use of religion to support these acts, as was and is being done now across the nation, leaves me so choice but to point out that when you consider any book that is for children, you must actually read each book before you decide on buying it. Or, be so involved with your child that you are able to talk with your child to explain and discuss fantasy versus reality.
As said before, I do not support banning books. I support parental guidance in choosing what your children read. I read most of the Harry Potter books for my niece before she would allow her children to read them. Life has so much to offer. To help prepare our children to evaluate and judge what is good and right, we must allow them to question, to analyze and to themselves reject. I went to see the movie The Exorcist and chose not to consider it an appropriate movie to recommend...to anyone. It's purely shock value without explaining any of the reality...
Halloween is meant to be fun; for some, it is also a celebration to "Trick" in the most cruelest ways that can sometimes happen. Only you can talk to your child about your concerns. Allow them to ask questions. Allow them to read books that concern you, but ensure that you discuss the reality and truth behind the story. Only then can we allow our children to grow, mature, and be discerning, yet empathic in our daily interactions with others.
God Bless,
Gabbie
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