Halloween
Stories and Poems

Edited by Caroline Feller Bauer - Illustrated by Peter Sis

Reviewed by: Hauntmaster 8/30/2002

Caroline Feller Bauer has created a wonderful book by taking the best Halloween Poems and Stories from the likes of Joseph Jacobs, Lilian Moore, and Julie Holder and combining them into one easy to read children's book. Inside you'll find wonderful tales of a black cat who would be king, a pumpkin who doesn't want to be a pie, a ghost looking for his hairy toe, and many more.

Although Halloween is a compendium of stories and poems, Bauer also includes humorous gravestone epitaphs, ghostly antidotes to Halloween frights, a small section of recipes suitable for small hands, and a list of Halloween related books with descriptions to further satiate a young readers hunger for Halloween reading.

One of the many high points of this book are the wonderful crosshatch illustrations provided by Peter Sis. Sis' work can be seen in many children's books including After Good-Night, Rainbow Rhino Waving, and Going Up as well as the New York Times Book Review. These illustration provide the perfect accompaniment to the stories and poems. They are just unusual enough to be spooky yet not so much to be scary for young readers. 

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