Customer Reviews

Halloweena

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a cute book with clever, engaging text and detailed cartoonish illustrations that are full of the madcap antics of witch Hepzibah and Halloweena, her adopted human baby girl. When Hebzibah's sister Zillah drops the baby off on her, she tries everything to raise a respectable witchling and does pretty well. I liked this book a lot and found most of the humor to be fun and original. There is one page with severed arms and another where Hepzibah is baking Lady Fingers and (Yuk!) they actually ARE lady fingers. I could have done without these, but the homelife of Hepzibah and Halloweena is really charming in a wacky, witchy sort of way. I would say ages 10 and up will enjoy this book's humor. The text is full of tongue-in-cheek word play. There's a nice message about accepting people as they are and unconditional love. The ending is sweet. I think younger kids will miss some of the subtle humor and there are better Halloween stories for young kids, but for a slightly older readership, it's fresh and funny.

I had the pleasure of seeing Victoria Roberts read "Halloweena" (in the presence of the author) to a group of children, many of whom I thought would be too young to appreciate it. The children were enchanted, one and all--and the parents were, too. Whatever the kids may have missed didn't bother them at all.

As Ms. Glassman said, this is a book about parenting, and it is a visual and narrative delight.

I came across this book and fell in love with the witty halloween humor and the cunning illustrations. Kids five and up will adore the fairy tale references. It's become a nightly bedtime story in our house! Each time, my son and I are able to find a new joke or detail in the zany illustrations to enjoy and laugh over. A wonderful story for parents and kids to share.

This was a wonderful holiday adoption story. The pictures are sure to put a smile on anyone's face no matter their age. And the tale of how Halloween got started is a new one I've never heard before. It's creative, funny, and also tells a story of adoption in a humorous but heartfelt way. I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to give out smiles as well as candy on Halloween.