By the Light of the Halloween Moon (Picture Puffins) (Paperback)

~ (Author), Kevin Hawkes (Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 3-A cumulative tale in which a series of beasties and ghoulies threaten to nibble at a child's toes. These scary creatures run the gamut from the familiar bat and witch to the lesser-known ghoul and sprite. They emerge from tomb and darkness to pinch, grab, or bite the legs that are pictured dangling over the edge of the bridge. The pileup of menacing monsters and the close calls build tension until the complete picture of a self-assured little girl appears. Her fully capitalized expression of proprietary rights will assure readers that she knows how to take care of herself. The final scene, in which she fiddles a Halloween tune for the dancing monsters, creates a comic resolution, making the night a time of fun as well as near-terror. While the edges of the illustrations are sometimes fuzzy, the opaque jewel tones and the details of costume and expression make the ghosts anything but remote. A great nighttime party for all year round.
Ruth K. MacDonald, Quinnipiac College, Hamden, CT
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Kirkus Reviews

Stutson's first is a catchy, lilting cumulative tale with glorious comical/scary illustrations. Wriggling on a relaxed bare foot dangling from a rickety footbridge (at the top of the pages, so that only its owner's legs are visible) is ``A toe!/A lean and gleaming toe/That taps a tune in the dead of night/By the light...of the Halloween moon!'' The action here is all under the bridge: a perching cat spies the toe; as it leaps for it, a witch snatches at the cat. The cumulation continues with a bat; ``A ghastly drooling graveyard ghoul/Who swats at the bat''; and a piratical ``williwaw ghost,'' as Hawkes silhouettes the vibrant, bug-eyed figures dramatically against the night's pitch black. Last comes a pan up to ``A small bright slip of a smiling girl,'' owner of the menaced toe and of a fiddle, with which she ``smacks the sprite/Who bites the ghost...'' while she tells them all, ``OH, NO YOU DON'T!/THAT TOE IS MINE!'' Hawkes's splendidly imaginative ghoulies and ghosties will delight both young monster-fanciers and admirers of his glowing painterly style and handsome compositions--as will nifty touches like mussels in the pirate's luminous beard, a cartoony worm in the ghoul's top hat, and the sly contrast between the girl's purely innocent bare legs and the boisterous underworld that never quite touches them. A must. (Picture book. 4-10) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Puffin (September 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140553053
• ISBN-13: 978-0140553055
• Product Dimensions: 16.9 x 8.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,191,953 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Watch Out! If the Bat Doesn't Get You, the Ghoul Might!, September 22, 2002

By	Terrie (Little Chute, WI USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

This is a cumulative rhyming story that begins with a child's pair of bare feet dangling peacefully over the side of a bridge in the silvery moonlight of a Halloween night. One by one, various creatures of the night reach forward to grab one of the little, unsuspecting toes, but each attempt, in turn, is botched by the next creature. Black cats, bats, witches, ghouls and other spooky folk take a crack at the toe and the suspense keeps building in a delightfully fun and entertaining way. The Halloween creatures are all so funny that this story really cannot be considered at all scary but the level of suspense takes it out of the realm of the cute and deftly places it in the realm of the spine-tingly! It's high spirited Halloween fun for one and all.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun to read, August 9, 2000

By A Customer

We have checked this book out many times from the library and have found it a pleasure everytime. The illustrations are wonderful and the text rhymes enough to keep even my smallest child interested. The story line is about Halloween characters catching sight of a little girls toe as it is visable 'By the Light of the Halloween Moon' . Each wants this toe for himself/herself but is foiled but another creature coming upon the same scene. Lots of fun and a good book to read with your children.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great spook story, January 24, 2005

By	Chris's Daddy (San Jose, California) - See all my reviews

Like most 4 year olds, my son loves scary stories. Just as typically, he freaks out if the scary stories turn out to be, well, scary. This is a perfect scary-but-not-really story that's been our number one bedtime read for several months now. The cumulative (every page repeats the previous page and adds a line) poetic structure does a lot to hold his interest, as do the wonderfully goofy pictures. Lots of fun.