Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Ho presents an alphabetical tour of all things spooky in this Halloween board book. Bright, friendly cartoons keep the mood upbeat, though low-level frights abound: the E page features four disembodied eyeballs, and a smiley mummy waves at a terrified boy representing "nightmare" on the facing M and N pages. Not every moment is a success: three pages in a row feature ghosts (ghost, haunted house, and invisible), and a monster wearing "underpants" isn't the strongest U entry. But there are several entertaining interactions between Ho's characters, as when a zombie makes a beeline for some "yummy" candy corn in the book's final pages. Up to age 3. Agent: Mela Bolinao, MB Artists. (July) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-K-Each letter of the alphabet is featured on its own page in this fun holiday title. Both uppercase and lowercase letters are presented with a bold graphic-style artwork that corresponds to the Halloween theme. Cc is for cauldron, Ee is for eyeballs, Qq is for quiver, Zz is for zombie. The digital illustrations are appealing and cleanly designed with high-contrast hues presented on a different-colored background. The characters are friendly rather than scary, and the direct correspondence between the word on the page and the image makes this a useful book for emerging readers. While there is no plot and nothing groundbreaking about the content, this is a useful addition to larger public and school library collections that support board book collections. VERDICT A treat for prereaders and emerging readers.-Laura Scott, Farmington Community Library, MI © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
An abecedary of spooky or autumnal delights for the littlest readers. Each letter of the alphabet is highlighted on a single page, the upper- and lowercase letters appearing in the upper left-hand corner, while the object is named at the bottom or in the upper right. Ho keeps her illustrations simple and places them against plain, brightly colored backgrounds, keeping them accessible to those still learning about Halloween's many icons. The almost-fluorescent orange cover is sure to attract attention, and the palette of black, purple, orange, yellow, and radioactive green enhances the Halloween mood. But while many of the chosen items will be expectedbats, ghost, haunted house, owl, skeleton, vampire, witch, zombieothers are rather odd choices. J is for "jump," not jack-o'-lantern ("pumpkin" is illustrated with a jack-o'-lantern); K is for a mostly black "kitten" standing in a coffin; and N is for "nightmare," which is virtually impossible to express visually for this age group without provoking said nightmare. Here, a lavender-skinned child (zombie?) in pajamas and nightcap has arms raised and mouth open wide in surpriseperhaps in response to the mummy across the gutter? The tough letters use "quiver," spider-decorated "underpants" on a monster, and "extra treats," the x underlined. While the ghoulies here are more cute than scary, "jump," "quiver," and "run" will probably get across the idea to even the youngest listeners that Halloween can be scary. (Board book. 2-4) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
