Halloween has been a month long event here at our house.  We got dressed in our costumes no less than a billion times and attended at least half a dozen parties as well as hosting one for all of my little guy’s friends.  I’m now raiding the boys candy stash and recovering by convincing my husband that I need to take long naps.

We’ve been reading a lot of Halloween picture books about monsters and other spooky things this month.  I reviewed Jeremy Draws a Monster, Goodnight Goon, Leonardo the Terrible Monster, Where’s My Mummy, Dear Vampa, and A Very Hairy Scary Story.  I had many more books in my pile that I thought for sure I would also review this month including Billy Bones: The Road to Nevermore,  Frankenstein Takes the Cake, There Was An Old Monster!, Gris Grimly’s Wicked Nursery Rhymes, Thirteen O’Clock, Three Little Ghosties, and Spooky ABC.  There’s always next Halloween right?  I’m also halfway through Frankenstein by Mary Shelley which I didn’t finish for my face-to-face book club and Heather’s Dueling Monster’s Read-a-long.  I’m still planning  a review of that one.

As many of you know from the past photos of my husband that he’s a bit crazy about Halloween costumes.  The past few years he’s dressed up as Edward Scissorhands, Willy Wonka, and the Joker.  He pulls them all off and looks great!  Normally he works on the costume all year but everything changed this time around when Michael Jackson died.  So yes, we succumbed to one of the most popular costumes this year and each of us dressed up as a different era in Michael Jackson’s life.

I know many of you have asked if Taylor won his office Halloween costume contest this year after winning two years in a row.  In the morning he arrived as the black Thriller Michael Jackson and then at lunch time he changed to the white Billy Jean Michael Jackson (as seen in the pics above).  It was hilarious because he came out dancing.

But did he win?  Well, he got second place.  Just take a look at the following photo and take a wild guess at who won (my husband even spent two nights helping his friend out with the winning costume – I swear I want to borrow it one day, it’s so cool).

I’d love to share some video with you of my husband dancing because he danced a ton!  We are putting one together and I’ll add it in here and tweet the link as well when it goes up.  It was really nuts.  He really pulled off the look!

And well, to make the post a bit more bookish, guess who we ran into during our Halloween activities?  Brandon Mull:

It was a fun time with the Jackson Four at our house!

What’s your favorite Michael Jackson look?  Favorite song?  So many kids didn’t know who we were!  Luckily, we brainwashed our kids.  They loved it.  And know quite a few dance moves themselves.

*ahem*  Can I just mention that my husband lost 40 lbs for this role!  He looks fantastic!  Now I need tips on how to convince him to get rid of that ponytail . . .

Poor shy Jeremy lives on the top floor of a three-story apartment building.  Every day he looks down at the other boys and girls playing ball.  But he never goes outside.  One day, Jeremy takes out his fancy blue ball- point pen and draws a monster.  But his monster ends up to be pretty demanding and rude asking Jeremy to draw him a sandwich, a toaster, a record player, a checkerboard, a comfortable chair, a television, a hot tog, a telephone, and a piece of cake.  When the monster asks for a  hat so he can go out, Jeremy thinks with relief that he may be gone for good.

But the monster returns later that night and takes over Jeremy’s bed.  Jeremy’s a smart kid and the next morning draws the monster a bus ticket and a suitcase and helps him get out of town.  But once he puts the monster on the bus, he’s not in his room anymore.  He’s outside!  So . . . he plays ball with the neighbor kids.

I liked this one.  The illustrations are really cute.  I loved the pen and ink line quality to the blue monster.  I loved that the monster wasn’t scary.  Just very demanding.   I liked shy Jeremy and his problem solving skills.  My boys have casually looked through the pages of this one with interest although I haven’t sat down with them yet to read it cover to cover.  My four-year old is the perfect age for the short text.  The book has that special feel to it.  You just know it when you see it.

Links of interest: Peter McCarty website, more book blogger reviews, Travis at 100 Scope Notes has a much more eloquent review of this book than I do.
Genre: Fiction Picture Book, approx ages 4-8.
Publisher: Henry Holt & Co. September 1, 2009
Hardcover, 40 pages. ISBN 0805069348
Jeremy Draws a Monster is available from your favorite independent bookstore, Powell’s, and Amazon.

Anyways, in Goodnight Goon a little werewolf is having a hard time going to sleep.  He names the things in his room which includes pictures of martians taking over the moon, three little mummies rubbing their tummies, moans and groans, a skull, and a pot full of goo.  After he names them he says goodnight one by one to each of them. He puts the monsters under the bed (so clever) and ends by saying goodnight monsters everywhere.

This has potential to be a really, really cute book but the illustrations were just not doing it for me.  My kids weren’t crazy about it either but I only tried it once on them.  And well, sometimes, especially my kids, need to be exposed to a book more than once.  So, it doesn’t seem fair that I’m sharing their reaction after only one reading but to tell you the truth, they never picked it out of the pile on their own either.  It just couldn’t compete with Where’s My Mummy or Leonardo the Terrible Monster this week.

But overall, I think it’s worth taking a look at this Halloween picture book to discover if it will be a new classic in your home.  Because your kids just might love it.

Links of interest:  Michael Rex website, more book blogger reviews.
Genre:  Picture Book, approx ages 4-8.
Publisher:  Putnam Juvenile.  August 14, 2008.
Hardcover, 32 pages.  ISBN 0399245340
Goodnight Goon is available from your favorite independent bookstore, Powell’s, and Amazon.

I have a fun video for you of us reading Leonardo the Terrible Monster together.  At one point, it gets most rambunctious.  Another book that we will be sad to return to the library and will be added to boys permanent wish list.

Links of interest:  Mo Willems website and blog, more book blogger reviews.
Genre: Fiction Picture Book, approx ages 4-8.
Publisher: Hyperion Book. August 23, 2005
Hardcover, 48 pages. ISBN 0786852941
Leonardo the Terrible Monster is available from your favorite independent bookstore, Powell’s, and Amazon.

Little Baby Mummy doesn’t want to go to sleep, so he plays a game of hide-and-shriek with his Big Mamma Mummy.  But Little Baby Mummy gets scared and can’t find Big Mamma Mummy.  There are a lot of scary noises in the night and Little Baby Mummy is apprehensive about what he may discover.  But when he realizes it just your run of the mill (scary to us but not scary to him) Halloween characters, he’s not scared until it’s a little thing that makes him wish he was back home with his Big Mamma Mummy and being tucked in bed.

The illustrations are wonderful!  They are cute and they are funny.  They make my boys laugh.  And with it’s fun, lyrical text and page turning adventure, it’s as much fun to read for the parent as it is for the child listening to it.  This one is going down as a classic Halloween picture book that I HAVE to own.  Definitely seek this one out and share it with the children in your life this Halloween week.

Links of interest:  Carolyn Crimi website, illustrator John Manders website,  more book blogger reviews,
Genre:  Fiction Picture Book, approx ages 4-8.
Publisher:  Candlewick.  July 3, 2008
Hardcover, 32 pages. ISBN 0763631965x
Where’s My Mummy? is available from your favorite independent bookstore, Powell’s, and Amazon.

Ann has stayed at her friends house too long and now must walk home in the dark.  Using her wild imagination, all the odd shapes are very hairy scary animals and monsters.  The text rhymes and repeats so it’s easy for the boys to follow and to anticipate what’s next.   They loved to turn the page to see what was the very hairy scary thing on the next page.  I even heard my little four year old talking to himself in the bathroom mirror repeating the lines from this book.

It was a pleasure to read this book out loud because of the rhyming and repeating text.  We got pretty loud when we yelled out BAT, SPIDER, LION, SKUNK!  I personally, did not like the style of the illustrations at all.  I think the book could have gone up another notch with better illustrations and would have me wanting to add this to my permanent collection.  But as is, my boys enjoyed this one so much that we will continue to read it from the library until Halloween (although I wouldn’t consider this one strictly a Halloween book).

And as a side note, Rick Walton is prolific local Utah picture book writer.  We have his book Bullfrog Pops which is just adorable.

Links of interest:  Rick Walton’s website, more book blogger reviews.
Genre: Fiction picture book, approx ages 4-8.
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile. August 19, 2004.
Hardcover, 32 pages. ISBN 0399238581
A Very Hairy Scary Story is available from your favorite independent bookstore, Powell’s, and Amazon.

The Pires, who live in Pennsylvania aren’t getting along with their new human neighbors.  Can you believe that the new neighbors stay up all day long, sunbathe (disgusting!), and lock their windows at night (how inconsiderate) among other things that this family of vampires find disgusting.  In fact, things get so bad that the Pire’s pack up and move back home to Transylvania.

The clincher for this book was the closing page which shows the new nieghbors saying, “It’s a pity the Pires are moving, dear.  It’s so hard to find good neighbors.”  A full moon is shown and the family has transformed to werewolves.  I chuckled out loud.  It was very clever.

Loved how the vampires were black and white and the rest of the story was all color.  Dear Vampa is a new picture book, just published last month.  It will make for a fun addition to your Halloween reading the next couple of weeks.  Speaking of Halloween, I have a few Halloween picture book reviews that I’ll be featuring until Halloween.  My boys and I have been having a great time with them.

Links of interest:  Ross Collins website.
Genre: Fiction Picture Books, approx ages 4-8.
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books. August 25, 2009
Hardcover, 32 pages. ISBN 0061355348
Dear Vampa is available from your favorite independent bookstore, Powell’s, and Amazon.

But this is what made the discussion unforgettable.  I’ve been wanting to post these photos for a couple of weeks now but time has gotten the best of me this month. Keep in mind, we met the week of Halloween and when I opened up the door, I was greeted with this:

And then the doorbell rings again and this time it’s this!

That hair!!!  Both went shopping so they could specifically dress up for book club. We were all laughing so hard, and the longer they sat there, as we discussed polygamy, the stranger it got. Seriously, they looked the part.  Of course, by dressing up we had no intention to belittle those currently choosing to live the polygamist lifestyle, but it made for a really fun book club night. And Rebecca is even pregnant!

Do you belong to a book club? What’s the funnest thing that you have done?

Well, I’m now happy to announce that my losing days are over!!

It all started when I won a lovely bookmark from Dewey at A Hidden Side of a Leaf.  I couldn’t believe it!  My first prize.

And then a couple of weeks later, Amy at My Friend Amy held a giveaway on Twitter in honor of BBAW to the first few people who DM’d her.  And she sent me not one, but two books!  (You are on Twitter aren’t you?  Seriously, there is this entire back conversation with book bloggers that I didn’t even know was going on.  But now I’m in the know how.  Follow me).  I was sent A Tale Out of Luck by Willie Nelson and An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination, A Memoir by Elizabeth McCracken.  Both look good.

Right after that I was ecstatic to win a book from Jessica at Bluestocking Society from her Lit Flicks Challenge.  She sent me Atonement by Ian McEwan, which is on my challenge list and I happened to have checked out from the library when I received it.  Back to the library with that copy, I have my own!  Now, I just need to sit down and read it.

I was getting giddy. I won stuff!   But then it got better!  Jen at Devourer of Books held her awesome 100th Review giveaway and I won not one, not two, but three more books!  The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows, which I’m really excited about after it’s rave reviews.  I had this on hold at the library, I gladly canceled it.  Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay which I had just finished reading when I received this copy.  I’m very happy to have my own copy for my personal library!  This one is one worth having!  One can never have to many books can they?  And The River, By Moonlight by Camille Marchetta (I may already have this one in my review pile.  I’ll have to check, if so I’d like to pass it on when I review it.  Keep spreading the love!)  Thanks Jen!

After that I was seriously thinking, wow, I can’t believe I’ve actually won something!  How long could it last?  Apparently, just a little longer because I snagged one of Hatchette’s Spooktacular Box of Books giveaway from Rebecca at Rebecca Reads! That alone was something like 10 books!  After this, I thought I was tired of Halloween.  But now I can’t wait to dig into these next year for some themed reading around Halloween time.  They are:  THE HERETIC’S DAUGHTER By Kathleen Kent, ISOLATION By Travis Thrasher, THE 13 BEST HORROR STORIES OF ALL TIME By Leslie Pockell, THE MONSTERS: Mary Shelley and the Curse of Frankenstein By Dorothy Hoobler and Thomas Hoobler, THE MYRTLES PLANTATION: The True Story of America’s Most Haunted House By Frances Kermeen, Ghostly Encounters: True Stories of America’s Haunted Inns and Hotels By Frances Kerm, THE TERROR By Dan Simmons, DRACULA By Bram Stoker, WHEN GHOSTS SPEAK: Understanding the World of Earthbound Spirits By Mary Ann Winkowski, and THE HISTORIAN By Elizabeth Kostova (my husband was really excited for this one, when he saw it he said, “Hey – this is the book I want to read!!”).

How cool is all of that?  Cool.

Thanks all!!  I can now confidently say that I have now won something from a blog!  Yay!

This Halloween has been one of the busiest I’ve ever experienced.  I’m barely keeping my head above water.  The kids and I have gone to no less than six Halloween themed storytimes in addition to hosting two parties at my house (one for two to four year old boys, the other for about twenty eight to eleven year old’s), the pumpkin patch, Scarecrow festival, West Jordan trunk or treat, Monter Block Party (where husband won second place in the costume contest – three years straight we’ve yet to lose!), our neighborhood trunk or treat, and an adults only Halloween party.  I think the kids have dressed up everyday for the last two weeks.  I planned on going out today to another event but woke up this morning just plain tired!  My three year old is looking forward to trick or treating for the first time this year.  He finally “got” it.

While hopping from one event to the next has kept me busy,  my husband planned everybody’s costumes.  He started shopping to put together two different versions of his Joker costume since April and also did a fantastic job with the littlest ones costumes, even arranging to have a onsie embroidered.  That’s dedication!

Click on photos to make them bigger.  My husband is scaring everybody and even walks and talks like Joker.  And I have the two cutest superheroes around!

I thought I would share with you a sampling of the books that the libraries chose for their storytimes this past week.  Sadly, I can’t think of the titles of about four of them because I thought there was no way I would forget what they were.  And of course, I’m sitting here and can’t come up with them:

Halloween Bugs:  A Trick or Treat Pop Up by David A. Carter
From the publisher:  Trick-or-treat with David Carter and his Bugs! This is the book David Carter’s Bugs fans have been waiting for–a spine-tingling Halloween celebration. Knock on six different doors–if you dare–to meet the One-eyed Spotted People Eater Bug, The Luscious Lollipop Bug, The Very Hairy Scary Bug, and many more. The graveyard pop-up on the final spread is guaranteed to deliver shivers, gasps, and giggles! Perfect for Halloween parties and trick-or-treaters of all ages.
My thoughts:  Super cute pop up book.  My three year old went up to the librarian and took over the job of opening the panels during story time

Go Away Big Green Monster from Edward R. Emberley
From the publisher:  Caldecott medalist Ed Emberley has designed an ingenious book to help children overcome their fear of monsters. With each turn of the page, a new part is revealed, until all of a big, green monster has taken shape. Then, with the words, “You don’t scare me!, ” page by page, the monster slowly disappears. Full color.
My thoughts: Wow, three year old LOVED this book.  Later during nap time I could hear him up in bed chanting, “Go away, go away!  You don’t scare me!  Too cute.

Boo Who?  A Spooky Lift the Flap Book by Joan Holub

From Amazon:  Invites young children to guess the answers to each rhyming riddle about a jack-o’-lantern, bat, ghost, and other Halloween tricksters that hide behind sturdy interactive flaps.

Snappy Little Halloween from Derek Mathews
From Amazon:  Perfect for kids who are just getting excited about Halloween, this title features a colorful collection of creepy pop-up characters, including a skeleton, mummy, ghosts, vampires, cats, and bats. The silly surprises and tremendous treats will appeal to young hobgoblins and show the fun side of this sometimes scary holiday. As with all the books in the series, this one combines bright kid-friendly graphics with an engaging rhyming text.

Eek-a-Boo! A Spooky Lift the Flap Book by Joan Holub
From the publisher:  Readers can explore spooky creatures in this lift-a-flap Halloween adventure. The oversized flaps are just right for little hands

Five Little Pumpkins by Dan Yaccarino
From Amazon:  Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate.The first one said, “Oh my, it’s getting late.”Get ready for some wicked fun as these five pumpkins run and roll! Toddlers will want to chant along with this popular rhyme again and again. Dan Yaccarino’s vibrant and bold illustrations bring these pumpkins to life with personality and style. Toddlers are sure to laugh out loud as these pumpkins roll out of sight!

We checked out a few halloween themed books from the library this past month.  They are:

Halloween Mice by Bethany Roberts
From Booklist:  A group of costumed mice are frolicking in the pumpkin patch when they heart the swish, swish of a creeping cat. Off they run, but they don’t just turn tail. Using a light and a mask, they throw a shadow that frightens away the cat for good. Simple sentences and lots of onomatopoeia make the text as appealing as the energetic watercolor-and-pen artwork

Happy Halloween Curious George by H.A Rey
From Amazon:  Halloween is here, and Curious George is getting ready for the big night. There are so many costumes to try on, treats to share, and games to play! George has so much Halloween fun picking out the perfect pumpkin, decorating his house, and celebrating with his friends that he’s not sure he’s ready for the day to end. Follow the little monkey through his fun-filled day with this book of poems. Happy Halloween, Curious George is a sweet treat to help Curious George fans of all ages get in the Halloween spirit.
My thoughts: Kids love, love, love this book.  It’s been in the car for two weeks and they look at it every time I put them in.  Three year old loves Curious George and keeps pointing out the pumpkins to me.

There’s No Such Thing as Ghosts by Emmanuelle Eeckhout
Read my full review here.

My First Halloween by Tomie dePaola
From Amazon:  In My First Halloween, Tomie dePaola’s warm illustrations capture the sweet moments of Halloween that become wonderful memories for the family. A 3-D effect on the cover, along with eye-catching foil, make this an irresistible addition to every child’s bag of treats.

My thoughts:  My library account says I have this checked out.  I haven’t seen it since.  Does that happen to you?

I hope everybody has a fun Halloween!  I leave you with a Halloween greeting from my husband:

If you haven’t seen The Dark Knight movie, you probably wouldn’t get it.