General & Miscellaneous Holidays, Fiction - Social Issues, Fiction - Fantasy & Magic, Fiction - Holidays & Festivals, Fiction - Emotions & Behaviors
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Overview
Let the Scholastic Bookshelf be your guide through the whole range of your child's experiences--laugh with them, learn with them, read with them!Category: Halloween
Wendell, Floyd, and Mona can't seem to avoid trouble, particularly on Halloween! It all starts when a black cat crosses their path while they're walking home from school, which seems to cause all their costumes to go awry. Then, while trick-or-treating, some of their neighbors surprise them with tricks instead of treats. As if that weren't bad enough, a pack of nasty witches is chasing them through the neighborhood, making fun of their costumes! Will the kids be able to save their Halloween from disaster?
After a bad beginning, three friends discover that anything can happen on Halloween.
Editorials
Publishers Weekly -
Teague (Sweet Dream Pie) blends playground politics with supernatural wishful thinking. The superstitious hero knows things are off to a bad start when his mad-scientist costume turns pink in the wash. Then, with great trepidation, he and his misfit friends--a tomboy costumed as a fairy and a meek pirate chaperoning his little sister--go trick-or-treating. They endure the taunts of four witchy girls, but the joke is on the coven when the underdogs mysteriously acquire bully-defying magic powers. This witty tale gets a boost from hyperbolic, rough-and-tumble acrylics that echo William Joyce's nostalgic work. Ages 4-7. (Sept.) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.Publishers Weekly
The hero knows things are off to a bad start when his mad-scientist costume turns pink in the wash. According to PW, "This witty tale gets a boost from hyperbolic, rough-and-tumble acrylics that echo William Joyce's nostalgic work." Ages 3-up. (Aug.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.School Library Journal
K-Gr 2 "Anything can happen on Halloween," Wendell assures his friends Floyd (introduced in The Secret Shortcut [Scholastic, 1996]) and Mona. The first surprises are unhappy ones, including disappointing costumes, a little sister tagalong, tricks rather than treats, and candy called "Broccoli Chews." Even worse, nasty Leona Fleebish and her friends, disguised as witches, are intent on taunting and terrorizing. But then, luck turns for Wendell and his gang as each youngster discovers magical powers. They successfully vanquish the unpleasant coven and, in a satisfying and fitting conclusion, turn Leona, albeit temporarily, into a toad. This well-paced story contains just the right amount of realism the inauspicious start to this much-anticipated holiday, Leona's scornful rhyming taunts, the ever-so-eerie neighborhoods and graveyard to counter the more fantastical victories that result from unexplained happenings. The varying perspectives, ominously teetering houses, and swirling mist provide an effective contrast to the solid acrylic illustrations. This Halloween adventure that culminates in a resounding victory over neighborhood bullies will be a surefire hit in storytime and belongs in every holiday collection. Toad-ally fun! Carol Ann Wilson, Westfield Memorial Library, NJ Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.Kirkus Reviews
Wendell, Floyd, Alice, and Mona discover that "anything can happen on Halloween" when their annual holiday outing turns into an unexpected adventure. Getting tricks instead of treats, receiving Broccoli Chews and Eggplant Fizzlers instead of ordinary candy, and being chased by Leona Fleebish and her gang of witchy bullies turn the evening from fun to fright. But Floyd's pirate costume has some unexpected swashbuckling in it, Wendell's mad scientist outfit offers some surprises, and Mona's wand from her fairy princess garb is no fake. Quick-thinking, poetry, and magic wand save the fearless foursome from the clutches of Leona. Small ghosts and goblins will enjoy this fantastical tale of Halloween night. (Picture book. 4-7)Book Details
Published
August 1, 2005
Publisher
Scholastic Paperbacks
Pages
32
Format
Paperback
ISBN
9780439755382