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Overview
The book of the Halloween season that’s sure to become a year-round classic.
One witch, on a hill, had an empty pot to fill. So what does that one witch do? She goes around to visit all her fiendish friends, naturally; two cats, three scarecrows, four goblins, five vampires, six mummies, seven owls, eight ghosts, nine skeletons, and ten werewolves.
At every stop they contribute ghoulishly tasty ingredients until the witch has enough to make a properly gruesome stew for her party. Then, of course, she must send out her invitations; to the ten werewolves, nine skeletons, eight ghosts, seven owls, six mummies…
Count up and count down again as one witch gets ready for a fun-filled monster bash. Come along, they’ve got a special surprise waiting just…FOR…YOU!
A witch goes around to her fiendish friends--from two cats to ten werewolves--to gather the ingredients to make gruesome stew for her party.
Editorials
Publishers Weekly
Leuck's (Goodnight, Baby Monster) smooth counting rhyme tracks a witch as she collects nasty "goodies" from ghosts, goblins and the like. "Two cats/ inside a pail/ gave the witch/ a fish's tail./ Three scarecrows/ stuffed with straw/ gave the witch/ a blackbird's claw." After hoarding nine icky ingredients, the witch concocts a potluck stew and issues invitations; the rhymes now let readers count down, from 10 to one. "(Everybody loved it too!)/ They saved the last bowl just for.../ you!" Schindler's (Runaway Pumpkin, reviewed below) closely observed, echoes-of-Gorey images build to a surprise conclusion: the witch turns to the unsuspecting audience, proffering a steaming dish. Ages 3-8. (Aug.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.Booklist
"The well-paced rhythmic text is filled with delicious words and rhythms. a great choice."School Library Journal
"A terrific choice for holiday storytimes."Children's Literature
A witch has a cooking pot to fill. She goes around to her fiendish friends to gather the ingredients for a gruesome stew. The friends are interesting—cats, scarecrows, goblins, vampires, mummies, owls, ghosts, skeletons and werewolves. They each give some bizarre thing such as a fish's tail, a blackbird claw, slimy slugs, fresh blood juice, a musty moth, a rattlesnake, a hunk of hair, a finger bone, and some spider soup. She then sends her bat messengers around to deliver invitations to the party bash. The delivery is clever because it describes where the bats found the creatures. There is little text on each page but it is cleverly used. The illustrations by S. D. Schindler are great in supporting the words. The last pages about the party are busy and funny. It makes a great Halloween season picture book. 2003, Walker & Company,— Naomi Butler
School Library Journal
K-Gr 2-Eerie yet amusing illustrations and a romping, rhyming text add up to fun in this Halloween counting book. Schindler's ink-and-watercolor artwork is a fine fit for Leuck's action-packed, easy-to-read text. "One witch/on a hill/had an empty pot/to fill." Night is slowly falling as various creepy creatures each hand the witch gruesome tidbits for a tasty stew, including a claw, a tail, slugs, a rattlesnake, and a moth. Plenty of alliteration seasons the text and adds to the flowing cadence. Some characters' faces seem a bit scary, but deliciously so, and there's plenty of humor in the highly detailed scenes. A slimy slug with bulging eyes scurries toward the witch's shopping bag on the title page, and diving and darting bats on the endpapers foreshadow spooky fun. Pointing out these droll illustrations will no doubt bring a big grin to youngsters' faces. A terrific choice for holiday storytimes, especially before serving up the refreshments.-James K. Irwin, Poplar Creek Main Library, Steamwood, IL Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.Kirkus Reviews
In jaunty rhyme, one witch gathers up a fish tail from two cats, a blackbird's claw from three scarecrows, and similarly appetizing ingredients from similarly iconic ookie-spookies, up to the spider's soup donated by ten werewolves. Why? To concoct a "gruesome stew," for her party, of course, to which she proceeds to invite each contributor in descending order-note the skeletal arms holding bat-delivered invitations from their graves. Schindler marks the festive occasion with scenes of capering, precisely detailed skeletons, vampires, Gorey-like ghosts, and similarly risky friends; young readers may be pleased-or not-to learn that they've "saved the last bowl just for . . . YOU!" The monster-ridden cast and ghoulish goulash will elicit choruses of delighted "Eeeewwwwws!" (Picture book. 6-8)Booklist starred
"The well-paced rhythmic text is filled with delicious words and rhythms…a great choice.Book Details
Published
August 1, 2003
Publisher
New York : Walker & Co., c2003.
Pages
32
Format
Hardcover
ISBN
9780802788603