Scary, Scary Halloween

A nice pairing of Eve Bunting and Jan Brett.  This brightly illustrated story is told from an unusual perspective.  All the ghosts and goblins, skeletons and monsters are out and about on Halloween night.

Scary, Scary Halloween

Eve Bunting

pictures by Jan Brett 1988

Bony-Legs

This is a simplified version of a Baba Yaga story...

In this slightly sinister tale an evil witch (never referred to as Baba Yaga, but by her hut on chicken feet we know who she is!) has iron teeth and likes to eat children.  When Sasha is sent to borrow a needle and thread she doesn't know what danger she is walking into.  Luckily Sasha is a kind girl, and shares her butter, meat, and bread with a squeaky gate, a barking dog, and starving cat.  They in turn are able to help her when she needs to escape.

Bony-Legs

Joanna Cole

Pictures by Dirk Zimmer 1983

(If Zimmer's pictures look familiar it's because he also illustrated that 80's classic "In a Dark, Dark Room")

A Ghost a Witch and a Goblin

Rosalind Fry does a fine job of illustrating these three old folk tales, originating from India, Russia and Scotland.  In each one, by cleverness and bravery the humans escape the nefarious supernatural out to get them.

A Ghost a Witch and a Goblin

illustrated by Rosalind Fry 1970

The Haunted House

The Haunted House

Bill Martin Jr. 1970

pictures by Peter Lippman

Something for this spooky season... a small square vintage book that tiptoes you through an empty haunted house.   Like a wispy ghost "no one was there" is written on each page.  At the end is the surprising narrator.  

Wiley and the Hairy Man

Wiley and the Hairy Man

Molly Garrett Bang

Here's an American Folk tale brimming with deep Southern creepiness.  Wiley is warned not to tangle with the Hairy Man (illustrated rather menacingly) when he goes off into the swamp.  But that creature has it out for him.  It takes a clever mother to outwit him and save her son.  In an easy reader format, this was one of the first ones Charlotte gave a try on her own.

Now That Days are Colder

Of course Autumn is my very favorite season.  Here is a book illustrated in autumn colors, celebrating the beautiful change of seasons.  Aileen Fisher's work reminds me a bit of the Johnstones' (maybe because it's the same 1970's era).  The full page pictures are just fantastic!  It's also a neat thing to see diversity amongst the kids.  I kinda think books from the 70's were better at portraying that than they are now!

Now That Days Are Colder

Aileen Fisher 1974

Spinning in Space

I confess I only got this book for its cover.  (When books are 25 cents it's easy to do!).  However, I ended up learning about something fascinating!  In 1973 NASA selected experiments designed by high school students to take into space to Skylab.  One of the experiments chosen was submitted by 17-year-old Judith Miles of Massachusetts.  She proposed watching how spiders would spin a web in zero gravity (an interesting experiment as gravity is integral to how spiders drop down from their silk lines to make a web).  Cameras were included to watch the two spiders named Arabella and Anita.  The results were so interesting!

Spinning in Space

Elizabeth Levy 1975

illustrated by Ted Lewin