Miss Suzy

What better way to come home from a tough day of middle school than to curl up on the couch with a picture book?  Yesterday afternoon we read this one, loving Arnold Lobel's work as always.   Miss Suzy the squirrel has a sweet little home complete with acorn cups and a moss carpet at the top of an oak tree.  But when a rowdy band of red squirrels forces her out, Suzy must find a new home and make some special friends in the process.

Miss Suzy

Miriam Young

pictures by Arnold Lobel

Scarecrow!

I think I would have liked a little bit more information in this book.  But Valerie Littlewood does a fair job of describing some of the history and cultural legends around scarecrows around the world.  The illustrations look to me like they were drawn from real life.

Scarecrow!

Valerie Littlewood 1992

Feathertop

Based on a Nathaniel Hawthorne short story but with a far happier ending.  Mother Rigby needs a scarecrow for her garden and on a whim decides to bring him to life.  Her plan to play a prank on Judge Gookin and his daughter has unintended consequences.

 "What if I should let him take his chance among the other men of straw and empty fellows who go bustling about the world?"

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.