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Danielle McLean is a children's book editor who lives in South London, England. When she's not writing and editing children's books, she can be found in ballet class pursuing her other childhood dream. Paula Bowles has lived in Bristol for more than 15 years, where she has worked on books with many different publishers. She also enjoys watching and photographing wildlife, and can spend many hours with a pair of binoculars, a DSLR camera, and a packed lunch.
Toddler-PreS–For those who want to introduce the traditional themes of Halloween to their children in a not-so-scary way, this is a great beginning. It asks readers to “wish upon a pumpkin” to see or do something in each featured Halloween setting, such as “see monsters do their thing. They always party monster-style—they love to dance and sing!” Spreads include settings of bats swooping around a pumpkin patch with a haunted house in the background, ghosts in the attic, neighborhood trick-or-treating, a witch casting a spell in her home, a monster bash, and an end-of-book Halloween party. The same squishy pumpkin is there to push on the right side of each spread, due to the repeating cut-outs. Typical Halloween colors are present, but the book strays from these into lovely shades of teal, blue, and pink as well. Colorful pumpkins, ghosts, monsters, mummies, and a racially diverse group of children dressed in their costumes are all drawn with happy faces while having fun, ensuring little ones will not get scared. Each spread features an abcb rhyming pattern, and each stanza begins with “wish upon a pumpkin” to provide consistency. VERDICT A worthy Halloween board book selection for small children. --School Library Journal
