When the Goblins Came Knocking

PreSchool-K?Last Halloween, the grotesquely costumed figures coming to his door really frightened a young boy. He hung back, cried, and hid while his mother gave out goodies. But this year, in a wonderfully fierce dinosaur costume, he's ready to do the scaring. A rhymed text with vividly descriptive action words captures the spirit of the holiday in this sweet, understanding account. The dramatically arranged and varied double-page spreads done with softened realism in colored pencils on black paper show the rambunctious pumpkins, witches, and ghouls sharply contrasting with the awed and timid preschooler. Both story and pictures sympathetically convey the problems of the Halloween experience for very young children.?Patricia Pearl Dole, formerly at First Presbyterian School, Martinsville, VA
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Ages 3^-5. A little boy looks back on his experiences last Halloween, when he "was too scared to join in the fun," and declares that "this Halloween . . . I'm the scariest one." Hines' illustrations, designed for both Halloween veterans and children not yet ready to go trick-or-treating, show activity on both sides of the doorway. The black, nighttime backgrounds contrast nicely with the lighted interior of the house. The rhymes and pictures of the visitors depict the fun (and clearly mark the visitors as children in costumes) while still giving full coverage to the little boy's fears. Mary Harris Veeder