"Up on their brooms the witches stream, / Crooked and black in the crescent's gleam; / One foot high, and one foot low, / Bearded, cloaked and cowled they go..." And so begins Walter de la Mare's wonderful poem, The Ride-by-Nights, which supplies the text for this lovely Halloween picture-book, illustrated by Moldovan artist Carolina Rabei. As the witches fly through the night sky, under and over all of the constellations, a group of children is depicted trick-or-treating in the accompanying artwork. The two groups are mostly separate - the witches above, the children below - although the witches sometimes do appear on earth, as when one mischievously steals some candy for herself and compatriots. At the end of the night both witches and children return to their homes...

Originally included in Walter de la Mare's 1913 poetry collection, Peacock Pie, this poem is a witchy delight! Simple but descriptive, it captures the wonder, the mystery, the enchantment of the night sky, and the extraordinary celestial flight of the eponymous witchy "ride-by-nights." Carolina Rabei's choice to pair this text with artwork depicting both the witches' flight and children trick-or-treating through a rural and small town setting, is inspired, opening up parallel narratives - one in which the witches explore the cosmos, and one in which the children explore their own world. The artwork itself is lovely, utilizing a deep color palette dominated by purples, blacks and reddish-oranges, and it beautifully depicts many of the constellations mentioned in the text. Speaking of which, I was tickled by the mention here of "Charlie's Wain," an old-fashioned term for the "plow" or "cart" said to be contained in the Ursa Major constellation.

All in all, a wonderful Halloween picture-book, one which presents a classic poem, and uses it to tell a fuller story, one about witches, constellations, and children trick-or-treating. ( )