Opinion
This is a classic storybook for children, and it informs about certain traditions and customs that take place during autumn. The illustrations are all reminiscent of hastily done ink sketches, yet they are appropriate in this sort of book. The story of Halloween is interesting to a lot of children, and it makes for a good read during the fall season.
Reasons
Illustrations: While they were not very detailed, the illustrations in Halloween contributed greatly to the story. The sketches on the pages appear dated and therefore contribute a historical perspective of the story. This essentially makes this book a kind of period piece, like “The Night Before Christmas” or any other story that tells the tale of a holiday or other tradition.
Point of View: I believe the third person omniscient point of view does well to deliver the story from an unfixed perspective. This allows the reader to view the scene as a fixed entity in its entirety, and not just from the perspective of a single person.
Writing: The text on each page is brief and pertinent to the topic of Halloween. The language is a bit archaic but that just contributes to the antiquity of the story as it was written quite a long time ago. Having a small amount of outdated or complex language will benefit students who are seeking to expand their vocabulary or even cement existing grammatical rules that they have already learned the fundamentals of. ( )

SUMMARY: This chapter book provides the history of Halloween and how traditions began. Some of the topics covered are trick or treating,witches, fortune telling, black cats, and ghosts. The book explains where these ideas originated from and why they are affiliated with Halloween as we celebrate it today.

REVIEW: This book was informational and the drawings on each page helped the reader visualize what the author was trying to convey. It is an old book, but it is an easy read that provides an abundance of information about a holiday that not many know the history of.

I liked this book for a few reasons. For one, I liked the illustrations. I think that they were detailed ink drawings that were appropriate in setting the mood. They were drawn in black and orange, which reflect the colors of Halloween. Also, I liked the writing in this book. The book described different symbols of Halloween and the historical reason behind them. The book would have subtitles about the different symbols. For example, the subtitle, “Jack-o-Lantern” would start to be described by, “We get our jack-o-lantern from Ireland.” While the book is written for a second or third grader to read, I think this book is more appropriate for a fourth or fifth grader. This is because some of the symbols described, have dark pasts and may be more appropriate to share with older students. The big message of Halloween is about how Halloween started and how it is celebrated today. The book ends with “Today Halloween is a happy way to say hello to winter.” ( )

I liked this book for two reasons. First, I liked the illustrations that were on almost every page. The only colors used in the illustrations were orange, black, and white. Typically when you think of colors relating to halloween you think of those colors so I found it clever of them to just use those colors only in the illustrations. I think using those colors keeps the spirit and feelings of Halloween in the book which made the book extra enjoyable to read. The second reason I liked this book was the way it was organized. I liked how each mini chapter was about something fall or Halloween related that we all know of. I liked learning a little bit about how America came to adapt all of those aspects into our own culture when we celebrate the fall and Halloween. I felt that over all the book did a good job at informing the reader about these topics relating to Halloween. This book made me as a reader enjoy learning something new about a holiday I like while reading so hopefully this book has the same affect on younger readers. ( )