Not So Scary! Scary, Scary Halloween by Eve Bunting

"I peer outside.
There's something there
That makes me shiver, spikes my hair.
It must be Halloween."

Glowing green eyes shine from their hiding place as a pumpkin-scattered landscape is lit with the glow of a rising orange moon in Eve Bunting's lilting tribute to the shivery thrill of a young child's first Halloween. As the story wanders down a twilight lane we see disguised children costumed as witches, ghosts, a werewolf, devil, vampire, and a mummy "in a winding sheet" making their way to the door of a decorated farmhouse. As the large green eyes are joined by three sets of smaller green eyes in the dark under the porch, the young spooks and goblins claim their treats from the jolly homeowners.

As the moon grows silvery and the trick-or-treaters are back home in their darkened houses, we see the mystery eyes belong to a mother cat and her three kittens, who now emerge to claim Halloween night for themselves.

Jan Brett's illustrations for Scary, Scary Halloween are some of her finest. Unlike her usual softened pastels, she works here in the traditional Halloween palette of vibrant green, gold, and orange, and her illustrations cast a jewel-like glow over the pages. Her costumed children are realistically portrayed and just scary enough to extend the text as it describes "pointy chins" and "sunken mouth and sunken eye." Bunting's rhyming text practically reads itself with a mesmerizing rhythm, and Brett's pictures provide clues to the true identities of the spooky characters: a sneaker-wearing skeleton is sure to prompt the listeners to guess that the scary apparitions are kids in costumes, while the spooky green eyes are likely to be identified as belonging to cats before they finally emerge at the story's conclusion. For kids who may still find Halloween somewhat frightening, this book is the perfect preparation for the the joys of being a little bit scared--or a little bit scary yourself!

Scary, Scary Halloween is a beautiful little book sure to become a Halloween classic for many years to come.