Bootime: Just Say Boo! by Susan Hood

IF THE GHOSTS IN THE TREES

WIBBLE-WOBBLE YOUR KNEES,

WHAT DO YOU SAY?

BOO!

We've all seen those eager young would-be trick-or-treaters who find the actual event no fun! That carefully selected and oh-so-cute costume is fine until--YIKES! They look in the mirror and scare themselves! And werewolves, Grim Reapers, Draculas, and green-faced witches on their own doorstep make them do a bit of howling and shrieking themselves!

And outside--ghosts in the trees twist and swoop, bony hands pop right out of the treat bowls, and moans and groans sound out from porches along the way. And the sidewalks are crowded with strange figures! No one looks familiar! What does a little first-time spook do to get on top of this strange event?

Say Boo to you! is the answer Susan Hood's rhyming story, Just Say Boo! (Harper, 2012) suggests. Hood opens with a succession of questions about boo-time--those scary decorations, howling dogs, whirling winds and autumn leaves swirling around--with a promise that a strong BOO! will scare them right back. If a girl in a grinning skeleton mask comes to her door with a bowl of yummy goodies, what do you say? Well, how about"Trick or Treat?" and "Thank You!" 

And when your pumpkin is full and you head back home, safe and sound, it'll be your turn to answer that doorbell and do a little scaring yourself, and you know what to SAY!  BOO!

Susan Hood's predictable rhyming questions help soothe hesitant celebrants and get them into the spirit of the scary season, and in a bit of well-placed boo-time bibliotherapy, back home the reluctant little trick-or-treater gets to teach the family's toddler how to turn the tables on those scary apparitions at the door, too.

TEACH HIM TO JUST SAY

BOO!

With appealing art in an autumnal palette, Jed Henry's not-too-scary illustrations reinforce the "it's all for fun" mood of this easy-going little Halloween treat that is good prep for the big night.