Can't Scare Me! The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything by Linda Williams

For a Halloween readaloud for young children, Linda William's gloriously ebullient The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything has it all.

A variant of the folk tale in which a ghost appears part by part, this story begins with a little old woman who sets forth on a windy autumn afternoon to gather a basketful of herbs and spices, nuts and seeds. As a golden sliver of a moon rises, she turns back for home, only to meet up with a pair of big brown shoes who confront her with a slightly threatening "Clomp, Clomp!" Well, this lady is not to be easily intimidated. "Get out of my way, you two big shoes. I'm NOT afraid of YOU," she says and continues on her way, only to hear behind her the "CLOMP, CLOMP" of the following shoes.

In true cummulative tale formula, the little old lady meets a pair of green pants which go "WIGGLE, WIGGLE," a white shirt which goes "SHAKE SHAKE," and a pair of white gloves and a tall black hat which go "CLAP, CLAP," and "NOD, NOD." At each appearance she orders the apparitions out of her way and repeats, "I'm NOT afraid of YOU," but as the ghostly apparel line up noisily behind her, she walks a bit more hurriedly through the dark woods.

At last, with her lighted cottage windows just in sight, the little lady is startled by a "very huge, very orange, very scary pumpkin head" who goes, "BOO, BOO" This time the little old lady does not stop, but runs, with the entire entourage trailing behind, until she's on the inside of her own front door.

Just as she tries to catch her breath before her fire, she hears an ominous "KNOCK KNOCK" on the door.

"Should she answer it?
Well, SHE was not afraid of anything.
So she went to the door and opened it.
What do you think she saw?

Two shoes go CLOMP CLOMP.
One pair of pants go WIGGLE, WIGGLE,
One shirt go SHAKE, SHAKE,
Two gloves go CLAP, CLAP,
One hat go NOD, NOD,
And one scary pumpkin head go BOO, BOO!"

When the little old lady declares bravely that she is not afraid of the whole lot of haunted haberdashery, the poor pumpkin head is crestfallen to have failed in his mission. But then the little lady whispers advice in his ear, and he smiles.

As the little lady looks out the window early the next morning, the text asks, "What do you think she saw?" Most kids can guess that, to the old lady's delight, the assorted apparitions have assembled themselves into a highly effective figure, topped with a jack-o'-lantern face, which scares ALL the crows away.

With its recurring refrain and opportunity for great listener participation (clomping, and wiggling, shaking, nodding and clapping, and shouting BOO, BOO!), this makes a wonderful readaloud for preschool groups or for a single child. The folksy illustrations are just right, and the final page, with the jolly scarecrow guarding the little cottage garden, is splendidly satisfying.

This story is also available with a paperback paired with a listen-along CD.

Don't Open That Door! In the Haunted House by Eve Bunting and Susan Meddaugh

THIS IS THE HOUSE WHERE THE SCARY ONES HIDE.

OPEN THE DOOR AND STEP SOFTLY INSIDE.

Who can resist the invitation to visit a haunted house? It's tall. It's dark. And the door is ajar.

Two kids take the challenge.

AN ORGAN IS PLAYING A FUNERAL AIR.

IT'S PLAYING AND PLAYING, BUT NOBODY IS THERE.

Only the running feet of the two children are seen, speedily exiting page right.

But there are more scary creatures to be revealed by strategically placed flaps. There's an old chest with a DO NOT LIFT sign, and of course the two kids must lift the lid, to reveal a rising Frankenstein monster. In an upstairs bedroom, a tall door hides--what else--a skeleton in the closet! There are touchy-feely flocked bats in the belfry, and a sleeping vampire in the old claw-footed bathtub. The kids make a quick tour, as evidenced by their retreating feet exiting each room, and finally their feet are seen clattering down the twisted stairway. But wait! What's there on the other side of the front door? Witches and a jack-o'-lantern? But beyond them the kids can see their waiting dad outside!

INTO THE DAY THAT IS A-SPARKLE WITH SUN.

HALLOWEEN HOUSES ARE OH-SO-MUCH FUN!

The Caldecott award-winning author Eve Bunting provides the catchy couplets and noted artist Susan Meddaugh, creator of the Martha Speaks series, combine talents in the spiffed-up and attractive paperback version of In the Haunted House Touch and Feel Lift-the-Flap Book (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013), a lift-the-flap book that provides youngsters a vicarious trip through a haunted house before they encounter one at a neighborhood Halloween carnival. Meddaugh's illustrations offer mildly spooky comic scenes with the clever device of never showing the children's reactions--just their sneakers, hot-footing it through the haunted house, to add to the fun. A nice Halloween treat, with rhyming lines that are easy to read aloud. Read this one with Eve Bunting's classic Scary, Scary Halloween, and the group-participation superstar, Linda D. Williams' wonderful The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything. or Dav Pilkey's hilarious The Hallo-wiener. And for fans of Susan Meddaugh's Helen and Martha, there is her nifty Halloween story of the pre-alphabet soup Martha, The Witches' Supermarket. (8x8 with stickers) (Martha Speaks).

What's A Spook To Do? The Little Ghost Who Lost Her Boo! by Elaine Bickell

A LITTLE GHOST WENT OUT IN THE NIGHT,
AND FLEW UP TO SOMEONE TO GIVE THEM A FRIGHT.
SHE GOT IN POSITION, ARMS UP, ALL PREPARED.
"WAIT FOR IT, LADY! YOU'RE GOING TO BE SCARED!"

But the little spook's BOO seemed to be...nowhere!
What's a ghost with no BOO to do?
But this is a spunky little spook who sets off to look for her BOO! Off through the dark forest she flew, and then she heard a scary WHOOO! WHOOO!
But Mrs. Owl's hoot will never do.
Pigeon offers to loan her COO! and Rooster says she can borrow his COCKLE-DOODLE-DOO. The dark is fading with the dawn's early light, and Cow in her pasture even suggests her MOO! Little ghost thanks her, but it's just not HER BOO!,
There's no one left to help but YOU, the READER!

YES, YOU! CAN YOU HELP LITTLE GHOST FIND HER BOO?

In a scary season book just made for reading aloud, Elaine Bickell's The Little Ghost Who Lost Her Boo! (Philomel Books) has all the right stuff--a Halloween setting, animal sounds, rhyming couplets, and reader participation! With skillfully charming drawings by Raymond McGrath, this one is just right for little ones from nursery school to beginning readers.
Share this one with the classic of scary sounds story, The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything. (See review here)

Standing Room Only! Room On The Broom by Julia Donaldson

The witch had a cat and a hat that was black....

She's just your ordinary, regulation witch, warts and all, when she and her purring feline familiar take off for some witchery by the light of a full moon.

But this witch seems not quite able to keep it together.

First she loses her pointy hat, but a dog retrieves that. And then he asks THE question:

I am a dog,
As keen as can be.
Is there room on the broom
For a dog like me?

The witch and cat make room and up they zoom... until the witch loses the bow on her braid. But a big black bird finds the bow, and with a simple request, just like that, off they all go, witch, dog, bird, and cat.

So far so good, until...

They shot through the sky
To the Back of Beyond.
The witch clutched her bow,
But let go of her wand.

A witch without a wand just can't go on, so there's another emergency landing. But down on the ground it's nowhere to be found, until from the bog comes a frog with the dripping wet wand:

He dropped it politely
Then said with a croak,
As the witch dried the wand
on a fold of her cloak:

I'm a frog,
Clean as can be,
Is there room on the broom
For a frog like me?

Of course there is, but there is yet another obstacle to their mission, a fire-breathing sky dragon in the mood for a crispy witch entree' with a side of critter fries.

But with a nod to the tale of the Brementown Musicians, this witch gets by with a little help from her keen, clean, and clever friends, in this new lap-sized board book version, Room on the Broom Board Book (Dial Books, 2017 (New Am. Ed.), and in this delightful cumulative tale, the witch stirs up a new and improved broom with comfy seating for all her friends.

Julia Donaldson's leisurely rhyming narrative provides plenty of room to interpolate funny voices and spooky sound effects, making this one of the very best picture books for Halloween read-alouds. This large-sized edition shows off artist Alex Scheffler's terrific, detailed, and comic illustrations that extend the text in a story that merits many readings. And for a killer-diller combo, share this one with Linda William's wonderful The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything for a drop-dead Halloween duo.

Don't Look Back! On a Windy Night by Nancy Raines Day

ON A WINDY NIGHT ON A WINDING ROAD
A BOY WALKS HOME WITH A HEAVY LOAD.

WHAT'S THAT? HIS HEART FLIP-FLOPS WITH FEAR.
A WHISPER RUSTLES IN HIS EAR.

CLICKETY-CLACK. BONES IN A SACK.
THEY COULD BE YOURS IF YOU LOOK BACK.

It's a setup for a really creepy tale. A boy walks home carrying a heavy sack, the clouds scuttle over the moon, and it's almost too dark to see. But as he walks down a hill and into a dark wood, he just knows he's hearing a whisper in his ear:

CLICKETY-CLACK. BONES IN A SACK.
THEY COULD BE YOURS. DON'T LOOK BACK!

WHO? DO YOU MEAN ME?
WHO ELSE? OWL HOOTS BACK FROM HIS TREE.

In the woods rough ghostly fingers seem to brush his face, and as he emerges into the windswept field, skeletons dance with much clicking and clacking. Fast and faster the boy goes, but when he stumbles and falls to the ground his fingers graze a motionless head that feels like it's dead!

Then he's almost home, running into his own backyard where a dark shadow seems to grab at his legs. Will he be caught here, almost at his own back door?

THE HAIRY BEAST SITS ON HIS SHOE.
AND IT MAKES A MEEK--ME-EW.

SO THE BOY SCOOPS UP HIS CAT.
THEY BOTH GO HOME--AND THAT IS THAT.

In Nancy Raines Day's just-in-time for Halloween On a Windy Night (Abrams, October, 2010), her rhyming text sets the reader or listener up for a truly scary dash through the dark, with something so scary just behind that we dare not look! Ghosts, skeletons, scary heads, hairy beasts, all those figments of the dark imagination are there. And at first glance, the illustrations set the scene for the same story.

But in a closer look, almost concealed by the dark, we see what's behind all these scary sounds. Dry leaves and bare branches brush the boy's face and legs; dry corn stalks crickle and crackle in the wind, ripe pumpkins scatter across the field, and a little black cat jumps out to greet his boy with a pounce--and finally, as a mouse spills the boy's trick-or-treat candy bag onto the floor with a clickety-clack, we know what that rattle and clack that seemed to follow the boy all the way home really was. It's all in great fun, and the scary walk home after Halloween trick-or-treating becomes a funny case of overblown imagination. Whew! What a trip!

For Halloween fun, pair this one with Linda Williams' wonderful classic, The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything, for a duo of just-scary-enough Halloween stories for the young.