PreS–A friendly Halloween bedtime story with flaps for young children to enjoy. The title opens with five friends: Little Monster, Ghost, Black Cat, Pumpkin, and Skeleton, who have had a grand time trick-or-treating and sampling some of their loot. Tiredness quickly sets in. Starting with Skeleton, the friends head to bed one by one. Text and brightly colored illustrations with orange, purples, and greens work well together to set a happy tone that promotes bedtime in a way that will appeal to children. For example, text on one page reads, “Tonight, we like to spook and scare, so watch out for a ‘BOO!’ But Ghost is tired from the fun.” The illustration shows Little Monster, Black Cat, and Pumpkin, who are wide awake. Ghost is also there, with arms down. Lifting the flap, the text reads, “It’s bedtime for me, too!” Now Ghost, whose eyes are closed, is wearing a big smile and clutching a teddy bear. The way this title is organized provides an opportunity for adult readers to count with children and ask questions about what they think will come next.VERDICT Recommended as a title for public and preschool libraries. The combination of a new bedtime story, holiday theme, and flaps is likely to be a crowd pleaser for children and their adult readers.–School Library Journal
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