“Let’s explore a haunted farm.”
Three pale-skinned trick-or-treaters set off. Conroy’s verse is inspired by “Old MacDonald,” making this one a bouncy read-aloud, but this farm’s a bit more unsettling than the one from the beloved nursery rhyme. Supernatural sounds (“With a growl-growl here / and a howl-howl there”) and the refrain, “Eeek-I! Eeek-I! Oh!” anchor the text. In Ilic’s jaggedly stylized illustrations, the kids pass wolves, a scarecrow (and three spiky, smugly undeterred crows) guarding a maze filled with toothy mummies, a witch with rat and cat familiars, and stark, ghost-inhabited trees. Finally, skeletons panic the trio, who abandon their candy-filled buckets. Seeking refuge, they find a derelict barn filled with darting bats. But wait—what’s going on inside? It’s a Halloween party, with cobwebs and light-string decorations and all the creepy critters they encountered earlier grinning and dancing to more festive sounds (“With a boogie here / and a box step there”). Neon-green backgrounds melt into iridescent blue, then shocking fuchsia and fierce crimson, elevating the appropriately eerie, expressionist art. A black cat lurks on virtually every page—yet another element to invite enthusiastic reader participation. Slightly scary, entirely entertaining interactive Halloween fun. (Picture book. 4-8)–Kirkus Reviews
PreS-Gr 2–For young children who squeal with delight when a word or a whole line is changed in a favorite song, Conroy has penned this Halloween-themed lyrical picture book that rewrites that classic song “Old MacDonald Had a Farm.” “Let’s explore a haunted farm/ Eeek- I!/ Eeek-I!/ Oh!” Readers move through the haunted farm with three children while the cadence and rhyme are carried along by a progressively changing limited color palette. Illustrator Ilic shifts the hues of each spread, which effectively illuminates the final pages, featuring a farm barn monster dance party, with joyous excitement. Highly stylized digital illustrations belie Ilic’s talent and experience contributing to and illustrating numerous books and his resume as an animator. Author Conroy may be familiar from You Are My Everything, a loving poem-song of a book, or the recently published I See You in the Stars astrology board book. The three protagonists in the story have been rendered with red hair and pink skin. This is a fun and spooky twist on a widely known American rhyme. VERDICT This Halloween twist on the lyrics to “Old MacDonald” will bring many a giggle to young readers. An optional purchase.–School Library Journal
