Bone Soup: a spooky, tasty tale by Alyssa Satin Capucilli. Illustrated by Tom Knight. unpgd. A Paula Wiseman Book/ Simon & Schuster, July, 2018. 97814811486088. (Review from finished copy courtesy of Blue Slip Media.)
Three hungry witches find that their cupboards are bare, save for one little bone one Halloween morning. Naggy Witch tosses the bone into their cauldron and suggests they go door to door soliciting additions to their "bone soup!" The village is filled with ghoulishly delightful inhabitants like a monster, a ghost and a werewolf, all of whom contribute ew-worthy additions like claws and worms and even toenails. As the hungry crowd grows impatient, the witches find they need a little help from a little monster and all is well when the bone soup is ready.
The rhythmic text occasionally floats and meanders in larger, playful fonts on the page, inviting participation. The palette, with ghoulish green, black, orange and purple predominating, adds to its Halloween appeal. The illustrations have a bit of a retro feel to them and feature the characters that are a nice mix of cartoonishly approachable and scary.
It's a pleasing variation of the Stone Soup tale and a nice addition to any collection. Bonus points for doing double-duty as a Halloween story. The ESL teacher has a "Stone Soup" unit and is delighted to add Bone Soup to it. An author's note and a recipe for the bone soup (with edible substitutions) are found on the final page. Visit the author's webpage to download a story time kit.
Pug & Pig Trick-or-Treat by Sue Lowell Gallion. Illustrated by Joyce Wan. unpgd. Beach Lane Books, July, 2017. 9781481449779. (Review from finished copy courtesy of Blue Slip Media.)
Pug and Pig are back! They are not only more adorable than ever but they speak to my eight-year-old heart.* That hilarious cover tells the reader that clearly Pug has a problem with his costume. I laughed out loud at the title page featuring the rotund pair in silhouette with no detail save the glow-in-the-dark bones on the costumes. Ever cheerful Pig loves everything about her costume from those glow-in-the-dark bones to the snug fit and gets a trill from contemplating if people will even know who she is!
Pug is less than delighted. He feels squished in his costume and worries that no one will know who he is. He likes the costume better when it is ripped to shreds all over the yard! Pig now worries he won't have someone to share Halloween with but Pug has an idea. He finds a brilliant solution that will thrill and delight readers young and not-so-young alike.
The palette is decidedly and appropriately darker than Pug and Pig. Wan perfectly conveys Pig's joy and Pug's dismay as well as fun little details in the background, such as a cauldron full of treats standing by the front door and a photo wall of Pug and Pig. Each spread is such a delicious combination of humor and warmth as the two friends work out a mutually beneficial agreement enabling each to enjoy the holiday.
You NEED to add Pug & Pig Trick-or-Treat to your Halloween collection. It's sure to become a read aloud favorite. Read it often and share it widely.
*I clearly remember detesting my Halloween mask.
