Happy Book Birthday, It's Almost Time For Halloween! by Maisha Oso

It's time for another book birthday celebration! Following in this month's groove, I have another Halloween read hitting the shelves before the holiday season begins. Hmmm...it's a bit like the sales I've been seeing on summer clothes the last week or so. Already Fall clothes is sliding in and Fall decorations. But then, I asked my daughter, yesterday, what classes she'd like to take this next semester (she's homeschooled), and she moaned with the complaint that summer had just begun. She moaned 10x louder when I reminded her that the regular school season in this area starts in about 5 weeks. 

Life is always so short when you're working hard...ummm...having fun, I mean.

Anyway, I'm going to dive into today's read with the expectations of humor and fun. So, let's see if that's what these pages hold.

IT'S ALMOST TIME FOR HALLOWEEN!

by Maisha Oso

Illustrated by Tom Knight

Margaret K. McElderry

Picture Book   /   Holiday

32 pages

ages 4 to 8

How to Catch a Monster meets The Night Before series in this laugh-out-loud rhyming picture book celebrating the excitement leading up to Halloween—the first in a new series!

It’s almost time for Halloween, and excitement is running high! It might not be here yet, but there’s so much to do before the spooky day arrives…

From decorating the house with ghoulish decorations to crafting creative costumes and picking out the perfect pumpkin to carve into a jack-o-lantern, there are endless ways to celebrate and traditions to explore! But not everyone can read the signs of the highly anticipated holiday on the way…

It’s Almost Time for…Halloween is a perfect blend of festive fun and read aloud humor that will have young readers laughing and identifying the misunderstanding at play before the characters catch on. This picture book makes a delightful gift for kids aged four to eight!

GOODREADS     /     AMAZON     /     B&N

MY TIDBITS

Decorations, costumes, treats...oh my! There's so much to do to get ready for the big, spooky celebration, and these pages let that fun fly.

It's almost time for Halloween, which means it's time to get everything prepared...because that isn't something done just in one day. Decorations need to be hung, costumes need to be made, and plenty of sweet treats have to be ready for ghosts, ghouls, and more to devour. 

The most fun is often in the anticipation and preparation, and these pages let that ore-Halloween excitement flow. The little girl is putting her heart into getting everything ready for the big day, and it's hard not to feel the joy right along with her. Plus, this books showcases the various activities readers/listeners can do themselves to get ready for the spooky day. So there's inspiration worked in as well. The ending holds a fun surprise, which jolts in just the right way to draw one last smile.

The entire thing is written in rhyme, and this flows seamlessly. The length of the text is well suited to the intended age group and makes this a very nice read-aloud. The illustrations are bright and as energetic as the girl's excitement. They also hold plenty of details for listeners/readers to search through and discover something new each time. Plus, there are a few, small surprises built in these as well.

It's a cute read to raise excitement for the holiday and a lovely way to open up to preparations.

And here they are...

Maisha Oso is the author of picture books Buster the Bully, My Hair Is a Book, Before the Ships, and the It’s Almost Time For… series, as well as the Venus Washington chapter book series. She writes stories to empower, entertain, and encourage emotional intelligence in young children. A former strategy and analytics professional from New York City, Maisha is currently working in her most challenging role to date: a stay-at-home mom of three tiny humans. Visit her at MaishaOso.com.

After an enjoyable stint as a graphic designer, Tom Knight is now proud to be using his imagination as a full-time career. Drawing on a long and abiding love of imagery from children’s literature, Tom has worked for a diverse range of publishers, including Little Tiger Press, Templar, Simon & Schuster, Scholastic, and Macmillan. He has also turned his hand to authoring his own titles and is the author and illustrator for the Good Knight, Bad Knight chapter book series and picture book Jimmy Finnigan’s Wild Wood Band. He does all this from a poorly temperature-controlled studio in the garden, where he is constantly distracted by the greedy birds that hang out by the feeder outside his window.