A Creepy Countdown

by Charlotte S. Huck, Jos. A. Smith (Illustrations)

From one to ten--and down again to one. And every number will make you shiver and shake. (Well, sometimes you will be shaking with laughter, but no matter.) Start counting with One Tall Scarecrow. Go on to Two Lumpy Toads. How long will it take you to learn all these creepy couplets by heart? Not much longer than it will take you to count to ten and down again to one! On you mark--get set--GO!What do lumpy toads, hooting owls, furry bats, skinny witches, ghastly ghosts, yowling cats, and brave mice have in common? They all parade through the spine-tingling pages of Charlotte Huck's imaginative countdown and revel in an especially eerie night! But the mice get the last Boo (or maybe young readers do) in this enchanting book that goes from one to ten and back again, and dazzles with its ticklish scratchboard pictures. A positively creepy-crawly read-aloud for Halloween, storytime, and anytime!

Genres: Halloween, Picture Books, Counting, Childrens, School, Mathematics, Monsters

24 pages, Hardcover

First published September 17, 1998

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

The delicious thrills and chills of the Halloween season are highlighted in this counting book from author Charlotte Huck and illustrator Jos. A. Smith, as the numbers proceed from one to ten, and then back down again. Starting with one tall scarecrow standing on a hill, the rhyming text describes everything from lumpy toads to glowing jack-o-lanterns, skinny witches to ghastly ghosts, before culminating with ten tiny mice who give a surprise greeting, thereby precipitating the countdown back to one...

With a sprightly text that reads well and has a jaunty rhyme, A Creepy Countdown would make an excellent read-aloud for the Halloween season, featuring so many of the creatures associated with this time of year. What elevates it, and makes it truly stand out however, is the gorgeous artwork from Smith, done in black ink on scratchboard, with watercolor overlays. Detailed and spooky, these visuals are a real treat—expressive, beautiful, and (yes) creepy. My favorite (unsurprisingly, given my interest in witchy material) were the scenes featuring the six skinny witches, but truthfully, all of the artwork here is memorable. Recommended to anyone looking for scary (and also humorous) counting books for Halloween.

[Tammy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really beautiful illustrations. Competent rhymes. Great book for kids that love Halloween!

[SpiralKat · Rating 5 out of 5]

The artwork was amazing and the countdown itself was cute.

[Christy Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this so much. The pictures were great and the middle of the book picture before started counting down I thought was the best. Great for kids and adults. I wanted to hug the lonely scarecrow.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lumpy toads, hooting owls, furry bats, skinny witches, ghastly ghosts, yowling cats, and brave mice all parade through the pages of this spine-tingling, imaginative counting book. (Goodreads Summary)

A Creepy Countdown by Charlotte S. Huck is a black and white delight of a Halloween counting book. The text counts up to 10 and down again. The illustrations by Jos. A Smith mostly each have a dash of color highlights. I particularly like the witches, ghosts, cats, & skeletons. Lots of potential to make sounds or actions for nearly every number. I'm glad I discovered this at the local branch. For ages 3 to 5.

[Ubalstecha · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting counting book with eery pencil line drawings to illustrate the object being counted. Given the realism in the drawings, this book is more of a late primary/early junior book, rather than a pre-school/early primary book. This might be fun for the special education teacher to use with older children.

[Tricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Title actually counts up and then down in eerie mostly black and white illustrations of creepy things such as scarecrows, witches, etc. I think the girls were happy when it was over! I liked it though.

[Naomi · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an adorable read! While somewhat creepy, this book was sweet. It wasn't overboard. Not only the "outward" illustrations fantastic, the masks were great as well. It was finding what was written underneath the story too.

It might not be appropriate for some "sensitive" readers.

[Madison LibraryBookFamily · Rating 3 out of 5]

The black and white pictures in the book perfectly set the mood for Halloween. The book counts up from 1-10 and back down again. My preschooler loved counting all the different Halloween characters on each page. A little too creepy for my toddler.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

The pictures in this book are excellent. I wouldn't mind adding this one to my own collection.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good idea. Pictures fairly dull to look at.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another one of the countdown books, this one is different. It counts up from 1 to 10, and then down 10 to 1. It would be a nice book to read near Halloween.

[Heather Burnell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite Halloween books because the illustrations are so amazing.

[Kelley Mcalhany]

Halloween themed counting book. Students can make their own countdown

[Liv · Rating 1 out of 5]

"I don't like it because Cole read it too many times and it gets boring." (Cole, on the other hand, would probably give this 5 stars. Mom would give it a 4 because the illustrations are pretty good).

[Myles · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it because of all the ghosts that were drawn really cool.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would use this book around halloween in a preschool or kindergarten class. I like how the book counts up to 10 and then down to 0.

[Theresa · Rating 2 out of 5]

counting up and down from 10 with holloween themes

[Amy Burch · Rating 4 out of 5]

This a great and interesting counting book. It counts from one to ten and then back down to one.

[Maddypictures · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfect, simple, spooky.