ヘスターとまじょ

by Byron Barton

Dressed too early for her own Halloween party, Hester goes trick-or-treating while she waits for her guests to arrive.

Genres: Picture Books, Halloween

Tankobon Hardcover

First published January 1, 1975

About the author

Byron Barton is the author and illustrator of many picture books for young children. He has been honored by ALA, SLJ, and Reading Rainbow. He worked as an animator for CBS before he started creating children's books. He is currently making his illustrations completely on the computer.

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Waiting for her guests to arrive for her Halloween party one year, Hester the alligator gets restless, and sets out to fill her time by trick-or-treating through her neighborhood. Coming to a spooky house, she knocks on the door and is invited in by the old lady who answers. Introduced to the old lady's friend, given a tour of the house, and then taken on a nighttime broom-ride—for this old lady is a witch!—Hester has a marvelous time, before returning home to her own Halloween celebration...

Published in 1975, Hester is the first book I have read from prolific picture-book author and artist Byron Barton, although I have long been familiar with his work. His board books, particularly the ones featuring vehicles, were always popular with our customers, back in my bookstore days. In any case, I found the story here engaging, and liked the parallel between the witch's party, with its clearly monstrous guests, and Hester's party back home, with its dress-up monsters. The broom-ride was a lot of fun, reminding me of a number of other witchy tales I have read, and I appreciated Hester's generosity in offering her own broom, when the pair crash lands, destroying the witch's broom. The artwork is vibrantly colorful, with lots of oranges, yellows and greens—very appropriate for the season!—and a simple style that had a distinctly 70s feeling for me. All in all, this was a sweet little witchy confection, perfect for a Halloween story-time, and it for that purpose I would recommend it.

[Nickolas · Rating 5 out of 5]

you guys are all nuts...this book was one of my personal favorites when I was kid...I loved it...my mother used to read it to me ..it is a cherished memory. as far as the content and story line not being entirely appropriate for young and budding children, I agree to an extent I wouldn't want my daughter going into strange houses on Halloween.. but then again I would be truck or treating with her!! not to mention this book is a product of the 80's!!! I'm an 80's child myself, so I know.but the 1980's brought us great children's books such as Mamma Don't Allow by Hurd, The Bernstein Bears, and "Where the Wild Things Are"..the 1980's were a trial and error period for the Baby Boomers as new parents..between the innovation of carseats for kids and Fluoride at school they had quite alot to juggle to see what was best for their children and safest..so I always tip my hat to my mom and dad...it wasn't easy for them..but they did their best..so I cherish all of my early childhood reads! they were all works in progress for shaping young minds and encouraging good behavior.. Cheers to Hester!!

[Jennifer Parrish · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was not a fan of this storybook. I say that for many reasons. I thought the plot was scattered and confusing to follow. Byron Barton starts the story off by introducing Hester, the main character, and explaining how she is throwing a Halloween party. She then decides to go to her neighbors for trick-or-treats and finds herself at a spooky house downtown. An old lady is having a party and shows Hester the house. The old lady turns out to be a witch and the story ends. I think there could have been more detail involved in the dialogue. The story seemed a bit incomplete. I did enjoy the illustrations however. They were very simple and colorful, perfect for a children's storybook. I don't think this book should be read aloud because it is not a good "role model" book.

[Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Hester was dressed early for her Halloween party, so she decided to go out trick-or-treating. And when the kindly old lady with the interesting house and the unusual friends asked Hester if she wanted to go for a ride-- well, what young alligator would refuse a view from a broom?"

Do not particularly love that Hester goes into a home by herself on Halloween while trick-or-treating without asking parents in this story. It was fun to try to get my children to infer or extrapolate that the old lady in the story might really be a witch with monsters for friends, etc.

[Olivia · Rating 2 out of 5]

The illustrations are really ugly, but it's a story with a lot of heart. Some of the sentence placement makes it awkward to read.