10 Trick-or-Treaters

by Janet Schulman, Linda Davick (Illustrator)

10 trick-or-treaters
on a dark and spooky night
out to get some candy
or give someone a fright.

Little do these ten trick-or-treaters know that they are the ones who will be frightened on Halloween night when a toad hops near, a skeleton tries to join their dance party, and a monster asks to share their candy.

This not-too-scary Halloween counting book features the bright, bold artwork of Linda Davick and the comforting, lively rhythms of Janet Schulman's story, making it the perfect gift for young trick-or-treaters everywhere!

Genres: Halloween, Picture Books, Childrens, Counting, Holiday, Storytime, Mathematics

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Janet Schulman has worked in children’s book publishing as an editor and an author for more than 40 years. She is currently Editor-at-Large and Division Vice President of Random House and Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers.

Reviews

[Mehsi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Trick-or-treat! It is that time of the year again (though sadly not in my country).

This is not just a book about Trick or Treating, it is also about counting! And in a very delightful, hilarious way.

We start off with 10 little kids who are going out to trick or treating, but as their journey for candy progresses we lose them one by one. Until there is just one left!

The children run away in terror/fear/fright for all sorts of things. Skeletons, frogs, spiders, anything really. You would think given it is Halloween that these kids know what to expect, but instead they run away when they see something spooky on their way.

After the first trick or treater ran away, I couldn't wait to see what the next trick or treater would be scared of. Would it be another spider? Or would it be something different? Thankfully, the author makes sure never to use the same scare for the next trick or treater.

The art is pretty decent, though I am not too sure about the mouths on the people. It looks more like they have a zipper inside their mouth instead of teeth. :P

I really enjoyed reading this book, seeing what the trick or treaters were up to, and laughing my butt off when they were scared away. Definitely a recommendation on a day like today.

Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/

[Melenia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Little guy liked it

[Shaye Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

My six-year-old has been counting the days to Halloween for over a month, now. She is WAY too excited about putting on a costume and getting candy. So over the last week, she’s been reading and re-reading this old favorite. In rhyming text, the book counts down from 10 to none as children’s slowly disappear from the trick-or-treating group. They’re scared off by spiders, bats, a vampire, a mummy, etc. The sing-song rhythm and brightly colored images have kept my youngest coming back for more.

For more children's literature, middle grade literature, and YA literature reviews, feel free to visit my personal blog at The Miller Memo!

[Katie Parker · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book gets 5 stars in our house! My twin toddlers come running when I start reading it aloud and especially love the different voices Mama does with the Halloween characters (witch, monster, ghost). A gift from a friend, this is a longtime favorite that is read all year long despite its obvious holiday theme. (It only failed on Christmas morning when Mama read it--after it was brought to her earnestly--with an attempt to change the characters to reindeer, elves, etc. One twin was angered by this degradation of his favorite read-aloud.)

[Izzy Febbraro · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is perfect to read to your students during Halloween! I would read this book to children ages 3 to 7. The illustrations are very colorful and I enjoyed all of the interesting costumes each kid had such as a firefighter, princess, pirate, dinosaur, and many more. This book would be good to incorporate in a lesson plan with counting because it starts with 10 kids and every time something scary pops out we lose a trick or treater because they’re scared! My favorite illustration in this book is when the mummy is chasing the girl dressed as a princess. It is very detailed and you can see all of her candy fall on the floor as she has a terrified look on her face. You could also do a lesson plan on counting with this book and follow up with an activity of counting candy for your students.

[Lauren Baker · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a great book to read during Halloween! However, not every school allows teachers to celebrate holidays. My mom is a preschool teacher and is not allowed to celebrate holidays with her students because some families don't celebrate certain holidays. Therefore, you wouldn't be able to use this book in your classroom. It would be a fun book to read to your little loved ones for Halloween if you do celebrate it! The pictures are colorful and fun. Each character is in their own costume which makes it more fun.

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another Halloween counting book, but what we like about this one is that it counts down from ten which is quite unique. What we really love about this book though, is the crazy, fun illustrations. They are extremely colorful and just plain silly. My daughter loved pointing out and naming each costume. The text is also a simple rhyme so it’s an easy one for kids to memorize and “read” to themselves.

[Amber Barron · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would give this book 5 out of 5 stars. This book counts down from 10 trick-or-treaters. There are 10 trick-or-treaters and the first one gets scared away by a spider "Along came a spider". The illustrations are simple but they help show us what is going on. Another trick-or-treater gets scared away by a vampire, A vampire crooned, "Good Evening",,,". I found this book interesting and I would love to read it to first graders or second graders around Halloween time.

[Lacie · Rating 4 out of 5]

My littles don't care if it is Halloween or not, this has been a popular one at bedtime over the years. Partly because we make silly voices when we read it to my youngest, but partly because it rhymes and made it easy for her to memorize most of it over the many times we've read it. I've had good luck with this one for both of my kids from ages 2-6. We're going through another phase of reading this often since my 6 year old wishes that every day was Halloween.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a perennial favorite of my kindergartners. We read it in preparation for our work on number boards, and the kids love the rhymes as each trick-or-treater gets scared and runs home. Not too scary, but very fun!

[Cara · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun book about counting down from 10 to 1 using trick or treaters on Halloween.

[Cara Byrne · Rating 4 out of 5]

How do you get a group of 4-year-olds fully engaged in a story? Make it centered on trick or treaters with engaging illustrations. A spooky storytime pick.

[Hailee Wolf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet Book

My two year old love the book. He liked finding the pumpkins as we read and all the cats in the book.

[Jesse Baggs · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the weird little drawings.

[Laurie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly, completely unmemorable.

[Relyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'll tell you this, my students really love this book!

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute, but there are parts where the meter of the rhyming pattern gets lost and the lines are too long.

[Addie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute, some of the rhymes felt forced...two year old liked it

[Lourdes Evangelina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love reading this to my kiddos with spooky voices.

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this with K and 1 in October (obvi) and loved it. The rhymes work out really nicely. Yes I am cleaning out my damn phone photos and making sure my book tracking is up to date. Doh.

[Michelle Warner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Title: 10 Trick-or-Treaters: A Halloween Counting Book
Author: Janet Schulman
Illustrator: Linda Davick
Genre: Counting
Theme(s): Halloween
Opening line/sentence: 10 trick-or-treaters on a dark and spooky night out to get some candy or give someone a fright.
Brief Book Summary: This festive counting book is set on Halloween night. The book begins with 10 trick-or-treaters, and decreases throughout the book all the way until there is none. With each page, the number decreases and it is told in clever rhymes. For an example, a spider scares off the first trick-or-treater, and a frog scares off the second. At the end of book they have a chart with different candies for each number. It shows 10 candy corn, 9 lollipops, and so on.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1: From the Publisher
“This countdown book begins with a cheery band of 10 masked and costumed children leaving an apartment building to begin their night of fun. As they board a bus to go to a party and trick-or-treat from house to house, their number slowly diminishes as each successive child is frightened off by costumed vampires, mummies, a frog, a bat, and other spooky creatures. The last brave child returns to her apartment, climbs happily into bed, and then there were none. The book ends with a yummy array of different types of candy that kids will enjoy counting. Schulman’s rhythmic text will be enjoyed as a read-aloud as well as by beginning readers. Davick’s vibrant graphic art is chockablock with shapes and angles that keep the mood light and the creatures and costumed monsters more fun than frightening. A not-too-scary treat for the youngest Halloween fans.”—School Library Journal

Professional Recommendation/Review #2: Publishers Weekly
Ten children emerge from a violet-tinted apartment building and board a yellow bus: "10 trick-or-treaters.../ standing in a line./ Along came a spider.../ and then there were 9." The celebrants lose their nerve one by one as they encounter a bat, (costumed) monster and other Halloween standbys. Schulman (Countdown to Spring!) composes another zippy countdown, playfully listing the frights. In appealing pictures as smooth and bright as candy sprinkles, Davick (Ready, Set, Grow!) crafts each child's costume and provides details (such as a licorice-black cat) unmentioned in the bouncy rhyme. Ages 3-8. (Aug.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information

Response to Two Professional Reviews: Both reviews of this book describe it as a clever and playful rhyming book that encourages young readers to work on their counting skills. They say the book’s rhythmic text makes it a little easier for younger kids to follow. The reviews also make note of the bold and graphic art of the book with fun colors, shapes, and angles. Overall, both reviews of this book were very positive.
Evaluation of Literary Elements: I think that the rhyming in the book from number to number, allows young children to really follow along with not only the story, but also the counting. This book allows kids to be engaged through the rhythms, but also learn their numbers at the same time! Even though the book itself is rather small, the print on the pages is rather large, which allows youngsters to more easily see it.
Consideration of Instructional Application: I think this would be a fun book to implement in a kindergarten classroom during the fall season! I think the kids would enjoy doing this as a read aloud, and they could even act it out if they felt comfortable. In addition, I think it would be fun to use the chart of candy and counting on the back as a guide for doing a lesson with counting their Halloween candy! Overall, I think using this book, along with the author’s other seasonal counting books, for make for a fun seasonal tradition in a classroom setting!

[Camille · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this in board book format and thought it was too advanced for babies. Yes, I think board books are for babies and paper-destructive toddlers. Otherwise they should be in regular hardcover or paperback formats. I would have really like the pictures to be bigger, but I liked the bold colors and simple illustration style.
In a bigger format, I would like to read this for a toddler or preschooler storytime. I think its a cute halloween non-story and could help kids who might be feeling apprehensive about all the scary costumes, decorations and other ephemera associated with Halloween.
I would pair this with Parr's The I'm Not Scared Book.

Addendum 10/28/2013
I was preparing for a Halloween storytime and came across the slightly bigger, picture book format of this book and I like it! I didn't get to read it at a storytime, but I think it would be great for toddlers or preschoolers.

[Libby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my goodness. This one gets a five for the sheer amount of enjoyment my kids have gotten out of it. I don't know if it's the colorful Halloween pictures, the rhyme, the counting down (which my kindergartner was especially attuned to) or what, but they LOVED this and we read it OVER and OVER, and even had to keep it out an extra week.

Basically, it follows 10 trick-or-treaters on their Halloween, and the numbers dwindle as one trick-or-treater is scared off on each page. There's nothing really very scary here (good for my crowd...and their mother), but lots of Halloween characters (a witch, a mummy, a bat, etc.) make appearances.

[J-Lynn Van Pelt · Rating 2 out of 5]

A simple counting book that follows 10 trick-or-treaters throughout the night as one-by-one they are scared off by monsters. The book serves its purpose, getting students to practice counting. The last page is a counting page with pieces of candy to help count to 10.

The illustrations look computer generated with children who have giant round heads, a la South Park. There are a lot of pastel colors despite the spooky night's setting.

[Tam · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a rhyming book that counts backwards from 10 to 0. It was okay for my 5-year-old but he didn't love it.

"10 trick-or-treaters . . .
standing in a line.
Along came a spider . . .
and then there were 9.

9 trick-or-treaters,
the night was getting late.
A toad hopped near . . .
and then there were 8."

They also encounter a bat, ghost, skeleton, witch, monster, vampire, and mummy until there's only one little girl left.

[Chelsea · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a short and adorable read that gets the kiddos thinking about numbers and counting without them even realizing it! I also appreciated the fact that both toddlers and preschool aged children enjoyed listening to it. I shall absolutely read this again around Halloween!

Read during a school visit on October 18th, 2018.
Read during Preschool Play on October 19th, 2018.
Read during school visit (F-P) on October 24th, 2019.

[Meredith · Rating 3 out of 5]

10 trick-or-treaters go out on Halloween night and then disappear one by one until there are none. The final page also has ten rows of candy, allowing the reader to pratice counting further.

This is an excellent non-scary Halloween selection as all the ghosts and ghouls are sweetly drawn with happy smiles.

[Jameisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was a cute book. I loved all the color in the illustrations and the different costumes the kids in the book had on. I liked the fact that instead of counting up it counted down, which could be used to show easy subtraction. This would be a fun read during Halloween, and could even be acted out by the kids in a classroom with pictures or themselves.

[Catie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this book because the pictures were really good and this could also be used for a holiday book. I would want this book in my classroom because of all the ways I could incorporate this book into my teaching. Overall, I really liked the book because of how it counts from ten and the fun pictures.

[Reeby · Rating 4 out of 5]

10 Trick-or-Treaters is a festive picture book that's just as enjoyable as it is cute. The rhyming verses give the book a fun beat and the artwork, especially the characters' costumes, is adorable. I'm quite a bit past the target audience for this book, but it was a fun little break from work for Halloween.