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Halloween Night: Twenty-One Spooktacular Poems
This collection of 21 silly, funny, just slightly scary poems about witches, monsters, pumpkins, gargoyles, and trick-or-treating will elicit delighted giggles from children aged 4 to 8 who are just beginning to discover the traditions and lore of Halloween. With such titles as “I’m Not Afraid,” “Witch Way,” “Sick or Treat,” and “What to Wear on Halloween?” it’s destined to become a read-aloud favorite.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published May 19, 2003
About the author
Charles Ghigna
128 books49 followersCharles Ghigna - Father Goose® lives in a treehouse in the middle of Alabama. He is the author of more than 100 books from Random House, Disney, Scholastic, Simon & Schuster, Time Inc. and other publishers. He has written more than 5,000 poems for children and adults that have appeared in anthologies, newspapers and magazines ranging from The New Yorker and Harper’s to Highlights and Cricket magazines. He served as poet-in-residence and chair of creative writing at the Alabama School of Fine Arts, instructor of creative writing at Samford University, poetry editor of English Journal for the National Council of Teachers of English, and as a nationally syndicated poetry feature writer for Tribune Media Services. He speaks at schools, conferences, libraries, and literary events throughout the U.S. and overseas, and has read his poems at The Library of Congress, The John F. Kennedy Center, American Library in Paris, American School in Paris, and the International Schools of South America. For more information, visit his website at FatherGoose.com
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
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November 1, 20222021 Reread
I love rereading this every year. One poem a day, all so delightful with fantastic illustrations. A wonderful tradition
I love rereading this every year. One poem a day, all so delightful with fantastic illustrations. A wonderful tradition
Read
November 1, 2020I love this book of poems. No matter how many times I've reread them I get something from them every time and look forward to reading them every year and this year was no different.
September 6, 2012
This was an okay book of Halloween poetry. I really enjoyed some of the poems, but most of them were just okay. The illustrations were nice, colorful and fun.
September 9, 2017
a cute book that I was hoping to find some inspiration from to use for Halloween crafts. it's a little too kiddy for my designs but it would be a fun book for young kids.
October 28, 2018
I thought this would be a book of spooky poems to get me in the mood for Halloween. When I opened the first page and scanned the first two poems, I knew that wasn't the case. I also immediately didn't like the illustrations. Instead of saving this to read right at Halloween, I decided to get it over with earlier.
This was a mixed bag. Some poems were good, cute, funny, one was spooky, some captured the spirit of Halloween night. Others weren't so good, didn't make sense, and weren't enjoyable to read.
These are the ones that stood out to me:
My Secret List: ‘My little sister laughs at me, but I don’t think she’s funny, ‘cause she won’t let me see HER list--of houses that gave money!’
I thought this was cute because the boy made a list of which houses gave which candy, and his sister makes fun of him, but she writes down which give out money. On a side note, as a kid, I never had houses give out money!
In 'What to Wear on Halloween?' I thought it was cute the boy wanted to dress up as what kids fear the most, and it turned out to be his principal.
The first poem I enjoyed was Dear Frankenstein. It stays he walks stiff-legged like he came back from the dead, and has a bolt through his neck to hold his giant head. Does he want to look how humans do, or does he think we’re cool when we dress like you?
It was nice to wonder what Frankenstein might think of humans dressing up like him, and if he wanted to look like humans.
The Candy Check was cute in that parents use the ‘candy check’ supposedly just to check for anything bad, but when they give the kids their bags back, they're lighter, meaning that they ate some of their candy. I'm sure my parents did stuff like that too, or at least had some of me and my siblings candy.
Beware the Werewolf was the spookiest, really the only one in here that was. It was creepy to think of werewolves out at night.
'It's coming after all of us upon an autumn breeze.'
'It wears a shroud of shadows, it darkens every door. It's on its way to your house now, and bringing gloom and gore.'
'Beware of where you're going, beware of where you play, beware of werewolves everywhere--Halloween is on the way!'
My Very Own Monster Pet I didn't get. The poem is a kid wanting all these different creatures for its pet, like King Kong, a huge snake, a grizzly bear, a wild boar, a porcupine and poison quills and a tiger shark with razor gills, even a nuclear electric eel. If he can't have one of those, then he'll settle for 'the pet I most adore' which didn't rhyme with the line before, and was just a random ending. What does that mean?
I'll Settle for a Dinosaur was cute how the kid said they're not afraid of anything, like scary things, open closet doors, ghosts, shadows where things hide, of sounds the house makes, but please leave on the light.
Pumpkin Patched was cute how the girl took home the smallest pumpkin and then didn't wanna carve it. Instead of a Jack-o'-Lantern they had a Jill.
A Ghostly Night captured the spirit of Halloween. Cats, bats, witch's hats, jack-o'-lanterns at each house, echoes of trick or treat, owls asking who they are as strangers are dressed in eerie clothes in the moonlight. Skeletons walk by fairy queens, and it must be Halloween.
Gargoyles was cute because it said don't look them in the eye, especially for heaven sakes, beware the one whose hair is snakes. Even though Medusa isn't a gargoyle, it was a cool tie-in, and everyone knows who that is without saying it's Medusa.
The Haunted House was cute because they were scared to death when they went in and then by the time they got out they start grinning because they want to go back in. That probably happens to a lot of people at haunted houses, when you conquer your fear, it ends up being fun, and you wanna go again.
The Scary Dictionary was a miss. Even though the dictionary has scary words in it, the dictionary itself isn't scary, and it didn't feel Halloween enough.
It's Halloween was a pretty page; I liked all the colors and characters. They really pop against the white background. It has a host of characters, like Dracula, a witch, Frankenstein, an owl, skull, and a cat.
It fittingly ends with 'Sick or Treat,' with a kid eating all their candy and feeling sick, which is how most kids Halloween's end.
I wanted spooky poems to get in the spirit but this wasn't it. However, I did enjoy some of the poems. The artwork wasn't my style. It was a little too abstract for me.
This was a mixed bag. Some poems were good, cute, funny, one was spooky, some captured the spirit of Halloween night. Others weren't so good, didn't make sense, and weren't enjoyable to read.
These are the ones that stood out to me:
My Secret List: ‘My little sister laughs at me, but I don’t think she’s funny, ‘cause she won’t let me see HER list--of houses that gave money!’
I thought this was cute because the boy made a list of which houses gave which candy, and his sister makes fun of him, but she writes down which give out money. On a side note, as a kid, I never had houses give out money!
In 'What to Wear on Halloween?' I thought it was cute the boy wanted to dress up as what kids fear the most, and it turned out to be his principal.
The first poem I enjoyed was Dear Frankenstein. It stays he walks stiff-legged like he came back from the dead, and has a bolt through his neck to hold his giant head. Does he want to look how humans do, or does he think we’re cool when we dress like you?
It was nice to wonder what Frankenstein might think of humans dressing up like him, and if he wanted to look like humans.
The Candy Check was cute in that parents use the ‘candy check’ supposedly just to check for anything bad, but when they give the kids their bags back, they're lighter, meaning that they ate some of their candy. I'm sure my parents did stuff like that too, or at least had some of me and my siblings candy.
Beware the Werewolf was the spookiest, really the only one in here that was. It was creepy to think of werewolves out at night.
'It's coming after all of us upon an autumn breeze.'
'It wears a shroud of shadows, it darkens every door. It's on its way to your house now, and bringing gloom and gore.'
'Beware of where you're going, beware of where you play, beware of werewolves everywhere--Halloween is on the way!'
My Very Own Monster Pet I didn't get. The poem is a kid wanting all these different creatures for its pet, like King Kong, a huge snake, a grizzly bear, a wild boar, a porcupine and poison quills and a tiger shark with razor gills, even a nuclear electric eel. If he can't have one of those, then he'll settle for 'the pet I most adore' which didn't rhyme with the line before, and was just a random ending. What does that mean?
I'll Settle for a Dinosaur was cute how the kid said they're not afraid of anything, like scary things, open closet doors, ghosts, shadows where things hide, of sounds the house makes, but please leave on the light.
Pumpkin Patched was cute how the girl took home the smallest pumpkin and then didn't wanna carve it. Instead of a Jack-o'-Lantern they had a Jill.
A Ghostly Night captured the spirit of Halloween. Cats, bats, witch's hats, jack-o'-lanterns at each house, echoes of trick or treat, owls asking who they are as strangers are dressed in eerie clothes in the moonlight. Skeletons walk by fairy queens, and it must be Halloween.
Gargoyles was cute because it said don't look them in the eye, especially for heaven sakes, beware the one whose hair is snakes. Even though Medusa isn't a gargoyle, it was a cool tie-in, and everyone knows who that is without saying it's Medusa.
The Haunted House was cute because they were scared to death when they went in and then by the time they got out they start grinning because they want to go back in. That probably happens to a lot of people at haunted houses, when you conquer your fear, it ends up being fun, and you wanna go again.
The Scary Dictionary was a miss. Even though the dictionary has scary words in it, the dictionary itself isn't scary, and it didn't feel Halloween enough.
It's Halloween was a pretty page; I liked all the colors and characters. They really pop against the white background. It has a host of characters, like Dracula, a witch, Frankenstein, an owl, skull, and a cat.
It fittingly ends with 'Sick or Treat,' with a kid eating all their candy and feeling sick, which is how most kids Halloween's end.
I wanted spooky poems to get in the spirit but this wasn't it. However, I did enjoy some of the poems. The artwork wasn't my style. It was a little too abstract for me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 29, 2021
I was impressed with most of the poems and how much fun they were. It's a bit long for a one sitting read, but probably fun to read one poem a day to a kid. My favorite one is the book with all the dirty words...the dictionary.
November 23, 2017
Nostalgic poems that reminded me of my Halloweens as a little kid. Very relatable for children.
October 12, 2018
Fabulous seasonal fun.
October 29, 2022
I read these as the kids painted haunted houses. Several made them laugh and they commented on many.
November 4, 2022
I really enjoyed this book, the poems and rhymes are incredible and very funny. An absolute blast on Halloween.
October 22, 2021
I saw Charles Ghigna share about his book on Facebook and ordered it, have had a great time reading the poems to my granddaughter, and just enjoying the different looks he’s given to Halloween topics, and the terrific endings he manages, never easy to do well. Topics range from costume dilemmas to NOT being afraid around Halloween (“I’m not afraid of closet doors/when they are open wide) choosing just the right pumpkin in the pumpkin patch (“We came upon a little one/that sat there all alone”) and the real duty of Jack o’ lanterns, which you’ll need to read to discover! The illustrations by Adam McCauley are bright, graphic pictures, filled with mostly black and orange, with highlights of purple and green, very clever and flashy. I will take out the book every October and enjoy it all over again!
October 21, 2011
These 21 poems are wonderful - extremely creative, catchy and fun for the kids - we've been reading this book every night since we brought it home from the library a couple of weeks ago - highly recommend, fun for all.
May 29, 2011
After reading The Monsterologist poems, this poetry book was cutesy, but was not extremely interesting.
July 2, 2012
37 months - we really enjoyed these poems, fun!
October 7, 2016
This was super fun! Loved the poems.
August 7, 2026
4 stars
April 9, 2012
Cute little mini book! Great for a treat not a trick on Halloween!
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews