Jeoffry's Halloween

by Mary Bryant Bailey, Elizabeth Sayles (Illustrator)

On Halloween, Jeoffry shows as much courage as kindness

The hound’s howl calls me through the haze
to the garden, where pumpkins blaze.
As frost has not yet laced the straw,
the warm sod sinks beneath our paws.

So begins Jeoffry the cat's adventure when he joins the hound on a warm afternoon at the end of October. As darkness approaches, the hound – frightened by the hiss of ghosts that turn out to be geese and by the scuffling of bristly bandits that are really raccoons – heads for the comfort of home. But before he turns in, too, Jeoffry braves the night when things are not what they seem, and by the light of fireflies guides a Goblin and a Witch to safety in this deliciously spooky story, illustrated in soft, striking pastels.

Genres: Halloween, Picture Books, Childrens, Juvenile

32 pages, Hardcover

First published September 3, 2003

Reviews

[Calista]

This Halloween tale is told from the cat's perspective. He is walking through the woods and sees a witch and a goblin and follows them along. Lovely artwork. Mary Bailey creates a spooky mood. It is appropriate for young children. I call is cozy spooky. The story is told in verse. I did enjoy this.

My niece and nephew really got into this book. They enjoyed the art and the story and the goblin. They wanted to read it again.

[Kathryn]

This story about an adorable orange tabby (joined by a dog) off for a stroll through the farm and countryside on Halloween evening started off strong, but meandered a bit too much and some of the rhymes felt a bit forced and off. Still, the illustrations have a nice, soft feel and I like how so many aspects of nature are highlighted (a helpful glossary explains some terms that children may not be familiar with, such as lichen and bog) It's not too scary, and children who love cats and dogs might really like this one.

[Jennifer J]

A fun rhyming Halloween book.

[M.M. Hudson]

What a wonderful story told from the perspective of the farmer's cat. He follows semi-spooky characters who have found themselves in the woods out back. The book is all done in poetic style and done so well that what seems to be a picture book could very well be a book for the emergent reader. I seriously loved the story so much! I could picture the details in my mind.

The illustrations are bold and every single page is done in oranges and browns of every hue possible. Touches of greens add to already lovely pictures.

This is a book that should be on all shelves to add to the Halloween season.

I give this book 5 pumpkins!


Disclosure: I picked up this book from my local library. The views here are 100% my own and may differ from yours. ~Michelle, Reading Authors Network

[Alison Strandell]

This book has beautiful sensory details, including some words I didn't know (so a child really wouldn't know). I love how the story is from the cat's perspective, being out and about on the farm on Halloween night. He encounters excited children and magical adventures far greater than candy. :)

[Terresa Wellborn]

Soft illustrations, gooey ending, rhymes.
Nice glossary at front of book & text introduces kids to words like bog, copse, dale, lichen, shock, tupelo.

[Emily Bily]

The poetry felt a bit forced, but the pastels were gorgeous!

[Rachel]

The art was lovely and soft, but the writing and rhyming seemed a little forced.

[Cathy]

This is a cool book that older children will like. Spooky too!!!

[Stella]

Lovely poetry accompanies beautiful illustrations in this children's picture book that tells a Halloween story from the perspective of the farmer's cat.

[Sandie]

This story was all right. It was told like in a poem form, which was not what I was expecting when I checked out the book, but it was ok.

The poem is told from Jeoffry the Cats point of view. He is a very observant cat, which is kind of cool. The descriptions given are very good.

I did like Jeoffry's role as rescuer to the children in the book.

I thought the pictures were great, I really liked them!

[Tamara]

I enjoy the first few pages of rhymes; the first page was my favorite. Jonathan seemed interested.

[Niki Stacey]

Kitty cats and Halloween, these are a few of my favorite things.

[Beckie]

A rhyming adventure of Jeoffry the orange tabby who's out for a stroll in Halloween night. The illustrations grabbed my kids more than the story did but was still a cute book.

[Melissa]

Not much of a story, but I love the unusual rhymes.