A Know-Nothing Halloween

by Michele Sobel Spirn, R.W. Alley (Illustrator)

The stars of A Know-Nothing Birthday, Boris, Norris, Morris, and Doris bring their funny misinterpretations to Halloween--and trick-or-treating will never be the same. Reprint.

Genres: Halloween, Childrens

48 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2000

About the author

Michele Sobel Spirn has written and published over 40 books for children. She began her writing career at age 16 when she won a state essay contest. Her prize included a trip to Washington, D.C. to meet the President. Throughout her career, she has had writing jobs in public relations as well as freelance work in educational publishing, mass market and trade publishing. She became interested in writing for children when she and her husband had a son. Influenced by the work of children’s book authors Arnold Lobel and James Marshall, among others, she wrote The Know-Nothings, an “I Can Read” book about four foolish friends. The Know-Nothings series now includes four books about the silly four--Morris, Boris, Doris and Norris--and their dog, Floris. Her love of mysteries has led her to create three middle-grade mysteries about the Bridges family, The Bridges in London, The Bridges in Paris, and The Bridges in Edinburgh. Michele also enjoys writing biographies (Against the Odds: Jackie Joyner-Kersee), young adult novels (Racing Against the Light, Wait Till The Midnight Hour) and nonfiction (Cold-Blooded Creatures, Birth Celebrations, New Year Celebrations). Her latest book is an “I Can Read” book, I Am The Turkey. Michele teaches creative writing at New York University and the New School University. She has a B.A. degree from Syracuse University and an MFA degree in creative writing from the New School University.

Reviews

[Rod Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very stupid people act very stupidly around Halloween. It almost makes Amelia Bedelia look like high-brow literature.

My daughter didn't much like it when she was five. I do have to wonder if that may be because I read books I'm not enjoying with less gusto than books I like.

[Egallagher2016gmail.Com · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was funny that they were searching for Bob.

[Anna Frame · Rating 3 out of 5]

PERSONAL REACTION
I enjoyed this book because it was an interesting story about some boys who did not know much about Halloween. I think that a lot of students would think that this book is funny and I think that they would want to read it because of the humor provided by the main characters. It is a great book to use when transitioning children to chapter books.

PURPOSE/USE IN THE CLASSROOM
-this could be used as a read aloud for students when discussing holidays or knowing the importance of the reasons as to why we have some of the holidays that we do
-I would use this as an independent reading because I think that students would benefit and enjoy reading this on their own
-Students in grades 1-2 would like reading this book because it would challenge them but it is not above their reading level
-plot could be taught during this book because a lot of stuff happens from the time the boys hear about halloween to them celebrating it and I think students would have a fun time guessing what they are going to do next
-this is a great book for students who are transitioning to chapter books because there are short chapters that each tell part of the story
-students will gain confidence from reading this book and will believe that they are capable of reading chapter books

I liked this book because its a great transitional book and I think it is one that students would enjoy. I am not sure if I would directly teach off of this in my classroom but I would definitely recommend it to students if they are looking for outside reading books to use as practice.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Abby: Great. Morris, Borris, and Norris and their dog Floris are not too smart...they are pretty silly...and they thought that the ghost in the book was a real ghost. No. There aren't real ghosts.

[Horace Mann Family Reading Challenge · Rating 4 out of 5]

People named Doris, Norris, Boris, Morris. M

[Leah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Silly Halloween book.

[Kaethe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Early readers aren't much fun for a parent to read, generally. This was okay. It's about Halloween, which earns it bonus points.

[Frank · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay. That's it.