The Halloween Performance

by Felicia Bond

It is time for Roger's class to give its Halloween play--invitations have been sent; everyone has practiced, over and over, to get everything right. And even though Roger's part is not a leading one, it is very important. Illustrated.

Genres: Halloween, Picture Books, Childrens, Holiday, Fiction, School, Animals

24 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1983

About the author

Felicia Bond knew when she was five that she wanted to be an artist when she observed a buttery beam of light coming in her bedroom window. She has illustrated numerous children's books and written many of her own, including Tumble Bumble and Poinsettia and Her Family. She lived for many years in New York and currently lives in New Mexico with her family of cats and a horse named Twister.

Reviews

[Sarah Sammis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ten years before Felicia Bond became known for her illustrations of Laura Joffe Numeroff's books (If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, for example), Bond wrote and illustrated The Halloween Play.

The story follows the planning and performance of a Halloween play by class of young mice. There's the anticipation of the parents, the nerves of the children and finally the performance and the excitement of a job well done.

The illustrations lack the vibrancy of her newer illustrations but the spirit is there. There are hints of her later successes as an illustrator. If you are a fan of Bond's work and want to round out your collection, get a copy of The Halloween Play.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Text-to-Text Connection
The mice in this book reminded me of the mouse in If you Give a Mouse a Cookie,written by Laura Numeroff and illustrated by Felicia Bond.
It turns out the author of this book is the illustrator of If you Give a Mouse a Cookie.
The mice practice and prepare for a school halloween pageant. They have human like characteristics just like the mouse in Laura Numeroff's book. This might be a fun book to read to children before they participate in a school pageant or performance. The pageant goes well and Roger the mouse goes to bed happy.

[Michele · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the illustrations, and the story is cute. The ending was a little cloying. I didn't really get the feeling Roger was that excited for the play to warrant such a sappy ending, but you know what? It's a book for pre-schoolers, so I should probably get over it! I would probably use this as a read-aloud for Kindergarten and 1st graders.

[Little Batties · Rating 2 out of 5]

This story was sadly underwhelming.

One thing that Felicia Bond did well was give little ones a glimpse of what a theater/drama class would be like. She even made it clear that people had to listen for their cue lines. Other than this, it fell sort of flat.

Was this cute? It sort of was, but it also felt a little dull. It was a mild take on what preparing for and performing in a play could be like.

I do appreciate the lesson here though, and that is to take pride in the work you do on stage. It is something little ones should learn early in order to prepare them for what it might be like on stage one day.

[Kelly Wickham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Israel loves Halloween so he really connected with this book. It brought up a lot of exciting feelings for him about costumes and pumpkins. He was always able to read this book almost all by himself and he was very proud of that. The plot was easy for him to understand and he learned some new vocabulary and concepts while reading it. The pictures are also artistic and interesting. We really enjoyed it!

[Erin Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having confidence and always practicing for big events might help a little bit of children's nervousness go away. This is a great book to read to children before they do any sorta of play for school. Even though the books theme is around Halloween, this book teaches ways that might help children before any play. I loved being able to read this story because it got me into the Halloween spirit!

[Our Weekend Is Booked · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was wondering why this little mouse looked so familiar. My son insisted it was the mouse from If You Give A Mouse A Cookie and that's when I googled the author/illustrator and found out she did the illustrations for the If You Give series. The story is sweet about a little mouse who is going to be participating in a Halloween Play. Nothing spooky about this book so it was a win.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another adorable book read by one of my classmates. This book is all about being brave in a situation even if it’s a small part in a play, all you need to do is your best and give it your all. Kids would love the pictures in the book.!

[Amita Singh · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is good read aloud book with detailed pictures. The story line is not very entertaining but if read around Halloween time it would be well received due to the relevance. Children will be able to relate to it and would enjoy.

[Peacegal · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars--This is a charming little story about a group of mice who put on a school play, and one little mouse's quiet, but especially important, role onstage. This is a sweet, non-spooky read perfect for Halloween.

[Lili · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was pretty good

[Nyiaa And TTs · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like this story because mouse are so cute🆗

[Lauren Riviere · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a nice holiday book it would be nice to read during the season but other than that I don't really see a point. But it's a good book; nice pictures.

[Asha McKay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short a sweet story about a Halloween themed school play.

[Ethan & Isaac · Rating 3 out of 5]

A standing ovation for a mouse to stand there with a pumpkin head?!

[Mia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simple story about a mouse who's nervous about being in the Halloween play. Very short. Easy to understand. Small basic pictures on each page.

[Benoitcesoir · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute Halloween story for children that might think Halloween is too scary.

[Kelly Chester · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great book !

[Marcy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really cute story

[Annie S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this shon book from my childhood.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

8 year old daughter read this out loud with little trouble.

[Annie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Seriously lacking in plot even by kids’ books standards

[Jenna White · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh.

[Annie MacPherson · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVE 🧡 Highly recommend to all friends of Cookie Mouse!

[Sha · Rating 1 out of 5]

I personally am not a Halloween fan, so please take that into consideration when you read my review. One of my nieces requested that I read it to her so I did. I did not like the mice dressing up like skeletons, a witch and ghosts. For that reason I would not recommend this book to any of my friends or relatives. I did like Roger, however, who was the cutest mouse of all. Even though he did not have any words to say in the play he had an important part as the pumpkin of the play. What is great is how proud he and his family were of him.

[Janet Luch · Rating 3 out of 5]

Roger the mouse's class is giving a play for Halloween and this story tells the events leading up to the big day. The class members send invitations, practice, etc. Roger has a small part at the end of the play of being the Halloween pumpkin. The suspense of the story leads up to this revelation. Roger's parents are proud of him and Roger is pleased with his performance as well.
This simple story with detailed pictures is a wonderful book to read around Halloween since it details what happens when a class has a program and that each person in the program is important.

[Jamie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Story about a mouse in a Halloween play. Could've done a lot more with the story... I felt like there was no plot line. No mention of how little parts still mean something, or any importance or message. Cute pictures though. The boys I read it to loved it for some reason. This is the first book they've both asked me to read again and then looked through it on their own again... I just didn't get it. But your kids wont miss anything if they don't know about it.

[Cathi · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a cute book, with a mildly entertaining story. (It's quite a disappointment, compared to the other Felicia Bond books.) The worst thing about this book is that the illustrations are so small. They're on decent-sized pages, yet they only fill up a portion of the paper. Why? If I were a little kid, I'd be annoyed by the small pictures with lots of blank paper surrounding them. But that's just me.

[Josiah · Rating 1 out of 5]

The illustrator of "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" and its stream of semi-sequels here constructs an entire story on her own, and does a good job of it. This book will be well received near Halloween or at any time of year, and the story is above average for what it is. I like it, and would give it one and a half stars.

[Jackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Roger's big performance is coming up in the school's Halloween Performance. There was plenty of talent at the school, and they practiced and practiced to get it just right. The audience loved it! But, was Roger a hit, too? You bet.

Used for "An Actor's Life for Me!: Sing, Act, Dance" Storytime- October, 2010.