Halloween Hoots and Howls

by Joan Horton (Illustrator), JoAnn Adinolfi (Illustrator)

There's going to be a party.
You're invited one and all.
We'll be waiting there to greet you
At the Ghost and Goblin Ball.

A Frankenstein who shops at the grocery store. A ghost who's afraid of ghosts. A witch with a turbo broomstick. These are just a few of the quirky ghouls and goblins children will meet in this playful picture book brimming with holiday cheer.

Joan Horton's silly, spooky poems and JoAnn Adinolfi's whimsical illustrations capture the spirit and excitement trick-or-treaters expect on Halloween. So this year, give a giggle and a shiver for Halloween Hoots and Howls!

Genres: Halloween, Poetry, Picture Books, Childrens, Nonfiction, Holiday

32 pages, Hardcover

First published October 15, 1999

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author Joan Horton and illustrator JoAnn Adinolfi join forces in this engaging collection of twenty Halloween poems, addressing everything from witchy advertisements to Dr. Frankenstein's shopping list. Some are silly, and some are spooky, but each of these well-constructed poems celebrates the fun of the holiday...

Halloween Hoots and Howls is my first book from both Horton and Adinolfi, but I certainly hope it will not be my last! These poems read well, and are full of entertainingly monstrous details, while the accompanying artwork, done in gouache, watercolor and pastel, is suffused with the colors of the season, and features many quirky figures. My personal favorite, from a textual perspective, is A Halloween Quiz, in which the reader is asked ten ghoulish questions, all in rhyme. "Why do skeletons hide their brooms,?" the readers is asked, and then told: "So the lazybones won't have to clean their rooms." This series of questions could make for an excellent Halloween story-time, as the storyteller asks the questions, lets the children guess, and then provides the solution, to much giggling, I would imagine. Recommended to picture-book readers looking for Halloween read-aloud titles.

[Allie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another great seasonal poetry book. The students would really enjoy reading all the fun and spooky poems. I would use this for their fluency during fall time. Not all of the poems are Halloween related, for those students who do not celebrate Halloween. I would send a copy of a poem home with each student on Monday and then on Friday the students can preform the poem for the whole class. I would choose specific poems for mini lessons with my students such as rhyming, syllables and phrasing. After reading a few poems out of this book I would then stick it in my classroom library. I would recommend this book for first-third grade classroom.

[Maggie Ignasiak · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection of Halloween poems really puts me right into that Halloween spirit. Some of the poems are cute and silly while others are spooky. This is great for everyone and offers a nice assortment of poetry styles.

[Pug · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some are better than others (particularly "The Dancing Ghost").
They're more fun to read out loud.

[Shelbi Hardin]

I would teach about word choice and conventions while using this mentor text.

[Renee Slawson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I chose to put this book on my favorites shelf because it is a fun read for children. This book is colorful, has fun poems, and makes reading enjoyable for youngsters. The poems are interesting to read because they are short, silly and placed on the pages in a fun fashion. This book is great for students in intermediate grades, as some of the words may not be understood by younger students. Teachers can use this book when teaching about poetry.

Genre: Poetry/Rhymes/Children

I would like to use this book in my classroom when teaching poetry to students. When introducing poetry, I would ask students to pick from the many poetry books on our classroom bookshelf labeled under "Poetry", where this book would be placed. I would especially like to introduce this book during the month of October as a read aloud. I then would have my students make up their own poems and have them present them to the class.

[Erika Stauch]

This book hasn't won any awards. It is great for grades PreK-2. This book is full of many seasonal poems. It has frankestien who goes grocery shopping. A ghost who is afraid of ghosts. Also a witch who has a turbo broom stick. This characters are few of the many in the story book. This book is great for young children. It is full of funny poems and characters. It is seasonal so it would be great for a halloween of fall unit and activities. I would use this book in my classroom to help children with their fluency. I could also use this as a fall unit activity or an introduction to an activity.

[Bailey Schmidt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Super fun Halloween themed poem book. I loved the format of the book, each page was a new poem with a new description of something Halloween related. I would have this in my classroom and read it as the holiday approaches. This could be a fun way of creating a guessing game for students as each poem doesn't exactly say what it is describing but gives very good clues. The poetry would also be great for classroom use!

[Jackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Halloween Hoots and Howls is a collection of not-too-scary halloween stories for young people. Funny, colorful illustrations accompany each poem.

Used for "Fall for Pumpkins" storytime- October, 2009.

[Eden Silverfox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ghosts, skeletons, Frankenstein and more in this silly book of Halloween poetry.

I enjoyed the silly and fun poems in this book along with the colorful illustrations. This is a perfect for children to read for Halloween that isn't scary.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a humorous collection of Halloween-themed poems - they are short, rhyming, and fun to read aloud. The illustrations are cartoonish and colorful. We enjoyed reading them together, and we chucked at the epitaphs on the gravestones on the endpapers.

[Jennybug · Rating 3 out of 5]

Spooky Poems!

[Monique Mcdonald]

Holloween book

[Katie Casey · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of silly Halloween rhymes.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

different stories about Halloween

[Peggy Archer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun poems and riddles

[Terri Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book of Halloween poems that would be a great resource during the month of October. Poetry could be introduced and children will have fun listening to all the rhyming words.

[Annabelle · Rating 1 out of 5]

0 stars creeped out my sister had a few giggles but pretty creepy

[Michell Karnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book of children's Halloween poems.