Growing up, we used to sing “Trick or treat, smell my feet, dance around the toilet seat” and the image of boogie-ing around the potty was always a show-stopper for me. And now, thank Heavens, we have Lisa Desimini’s “Trick or Treat, Smell my Feet” to entertain us just as hilariously. This is the tale of twin witches, Delia and Ophelia, who take it upon themselves (as all true witches do) to ruin Halloween for the sweet neighborhood kids. So, they concoct a spell using, you guessed it, stinky socks. All does not run smoothly for these identical hags, and your kids will adore the result. I do…almost as much as lambada-ing around the john.
Tag Archives: katie zeigler
Monday: The Witches
While it may not be a Halloween book, per se, no spooky book list should neglect to include Roald Dahl’s “The Witches” – one of my (and my sons) all time favorites. Not only do we get to meet a cigar-smoking Norwegian grandmother, but we encounter ladies with itchy scalps, quite a few references to dog poo (and really, who could resist that!?!) and several reasons for your children not to bathe regularly. The coupling of Roald Dahl and long-time illustrator Quentin Blake is a marriage made in heaven for any book, but for this one in particular. Don’t miss Lynn Redgrave’s reading of “The Witches” on the audio book, and, if you’re feeling particularly witchy, check out the movie starring Angelica Huston. It’s nowhere near as spectacular as the book (few movies are), but entertaining nonetheless.
Share this:
Sunday: Georgie
No Halloween book list would be complete without “Georgie” by Robert Bright. Written in 1944, Georgie features not only the gentle little ghost from the title, but the wonderfully spooky illustrations by Bright himself. Georgie lives with the Whittakers and provides them with a little ghostly routine of a creaky floorboard and a squeaky parlor door. But when Mr Whittaker decides to fix these, where does that leave Georgie, who really doesn’t want to scare a soul? This vintage Halloween tale has been delighting parents and children for more than 60 years and should take its rightful place on the bookshelves of families for 100 more.
Share this:
Saturday: The Vanishing Pumpkin
Where else can you find a 700-year old woman, an 800-year old man, a rapscallion, a ghoul and a varmint? Not to mention characters who say things like “Great snakes!” (which, let’s face it, everyone should say now and then…). Look no further than the delightful book, “The Vanishing Pumpkin” by Tony Johnston, illustrated by, none other than, Tomie DePaola. My sons wait all year long to check this book out of the library each October and now my older son loves to read it to his little brother with all the silly voices he can possibly muster. What starts with a missing pumpkin and a hearty desire for pumpkin pie quickly becomes a veritable parade of Halloween misfits and a seriously old wizard. Don’t miss this wonderful Halloween book. (Or I might just have to say “Great snakes!”)
Share this:
Thursday: The Wicked Big Toddlah
For those of you who share in my love affair with all things Maine and New England, you should know that there is a seemingly endless supply of wonderful books by Maine authors and about Maine. Down East Books offers a fantastic line of such children’s books – with classics like “Miss Rumphius” by Barbara Cooney and Robert McCloskey’s “One Morning in Maine” and other, perhaps less known, treasures, like “Antlers Forever” by Frances Bloxam.
One of the more delightful of these, chosen by my darling friend Alison – who has exquisite taste in books…and friends… is “The Wicked Big Toddlah” by Kevin Hawkes – about an oversized baby delivered to a family in Maine. From the enormous diapers to the struggling stork, the words and illustrations are fantastic…my favorite is when Uncle Bert meets the baby for the first time and says, “That’s a wicked big toddlah ya got theyah, Jessie!” and I can’t help but thing of how much I love that very accent on annual trips to Maine every summer. It’s a fun ready – with adorable pictures and a perfect fix for this Maine-iac.
Share this:
My Mama’s Goodnight
On more than one occasion, I have been asked for children’s book recommendations. Now, let me get a few things straight. If you look up “Literature Geek” in the dictionary, there’s a photo of me – looking rather svelte and fetching, I might add. I was an English major at Stanford and then apparently couldn’t get enough, so I stayed on for graduate school for a Masters in English too. I love books. I have always wanted to be a writer yet, save for the occasional published short story or, wait for it, my entry into “Chicken Soup for the Single Soul”, I’m more inclined these days to suggest really amazing children’s books to others. And, yes, I’m that annoying mother who consistently gives books as presents to kids for their birthdays…which probably rates me along with argyle socks on the children’s’ wish lists…But, I love them and I love it when a book makes me and my children smile.
I am lucky enough to have two sons who adore books – and, fortunately, have inherited my quirky sense of humor when it comes to literature. Example? All books sound better when read out loud with a British accent. It’s the truth. Try it. Even my sons do it now and it warms my heart like nothing else to overhear my older song reading Captain Underpants like Mick Jagger.
Now, this blog is not like a book club. I loathe book clubs. I think perhaps it has to do with the fact that I spent a great part of my education sitting in small rooms with other literary people talking incessantly about every minute detail of every great work of literature since the dawn of man. And I’m done. I have no interest in sitting together with a bunch of people talking about Oprah’s latest book pick. Even the inherent cocktails aren’t enough to draw me in. And I love sitting around and I love books and I love cocktails, just not altogether in the same room. This might also be due to the fact that my taste in books is, well, not exactly mainstream. Sure, I adored Olive Kitteridge and I even read the Twilight series (and, yes, subjected myself to the teeming masses of fellow suburban moms to see the movies) but if I were to be completely honest, I’ve always been drawn to the more obscure books. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve read Jane Eyre exactly 256 times and I still swoon over Rochester. And, when prompted, I can recite entire passages of The Great Gatsby, but I also adore Brautigan’s Trout Fishing in America and Collins’ The Woman in White and sincerely hope you run out and buy those two immediately.
The same applies to children’s books. Again, no one loves The Giving Tree more than I…I even played the tree in my 4th grade recital..but these recommendations are meant to propel you to your local library or bookstore armed with a few tricks up your sleeve. Some books are quite famous, some are no longer in publication, but all are wonderful.
So, without further ado, let’s begin…
Oh, and in case you were wondering, the name of this blog comes from the title of a children’s book I wrote and carry around in my pocket like a talisman. Maybe someday it will make this list as well…
My Mama's Goodnight 