tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9609380427983043202024-03-05T11:44:41.451-05:00Books That Go Bump In The NightAND THOSE THAT COME QUIETLY AND DIVINE YOUR FUTUREAfraid of the Darkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11666443932410048569noreply@blogger.comBlogger38125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-960938042798304320.post-4304476240279922872009-03-23T10:54:00.006-05:002009-03-23T11:31:27.570-05:00From the Collection: Knock Knock It's Halloween<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga6ibcebErXl9rbKWOOeHR0qREieKWAV3dAbhPEbJ03Oq-J7GaPHBOEgTdN5GfXCw6_Hj88yVEZzdquGwxNZzvbm9ImWheNqf4rSRTkbaA2-8DmfDl5yplvubRZHV1dZXJ0IkzSknCkM0/s1600-h/knock+knock.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga6ibcebErXl9rbKWOOeHR0qREieKWAV3dAbhPEbJ03Oq-J7GaPHBOEgTdN5GfXCw6_Hj88yVEZzdquGwxNZzvbm9ImWheNqf4rSRTkbaA2-8DmfDl5yplvubRZHV1dZXJ0IkzSknCkM0/s320/knock+knock.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316415546448828290" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span><br /></div><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />The 13 Words!: </span><span>Halloween and silly knock knock jokes go together like monsters and get togethers.</span><br /><span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />The Creature from the Back Cover!:<br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span><blockquote><span style="font-style: italic;">Knock, Knock.</span></blockquote></span><span style="font-style: italic;">Who's there?</span><br /><span><blockquote> <span style="font-style: italic;">Ice cream.</span> </blockquote></span><span style="font-style: italic;">Ice cream who?</span><br /><span><blockquote> <span style="font-style: italic;">Ice cream, "Boo! It's Halloween!"</span></blockquote></span><span style="font-style: italic;">Have a ghoulish good time with over twenty knock-knock jokes, complete with a real working knocker!<br /><br /></span></div><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Facts that Attacked Mars!:<br /></span><span>Knock, Knock It's Halloween is written by Betty Schwartz and Illustrated by Barry Gott. Barry Gott also illustrated another Halloween book titled It Must Be Halloween, which seems like a book I'd like to have in my collection.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Monster Speaks!:<br /></span><span>I think this is a cute book. I like the little plastic door knocker attached to the book. It's a nice little extra. The illustrations are pretty well done, highlighting Halloween book favorites such as vampires, mummies, and monster.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">What Lurks Between These Covers?</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The Marvels!:<br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjqHrLQdA5ENu_S5ZmXchHm4w_rY5OUZMStKB8gC_LHnjuONQatA3k3Fxof9xEByszv1nXu7bj33Dln0HWl1FJ7YgDep08LStV52LAquhKe8_pyRB08jX-EWajbWCn7RKFQz8NZ_aImj4/s1600-h/DSCF1509.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjqHrLQdA5ENu_S5ZmXchHm4w_rY5OUZMStKB8gC_LHnjuONQatA3k3Fxof9xEByszv1nXu7bj33Dln0HWl1FJ7YgDep08LStV52LAquhKe8_pyRB08jX-EWajbWCn7RKFQz8NZ_aImj4/s200/DSCF1509.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316416637388691378" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">There's not enough mad scientists in picture books.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUsPziBY-hIO9DobwwkpOwAtz2XRzE0LKiNpTDzGkQZpbqPvvUeVcqZO4QijW1TfBIYIa0MgQDJUapM4FHC8tjaOTHK7yImatbt7bbsvQ1Zc4oI8v9cFoxHzcTXTTsLUtyJ14mE8FBOlE/s1600-h/DSCF1510.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUsPziBY-hIO9DobwwkpOwAtz2XRzE0LKiNpTDzGkQZpbqPvvUeVcqZO4QijW1TfBIYIa0MgQDJUapM4FHC8tjaOTHK7yImatbt7bbsvQ1Zc4oI8v9cFoxHzcTXTTsLUtyJ14mE8FBOlE/s200/DSCF1510.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316416647920607714" border="0" /></a>Drac looks a little distraught.<br /></div><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span>Afraid of the Darkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11666443932410048569noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-960938042798304320.post-66810992397535230852009-03-22T13:36:00.005-05:002009-03-23T11:34:37.736-05:00Some Appropriate Reviews<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdQXqjmGKghYsUXLI9_dT4nWQnAGz37YBi8ht4MCbaIm0OMiHu5qqlWNeVmIVnTSPQbXngJ18mxxWcLT9b3iY5m0JkROzCKog2a1RjFMKfaDA4qEq3sxjIgEFJUw1HhNk46NbQBIuEHJ4/s1600-h/jenny+green.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 133px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdQXqjmGKghYsUXLI9_dT4nWQnAGz37YBi8ht4MCbaIm0OMiHu5qqlWNeVmIVnTSPQbXngJ18mxxWcLT9b3iY5m0JkROzCKog2a1RjFMKfaDA4qEq3sxjIgEFJUw1HhNk46NbQBIuEHJ4/s200/jenny+green.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316085277545173890" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Jenny Green's Killer Junior Year by A</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">my Belasen and Jacob Osborne</span><br />Jenny Green is bored of her Long Island life. A self appointed Jewish American Princess (JAP) reeling from the latest round of high school humiliation and misery, Jenny decides to leave it all behind and start over in a new school, in a new place, with new faces. And what better place to start over than a boarding school way up north in Montreal, the very same boarding school her middle school crush, Josh Beck, attends? But along with a fresh start, Jenny also finds that not all experiences with the opposite sex are the stuff of romance novels. After her first accidental taste of murder and fed up with the lying, cheating ways of the males in her life, Jenny decides to take her revenge on those that have hurt her.<br /><a href="http://seriouslyread.wordpress.com/2009/01/14/review-jenny-greens-killer-junior-year/">Read full review...</a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">S</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">hadowed Summer by Saundra Mitchell</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw_Unn5XQks2-uhuoKK0l1EJxrAD9OpBFpt-Iwllmq8sGFI91eOzFZWzIKWIgD1x5lBhn-UkMb8S9lTRfTbo0x6C35Fm_JAw1qJDl3nuJpe0IG4KIjGBfVHwaP_MTUJ1EHoy-ohqtbZaE/s1600-h/shadowedsummer.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 132px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw_Unn5XQks2-uhuoKK0l1EJxrAD9OpBFpt-Iwllmq8sGFI91eOzFZWzIKWIgD1x5lBhn-UkMb8S9lTRfTbo0x6C35Fm_JAw1qJDl3nuJpe0IG4KIjGBfVHwaP_MTUJ1EHoy-ohqtbZaE/s200/shadowedsummer.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316085743909027282" border="0" /></a><br />In a small Louisiana town where nothing exciting has happened since the disappearance of Elijah years before they were even born, fourteen year old Ivy and her best friend Collette, bored with their lives in a boring town, dabble with magic and spirits. It’s all play until Ivy sees the real ghost of the missing boy, Elijah. <em><strong>Shadowed Summer</strong></em> by Saundra Mitchell is a story of a girl haunted by much more than a ghost as she struggles to solve a mystery, navigate a stormy friendship and a first crush, and deal with her own coming-of-age.<br /><a href="http://seriouslyread.wordpress.com/2009/03/19/review-shadowed-summer-by-saundra-mitchell/">Read full review...</a><em><strong></strong></em><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkO4TxXOckqM4DSxWfHeNGo8Hhy0ZxL_-sAHBi1ayrWe4qFI66JyenGw1na-1TPkME0oNi9SSm_I_S4c38dSWTsgG9z3jSmXgw_XR1xArS_tjPjzqXOSI5qbx1K4idAB5X_5w7-Mucqiw/s1600-h/skeletoncreekcover.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 131px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkO4TxXOckqM4DSxWfHeNGo8Hhy0ZxL_-sAHBi1ayrWe4qFI66JyenGw1na-1TPkME0oNi9SSm_I_S4c38dSWTsgG9z3jSmXgw_XR1xArS_tjPjzqXOSI5qbx1K4idAB5X_5w7-Mucqiw/s200/skeletoncreekcover.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316085881668843794" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Skeleton Creek by Patrick Carman</span><br />Something strange is going on in Skeleton Creek and Ryan and his best friend Sarah are determined to find out what that something really is. There’s just one small problem: Ryan is trapped in his house with a broken leg after an accident at the local dredge, the apparent hot-spot of strange happenings in Skeleton Creek, and his and Sarah’s parents have forbidden them from contacting each other. But Ryan and Sarah decide that the risk of getting caught is outweighed by the importance of what they must do. Ryan and Sarah continue digging into the mysteries of Skeleton Creek, aware of the danger they may already be in.<br /><a href="http://seriouslyread.wordpress.com/2009/03/11/review-skeleton-creek-by-patrick-carman/">Read full review...</a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span>Afraid of the Darkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11666443932410048569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-960938042798304320.post-37579814943043112072009-03-22T12:25:00.002-05:002009-03-22T12:30:43.186-05:00The Horror Returns!I've decided to resurrect this old blog.<br />You've been warned.<br /><br /><a href="http://seriouslyread.wordpress.com"></a>What you'll soon find here:<br /><ul><li>Treasures (and trash) from my Halloween book collection</li><li>Scary books for kids and teens (and sometimes adults, too)<br /></li><li>Weekly bibliomancy sessions</li><li>Horror themed book lists<br /></li></ul>In the meantime you can find my non-Halloween/scary book reviews at my book review blog <a href="http://seriouslyread.wordpress.com/">Seriously? I Read That?</a>Afraid of the Darkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11666443932410048569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-960938042798304320.post-75920263602378237882007-09-21T17:22:00.001-05:002007-09-21T17:26:48.412-05:00Jack, the depressed pumpkin<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p><object height="350" width="425"><param value="http://youtube.com/v/6PU1YMuZuQQ" name="movie"><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://youtube.com/v/6PU1YMuZuQQ" height="350" width="425"></embed></object></p></div><br /><br />A video created by a Catholic priest. A pumpkin finds Jesus... yea.. seriously.Afraid of the Darkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11666443932410048569noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-960938042798304320.post-80211688709313547692007-09-21T17:21:00.001-05:002007-09-21T17:21:56.769-05:00Halloween covered by the Creepshow<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><p><object height='350' width='425'><param value='http://youtube.com/v/abNszeMbz48' name='movie'/><embed height='350' width='425' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' src='http://youtube.com/v/abNszeMbz48'/></object></p><p>Good band, even better song</p></div>Afraid of the Darkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11666443932410048569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-960938042798304320.post-51407765426384711082007-09-21T17:20:00.001-05:002007-09-21T17:20:52.302-05:00Why I Didn't Enter The Pumpkin Carving Contest<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><p><object height='350' width='425'><param value='http://youtube.com/v/NPde0Nr5GeA' name='movie'/><embed height='350' width='425' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' src='http://youtube.com/v/NPde0Nr5GeA'/></object></p></div>Afraid of the Darkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11666443932410048569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-960938042798304320.post-42846318948302296052007-09-21T17:16:00.000-05:002007-09-21T17:17:58.634-05:00Not gone...School started and is already kicking my ass.<br /><br />I'm going to try to have a post up this weekend!<br /><br />Can't believe it's almost October already.Afraid of the Darkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11666443932410048569noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-960938042798304320.post-33208221070814030102007-08-29T22:46:00.000-05:002007-08-30T21:44:05.593-05:00Barbie: Friendship, Not for Sale (Barbie & Friends Book Club)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsDYF42TI3J6Uhkv0N9cUumIVFPTFbkdrgdieqh8ij0nu36JSZPirGHq4VeyG-PU1JLEcPjvC699KjmXgxcuSsdXhkBnASRaGu7-PCH9-8tFseCqn4uQOWkJga2miydOGyEsXOsUyW0ss/s1600-h/barbie+cover.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsDYF42TI3J6Uhkv0N9cUumIVFPTFbkdrgdieqh8ij0nu36JSZPirGHq4VeyG-PU1JLEcPjvC699KjmXgxcuSsdXhkBnASRaGu7-PCH9-8tFseCqn4uQOWkJga2miydOGyEsXOsUyW0ss/s400/barbie+cover.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5103423785852937602" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">The 13 Words!: </span><span>Caterpillers are boring. Even more boring when they become a costume for four.<br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Creature from the Back Cover!</span>: <span style="font-style: italic;">"Halloween is coming, and Stacie and her friends can't wait to showoff their caterpillar costume built for four. But when one of the girls announces she's moving, it's hard to get into the spirit. Barbie reminds the girls what being bests friends is all about."<br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Facts that Attacked Mars!: </span><span>This book is part of a series of Barbie books in a book club that as far as I can tell is no longer around</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Monster Speaks!: </span><span>Not too exciting. It's a pretty gentle Halloween read with no scares or anything of the sort. It's mostly a friendship story.<br />While it's not my favorite book in my collection, I do enjoy the photographs even though they are marginally Halloween related. I've always been fascinated by doll houses, and the photographs are sorta like a glimpse into a doll house in a way.</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">What Lurks Between These Covers?</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtRcQM4_-XOdGu-8dAZsIt9bWZZM9H4cKgyb9hwmW5KVeC_pIgZgy-TikSXVRTW7TUguy26tGJMjDrnPbj5_a22LIwcSeSiemhWWp1ghX0ZE8b7BV637DLrto4aXbckJweF7CsV3buJ5g/s1600-h/barbie+costume+making.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtRcQM4_-XOdGu-8dAZsIt9bWZZM9H4cKgyb9hwmW5KVeC_pIgZgy-TikSXVRTW7TUguy26tGJMjDrnPbj5_a22LIwcSeSiemhWWp1ghX0ZE8b7BV637DLrto4aXbckJweF7CsV3buJ5g/s400/barbie+costume+making.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5104688365958800802" border="0" /></a></span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Costume Making<br /></div><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAuuyWjfKjxNnxBnkuhjEBr7zUH5BrhSkg7YVEGPD908CkV5sI4BLa7f2PACBQOZIqy6A-MfCMRraaF8VZ2Gwhs2CyuRRT8_l1OR0JtJ9nJxfiBaMTs8FLcGsNoX9_gMxn4ncWJpkXqVw/s1600-h/barbie+party+scan.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAuuyWjfKjxNnxBnkuhjEBr7zUH5BrhSkg7YVEGPD908CkV5sI4BLa7f2PACBQOZIqy6A-MfCMRraaF8VZ2Gwhs2CyuRRT8_l1OR0JtJ9nJxfiBaMTs8FLcGsNoX9_gMxn4ncWJpkXqVw/s400/barbie+party+scan.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5104688700966249906" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">The Party<br /></div><br /><br />--My only question: where are Barbie and Stacie's parents? Are they orphans?<br /><br /><br /><br /><div class="tag_list"><span style="font-size:78%;">Tags: <span class="tags"><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/halloween+books" rel="tag">halloween books</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/barbie" rel="tag">barbie</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/barbie+books" rel="tag">barbie books</a></span></span></div>Afraid of the Darkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11666443932410048569noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-960938042798304320.post-70093070852230333852007-08-16T11:47:00.000-05:002007-08-16T12:16:23.182-05:00Ultimate Hidden Pictures on Halloween by Tony and Tony Tallarico<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5ixRCoF528TPIoYORIhWGC8jP9xVgfXim9_3hDlNrvZFpLXinUUKO1v3b_9ARPTBveX72mKmWi7hBZ8iHtjpFjMEDxqfbWC7R3IThqs5fmafn9FpMcu-IQOLcCfpKNGpJNrIlG93V7BE/s1600-h/hidden+pictures+cover.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5ixRCoF528TPIoYORIhWGC8jP9xVgfXim9_3hDlNrvZFpLXinUUKO1v3b_9ARPTBveX72mKmWi7hBZ8iHtjpFjMEDxqfbWC7R3IThqs5fmafn9FpMcu-IQOLcCfpKNGpJNrIlG93V7BE/s320/hidden+pictures+cover.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5099341277704168738" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">The 13 Words!: </span><span>Ever wondered where Dracula would hide an umbrella? This book holds the answer.<br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Creature from the Back Cover!</span>: <span style="font-style: italic;">"</span>Ultimate Hidden Pictures<span style="font-style: italic;"> is the ultimate in hidden picture fun. And in </span>Ultimate Hidden Pictures on Halloween <span style="font-style: italic;">there are so many things going bump in the night that the trick will be to find all of the treats."<br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Facts that Attacked Mars!: </span><span><span style="font-style: italic;">Ultimate Hidden Pictures on Halloween </span>was published in 2003 by Price Stern Sloan. Tony Tallarico (not sure which one out of the two listed on the cover as Tony and Tony) besides illustrating children's books, is also a comic book artist. He co-created <span style="font-style: italic;">Lobo</span> which only lasted two issues (1965 and 1966). In 2006 he received the </span>Pioneer Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Comics and Books Industries from Temple University. The award recognized his creation of the first comic book to star an African American.<br /><span><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Monster Speaks!: </span><span>I've always loved hidden picture books. Though, I was never a huge <span style="font-style: italic;">Where's Waldo</span> fan. <span style="font-style: italic;">Look for Lisa </span>was always my favorite (and coincidentally was also illustrated by Tony Tallarico). My favorite part was never really finding the hidden pictures. I could sit for hours just looking at the scenes depicted. I would scan every inch of the drawings looking for funny and clever things. This book didn't disappoint. The depicted scenes were interesting and highly detailed and full of shout outs to classic horror movies and television shows.<br />I guess my only complaint is that I wish the illustrations were done in color, but even in black and white there is plenty of visual stimuli to keep someone busy.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">What Lurks Between These Covers?<br /><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;">The Marvels!:<br /><br /></span><span>(click on images to view larger size)<br /></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpYCMxi0RDPMPBLluM2ASybTeApMoImiXi7Q6OUb4eRJZbuDW8AgqxCelT5FKqNRkY0GzzRvdMVsXnnsrcbqWo895iyq5MdcFZLZ8ecg80LVuJp9xevXlHWKowyylpSnTUzlpzpb7PbjE/s1600-h/hidden+pictures+masquerade.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpYCMxi0RDPMPBLluM2ASybTeApMoImiXi7Q6OUb4eRJZbuDW8AgqxCelT5FKqNRkY0GzzRvdMVsXnnsrcbqWo895iyq5MdcFZLZ8ecg80LVuJp9xevXlHWKowyylpSnTUzlpzpb7PbjE/s400/hidden+pictures+masquerade.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5099345942038652226" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifK7GyF_f3PjCj5A1UiLPWrGFy7zmzSwAuDesrKYNZFSswMMWG2VrBU2zSUibXEvTy8fvVtYXcExHq46qSet48_8hUga9b9VnAruufSa_OHkXY-HR4e5wuSbDoIsP_4ibStwtGCaB42OU/s1600-h/hidden+pictures+vonkreep.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifK7GyF_f3PjCj5A1UiLPWrGFy7zmzSwAuDesrKYNZFSswMMWG2VrBU2zSUibXEvTy8fvVtYXcExHq46qSet48_8hUga9b9VnAruufSa_OHkXY-HR4e5wuSbDoIsP_4ibStwtGCaB42OU/s400/hidden+pictures+vonkreep.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5099346350060545362" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIpzB_T8OKxHxDMNfA51tfKVp_VsirVhpowv4QvyfKR-JMgA8hO9AQt6V4Yb3X76Z2kL_ERXLCerfqWfb3s17cHnDf5e_eUUymfOlQy3MwNP_vBsljlHOpy6tYYpFu2QeKCWAqe7Mg1aY/s1600-h/hidden+pictures+day+after+1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIpzB_T8OKxHxDMNfA51tfKVp_VsirVhpowv4QvyfKR-JMgA8hO9AQt6V4Yb3X76Z2kL_ERXLCerfqWfb3s17cHnDf5e_eUUymfOlQy3MwNP_vBsljlHOpy6tYYpFu2QeKCWAqe7Mg1aY/s400/hidden+pictures+day+after+1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5099346642118321506" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPpQCMvzGVSIrLSInIiCo7QzDcpKsc4AJGgVhNeFpwthCuCkKmkYLG-UKAlHo_T-25zYiyptLtCyXl9O_F596ptLkRfWWyC5UHSQElOWrqPnwO-7o7sU4K8HyF4xb5z_NYPgT7ZE2TY20/s1600-h/hidden+pictures+day+after+2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPpQCMvzGVSIrLSInIiCo7QzDcpKsc4AJGgVhNeFpwthCuCkKmkYLG-UKAlHo_T-25zYiyptLtCyXl9O_F596ptLkRfWWyC5UHSQElOWrqPnwO-7o7sU4K8HyF4xb5z_NYPgT7ZE2TY20/s400/hidden+pictures+day+after+2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5099346740902569330" border="0" /></a><br /><div class="tag_list"><span style="font-size:78%;"><br /><br />Tags: <span class="tags"><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/halloween+books" rel="tag">halloween books</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/hidden+pictures" rel="tag">hidden pictures</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Tony+Tallarico" rel="tag">Tony Tallarico</a></span></span></div>Afraid of the Darkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11666443932410048569noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-960938042798304320.post-36067955550901427482007-08-16T10:21:00.000-05:002007-09-21T17:31:50.814-05:00New Halloween Book Releases<span style="font-weight: bold;">The past few weeks (and especially the past 3 days) have seen quite a few Halloween book releases. I've listed most of them here.</span><br /><br />Pop-up and Play Spooky Shadows by Richard Fowler<br /><br />Tucker's Spooky Halloween by Leslie McGuirk<br /><br />Halloweentown: Witch's Amulet by Lucy Ruggers<br /><br />Hannah Montana: Nightmare on Hannah Street<br /><br />Halloween Surprise by DK<br /><br />Baby Strawberry's First Halloween<br /><br />Halloween is Here, Corduroy<br /><br />Strawberry Shortcake Friendship Club: Halloween Hideout by Bryant<br /><br />The Three Bears Halloween by Kathy Duval<br /><br />Darlene Halloween and the Great Fire by Peter Willing<br /><br />Witches' Night Before Halloween by Lesley Bannatyne<br /><br />The Witches' Ball by David Steinberg<br /><br />Disney Princess: Sweet & Spooky Halloween<br /><br />Halloween Makes Me Batty by Fran Posner<br /><br />Happy Halloween Stinky Face by Lisa McCourt<br /><br />Disney's Haunted Mansion book<br /><br />The Restless Dead: 10 Original Stories of the Supernatural edited by Deborah Noyes<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /></span><br /><br /><div class="tag_list"><span style="font-size:78%;">Tags: <span class="tags"><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/halloween+books" rel="tag">halloween books</a></span></span></div>Afraid of the Darkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11666443932410048569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-960938042798304320.post-46336901446448270112007-08-07T10:41:00.000-05:002007-08-08T13:42:02.825-05:00Karen's Ghost (Baby-Sitters Little Sister #12) by Ann M. Martin<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWt9n1lHER72JQ156K7nGOxAixjYIFquoQP9CXFsVlfWzRLSKhkXM29a_uskpfws7oB8nYL-kXZhy-YIuGgqYzSbIPUmfm1nLNiYuTEzyoD2L-88YME016oQe9AO3LxC9ECozirsKit_I/s1600-h/karens+ghost+cover.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWt9n1lHER72JQ156K7nGOxAixjYIFquoQP9CXFsVlfWzRLSKhkXM29a_uskpfws7oB8nYL-kXZhy-YIuGgqYzSbIPUmfm1nLNiYuTEzyoD2L-88YME016oQe9AO3LxC9ECozirsKit_I/s320/karens+ghost+cover.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5095984487518245874" border="0" /></a><span>[I had this post almost ready to go yesterday, but soon found myself in Eclipse land. So, blame the wonderful author Stephenie Meyer for the lack of posts. Edward and Bella will also win out over the bratty Karen Brewer. Always.]</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />The 13 Words!: </span><span>I still hope that Ben Brewer's ghost will turn out to be malevolent.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />The Creature from the Back Cover! </span><span>"<span style="font-style: italic;">Karen thinks there's a ghost in her house! But she's never really </span>seen<span style="font-style: italic;"> the ghost of Old Ben Brewer---until now.</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Karen and her stepsister Kristy have found out that Ben Brewer and his spooky friends are going to have a birthday party in </span>her<span style="font-style: italic;"> attic on </span>Halloween night<span style="font-style: italic;">!</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">It used to be fun having a ghost around. But now Karen's not so sure!"</span><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Facts that Attacked Mars!: </span>Baby-Sitters little sister is a series created by Ann M. Martin as a spin off of the Baby-Sitters Club books. Karen Brewer is Kristy Thomas' step sister. Her father is Watson Brewer (Millionaire). He married Kristy's mother.<br />This series had quite a few Halloween related titles, certainly more than the BSC ever had.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Monster Speaks!: </span><span>What is there really to say? I hate Karen Brewer. I hate her in the BSC books. I hate her in these books. She's a brat. But I'm a sick, sad individual and have quite a few Little Sister Halloween books. The plot of this one is pretty straight forward (and boring). The back cover pretty much tells the whole thing.<br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">What Lurks Between These Covers?<br /><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;">The Marvels!:<br /></span><ul><li><span style="font-style: italic;">"</span>Honk! Honk!<span style="font-style: italic;"> Mommy was here. It was time to go back to the little house" <span style="font-size:78%;">(p 51)</span>. </span>I always imagine Karen's mother as a goose during this part.<br /></li></ul><span style="font-style: italic;">The Horror!:<br /></span><ul><li>it's Karen Brewer</li><li>the stupid slang terms. especially gigundo. ugh</li><li>I have never understood why the Brewers refuse to use the third floor of the house. So much just doesn't make sense about it.</li></ul><div class="tag_list"><span style="font-size:78%;">Tags: <span class="tags"><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/baby-sitters+little+sister" rel="tag">baby-sitters little sister</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Karen+Brewer" rel="tag">Karen Brewer</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/halloween+books" rel="tag">halloween books</a></span></span></div>Afraid of the Darkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11666443932410048569noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-960938042798304320.post-45728994606823281682007-08-01T14:18:00.000-05:002007-08-01T14:55:59.800-05:00Junie B., First Grader : Boo...and I MEAN IT! by Barbara Park<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCeTwHBRhzXuTddZxMdBTjfmT2jfckliLrZq9ymU1vsuTo9cGiH64HghAvGZPZsTixaYT_js4Px6NNomMkU6ifN4S9NkRP7SPMRKAAiy6bwf03TD1QaJcR7qpaYNQBjE3b6NEvaaBv32M/s1600-h/junie+b+cover.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCeTwHBRhzXuTddZxMdBTjfmT2jfckliLrZq9ymU1vsuTo9cGiH64HghAvGZPZsTixaYT_js4Px6NNomMkU6ifN4S9NkRP7SPMRKAAiy6bwf03TD1QaJcR7qpaYNQBjE3b6NEvaaBv32M/s320/junie+b+cover.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5093815108126970850" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">The 13 Words!:</span><span> </span>A fun book that portrays Halloween through a child's eyes, fears, and words.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />The Creature from the Back Cover!: </span><span style="font-style: italic;">"It's Halloween! Only here's the trouble. Junie B. Jones is afraid to go tick-or-treating. 'Cause what if witches and monsters are </span><span>really</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> real? And what if pumpkins with sharp teeth and eat your feet? And don't even get her </span><span>started</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> on the candy corn problem. So how is Junie B. supposed to even enjoy this holiday? But then---with a little help from a friend---she gets an idea for a costume guaranteed to outscare even the </span><span>creepiest</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> competition. And so maybe Halloween will turn out to be a real scream after all!"</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Facts that Attacked Mars!: </span><span>Junie B. Jones is a series created by Barbara Park. The series debuted in 1992 with the first book, <span style="font-style: italic;">Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus. </span>So far, 26 other books have been published. There has also been theatrical productions based on the series.<br />The books have been challenged in Wisconsin and North Carolina school districts. Despite this, the series continues to be extremely popular among young readers.<br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Monster Speaks!: </span><span>I figured this was an appropriate choice considering the recent NY Times article that asks: <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/26/fashion/26junie.html?bl&ex=1185854400&en=37d7f499b47e3164&ei=5087%0A">Is Junie B. Jones Talking Trash?</a>. I'm not a grammarian, parent, or a child, so my view of Junie B. Jones is quite neutral. I suppose I fall into the at least kids are choosing to read books camp. I attend a college where far too many students are proud to proclaim they have not read a book in 5 or 10 years. Some even boast of never having finished a book. (saddest part- many of these "students" are education majors aiming to teach in elementary schools) But, that's another story for another day.<br /><br />I found Boo...and I MEAN IT! a very enjoyable read. It obviously, isn't high literary fiction for children. But, it never pretended to be or I would venture to say, aimed to be. I laughed at quite a few occasions, and grew to like the characters.<br /><br />As far as Halloween books go, this is one of the better ones published in the past 5 years. It has the perfect tone for the target age group--not very scary, but illustrating real fears that many children do have.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">What Lurks Between These Covers?</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The Marvels!:<br /></span><ul><li>the 5 scary secrets that Paulie Allen Puffer told Junie are, in my opinion, very realistic details of a child's imagination. I can imagine my 6 year old self either hearing these "secrets" or telling them to my friends at school.</li><ol><li>real witches and monsters go trick-or-treating on Halloween</li><li>pumpkins with pointy teeth eat feet</li><li>bats wll swoop down and live in hair</li><li>black cats can claw someone into "shreddle"</li><li>candy corn isn't really corn</li></ol></ul><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The Horror!:<br /></span><ul><li>I don't really have anything bad to say about this book, but I'm sure others have plenty to say.<br /></li></ul><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span><div class="tag_list"><span style="font-size:78%;">Tags: <span class="tags"><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/halloween+books" rel="tag">halloween books</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/junie+b.+jones" rel="tag">junie b. jones</a></span></span></div>Afraid of the Darkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11666443932410048569noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-960938042798304320.post-10191695506924575892007-07-31T16:48:00.000-05:002007-07-31T16:55:13.610-05:00Still Here<span>I'm still around.<br /><br />Haven't been neglecting this blog on purpose. I should have a post up tomorrow. Not sure what book I'm doing yet.<br /><br />Periodically, I search Google for other Halloween books collectors. My search usually comes up empty. I find it hard to believe that there are not others with the same hobby out there.<br /><br />So, anyway, I should have a post up tomorrow.<br /><br />In the mean time, here are some links to Halloween book related sites and information.<br /><br /><a href="http://halloween.lisamorton.com/books.html">Halloween Bibliography</a><br /><br /><a href="http://kids.nypl.org/reading/recommended2.cfm?ListID=54">Recommended Halloween Reading from the NY Public Library</a><br /><br /><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;"></span>Afraid of the Darkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11666443932410048569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-960938042798304320.post-27348271786003795992007-07-26T20:36:00.000-05:002007-07-27T12:58:45.721-05:00The Holloween Goblin (Pixie Tricks #4) by Tracey West<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGyYJvZTlhKZwJZcF8F4N-CUB1qkH4eRk6m8U2XcQFYjLSK7LJ7LCX0END8vDiZUIFemJbktQO855vVojCYTg1d7r3scJG2fEszm87ts9zp1NYdAaNn0LGLQ-n7fDR5KlNl3hxwt4Ep5Q/s1600-h/goblin+cover.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGyYJvZTlhKZwJZcF8F4N-CUB1qkH4eRk6m8U2XcQFYjLSK7LJ7LCX0END8vDiZUIFemJbktQO855vVojCYTg1d7r3scJG2fEszm87ts9zp1NYdAaNn0LGLQ-n7fDR5KlNl3hxwt4Ep5Q/s320/goblin+cover.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5091684950377042850" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">The 13 Words!: </span><span>Pixie Tricks indeed, this book tricked me into believing it was about Halloween.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Creature from the Back Cover!</span>: <span style="font-style: italic;">"Fourteen fairies have escaped from their world. Now they're causing trouble in out world! It's up to a girl named Violet and a fairy named Sprite to trick them all and send them back home. Who will they trick next?</span> <span style="font-style: italic;"> A spooky goblin is haunting Violet's town, and the pixie Buttercup is giving everyone a case of the hiccups. Can Violet and Sprite stop the pranksters, or are they in for double trouble?"</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Facts that Attacked Mars!:</span><span> <span style="font-style: italic;">The Halloween Goblin</span> is book four in the <span style="font-style: italic;">Pixie Tricks</span> series by Tracey West, published in 2000. The entire series ran from 2000-2001 and consisted of eight books. The series was published in the US by Scholastic.<br />Tracey West is also the author of numerous Scholastic series including <span style="font-style: italic;">Scream Shop.</span><br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Monster Speaks!: </span><span>So, I've never liked fairies, sprites, pixies, brownies, whatever you want to call them. I'm almost positive this stems from my mothers supreme hatred towards Peter Pan and especially Tinkerbelle.<br />Anyway, I thought this might be ok since it says Halloween right on the cover. I was wrong. The book takes place weeks before Halloween. There is no trick-or-treating, no costumes (well there is a guy in a creepy bunny suit), no candy.<br />The Halloween in the title is a reference to Bogey Bill, the cute little guy sitting on the pumpkin in the cover scan. (He kind of reminds me of a low-rent Nosferatu)<br />You see, Bogey Bill loves to scare people and wishes everyday was Halloween. I'm not sure why the author chose to not have the book take place on Halloween, or at least the day before while the characters were preparing for the holiday. Bogey Bill's pranks could have had a heightened effect on children already a little creeped out by the holiday.<br />And then there is a thing about hiccups and Buttercup another fairy thing, and then some tricking and all is well until the next book.<br />All in all, the entire thing felt like a fluffy Artemis Fowl mixed with an even fluffier Spiderwick.<br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">What Lurks Between These Covers?<br /><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;">The Marvels!:<br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOYPYdaWFk3eTeafWX5OA8W6aCl4M5lxHRH9vnD8h_IO0mrCipXjMQ0quZEVKstnfb3YX85NAicU41oUdHPGCNZ-3gjpP1ejpeV2tsaHHd6g3L8J6uFvL2BObOrkzLhYv_S8eVQgr3ChE/s1600-h/gblin+stickers.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOYPYdaWFk3eTeafWX5OA8W6aCl4M5lxHRH9vnD8h_IO0mrCipXjMQ0quZEVKstnfb3YX85NAicU41oUdHPGCNZ-3gjpP1ejpeV2tsaHHd6g3L8J6uFvL2BObOrkzLhYv_S8eVQgr3ChE/s320/gblin+stickers.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5091685899564815298" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Each book comes with stickers.<br /><br /></div><span style="font-style: italic;">The Horror!:<br /></span><ul><li>it's not about Halloween</li><li>enough said</li></ul><br /><div class="tag_list"><span style="font-size:78%;">Tags: <span class="tags"><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/pixie+tricks" rel="tag">pixie tricks</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/halloween+goblin" rel="tag">halloween goblin</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/books+masquerading+as+halloween+books" rel="tag">books masquerading as halloween books</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/children%27s+books" rel="tag">children's books</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Tracey+West" rel="tag">Tracey West</a></span></span></div>Afraid of the Darkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11666443932410048569noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-960938042798304320.post-67232679684489431412007-07-23T12:41:00.000-05:002007-07-23T13:06:55.647-05:00My First Halloween Book by Colleen L. Reece<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU0fnUrInNgAtLXd7F6Lgs5OIqkraIEqVkpOWKjHOyjX3Fz3BzLimU7WrbpbYYW4hieaH4U167hFrkVAMg8D7znktkvjjmhq5irKrIkqQjvJKDgeHi6vmwW3sfyON628flzI_txSL9SVU/s1600-h/my+first+halloween+cover.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU0fnUrInNgAtLXd7F6Lgs5OIqkraIEqVkpOWKjHOyjX3Fz3BzLimU7WrbpbYYW4hieaH4U167hFrkVAMg8D7znktkvjjmhq5irKrIkqQjvJKDgeHi6vmwW3sfyON628flzI_txSL9SVU/s320/my+first+halloween+cover.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5090453428634456978" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">The 13 Words!: </span><span>Jack Prelutsky she certainly isn't. But, overall, an enjoyable stab at Holiday poetry.<br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Creature from the Back Cover!</span>: Back cover is blank !<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Facts that Attacked Mars!: </span><span><span style="font-style: italic;">My First Halloween Book </span>is a collection of Halloween poems with accompanying illustrations, published in 1984 by Childrens Press. The author, Colleen L. Reece seems to also be a Christian romance author.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Monster Speaks!: </span>Cute poems, nothing scary. The illustrations are all of chubby cheeked children (plus witches and a few adults), that kind of remind me of <a href="http://hometown.aol.com/sunyday76/HuggaBunch.html">Huggabunch</a> dolls.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">What Lurks Between These Covers?<br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-style: italic;">The Marvels!:<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSogcegqnzQXVWnkaJb9l8DEnnxmG1-l168uRAUQ4HFysKL9CE-237aSw4y0Bd3_lcMRDoVuSdAXQcdEtwhIXzuvp5LQg-IWdFR3h9yJC6dMBfGsR1_Vn5nfx2wNuQgBqisynm5iz1apE/s1600-h/my+first+halloween+house.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSogcegqnzQXVWnkaJb9l8DEnnxmG1-l168uRAUQ4HFysKL9CE-237aSw4y0Bd3_lcMRDoVuSdAXQcdEtwhIXzuvp5LQg-IWdFR3h9yJC6dMBfGsR1_Vn5nfx2wNuQgBqisynm5iz1apE/s320/my+first+halloween+house.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5090451818021720898" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCh7YvyUJCLJiVjnUAtywLAv4UV9rL7W2ypEWdiIBaybULGA84zVNMvf8u3awKsivSV8DTQHPBD13IfIuUbv9zaAxRRTOWbeNELx1NS9y4pFonfF3yjZcE8tdryDlUubUVgVIDsbudo20/s1600-h/my+first+halloween+history+illus.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCh7YvyUJCLJiVjnUAtywLAv4UV9rL7W2ypEWdiIBaybULGA84zVNMvf8u3awKsivSV8DTQHPBD13IfIuUbv9zaAxRRTOWbeNELx1NS9y4pFonfF3yjZcE8tdryDlUubUVgVIDsbudo20/s320/my+first+halloween+history+illus.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5090452380662436706" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu0WpYlYf0nVWYcvm2m6ebEQCIHwppuUXpt-yHhWaSypHJZ4tVWvUyzd8Nq-EGV1EP8tsMVEoO_eGe_nqo9rGP-Q0TM5uC-h-z-_pXi_b5azV-j22OqXt8xLQbKGo5a0ijkzbk9qoJirU/s1600-h/my+first+halloween+history.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu0WpYlYf0nVWYcvm2m6ebEQCIHwppuUXpt-yHhWaSypHJZ4tVWvUyzd8Nq-EGV1EP8tsMVEoO_eGe_nqo9rGP-Q0TM5uC-h-z-_pXi_b5azV-j22OqXt8xLQbKGo5a0ijkzbk9qoJirU/s320/my+first+halloween+history.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5090452969072956290" border="0" /></a><br />Nice to find a history without any trace of condemnation<br /></div><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br />The Horror!:<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3konEOtu-FUMttoIa3476zIXP6M5WOazt0H6LPKIn7yS7QF9JZCQhf3fkxm4ktlnc17shMHX65HGleyVy5R3T4B7apZNbIPeEn4PabmFKWKEJfyZ2nGqKI3dOIIxeAjr9uP4QVRzPZ20/s1600-h/my+first+halloween+squirrels.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3konEOtu-FUMttoIa3476zIXP6M5WOazt0H6LPKIn7yS7QF9JZCQhf3fkxm4ktlnc17shMHX65HGleyVy5R3T4B7apZNbIPeEn4PabmFKWKEJfyZ2nGqKI3dOIIxeAjr9uP4QVRzPZ20/s320/my+first+halloween+squirrels.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5090452131554333522" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Squirrels??? What the hell?<br /><br /></div><br /><div class="tag_list"><span style="font-size:78%;">Tags: </span><span class="tags" style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/halloween+books" rel="tag">halloween books</a></span></div>Afraid of the Darkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11666443932410048569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-960938042798304320.post-64357865637164360982007-07-16T11:49:00.000-05:002007-07-16T12:25:15.151-05:00Horse Magic (Saddle Club #47) by Bonnie Bryant<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGb-61sne1xHnTCJb-Fe8NoY4nKYuO4YAO82P6G6yIkcx9zpcjKrIjdoKbEOeJiZYEq9-T2ar7BekyszrkUmI8nI8DuSy4OCBwQZKSqmJV610gamIuXXqg7QNWwm5lR2AIXDPmKOhh0xE/s1600-h/horse+magic+cover.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGb-61sne1xHnTCJb-Fe8NoY4nKYuO4YAO82P6G6yIkcx9zpcjKrIjdoKbEOeJiZYEq9-T2ar7BekyszrkUmI8nI8DuSy4OCBwQZKSqmJV610gamIuXXqg7QNWwm5lR2AIXDPmKOhh0xE/s320/horse+magic+cover.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5087838165399247154" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">The 13 Words!: </span><span>Three girls lead lives so boring that even Halloween and poltergeists can't help.</span><span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Creature from the Back Cover!: </span><span style="font-style: italic;">"</span><span style="font-style: italic;">It's Halloween, and Pine Hollow Stables is getting some special visitors -- a group of city kids. The Saddle Club girls are planning a treasure hunt and trick-or-treating for the children. Best of all, Stevie Lake's old school chum, Dinah, has come to help. Stevie can't wait to pull some pranks on her friend!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />Things go awry when it becomes clear that Dinah and Saddle Club member Lisa Atwood don't like each other. Lisa suspects Dinah of flirting with Stevie's boyfriend. Even worse, Stevie's beginning to think the stable is haunted. Who's playing tricks at Pine Hollow?"</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Facts that Attacked Mars!: </span><br /><p><i><b></b></i></p><blockquote><p><i>The Saddle Club</i> is a series of intermediate children's books published by Bantam Books between 1986 and 2001. The books were created by Bonnie Bryant, although many were written by ghostwriters. Spin-offs include two other book series, Pine Hollow and Pony Tails, a TV show also called The Saddle Club, a club with a monthly newsletter, and a line of model horses manufactured by Breyer.</p> The books follow the adventures of best friends Carole Hanson, Stephanie "Stevie Lake," and Lisa Atwood, who live in the town of Willow Creek, Virginia and ride at Pine Hollow Stables.<br />-From Wikipedia<br /></blockquote><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Monster Speaks!: </span><span>I never read The Saddle Club as a kid. I was never interested in horses, and never knew anyone that was as obsessed with horses as these girls (or Mallory and Jesse from the BSC, but that's another story). I guess it may have something to do with the fact that I grew up in the city with very little contact with nature. I've never even been on horseback (pony rides at low-rent carnivals don't count). Now, however, I attend a college that is pretty well known for its equestrian program, and am surrounded by hundreds of girls who probably worshiped the Saddle Club girls at one time.<br /><br />I don't really have much to say about this gem from 1995. The plot was sorta ho-hum: a group of inner city kids are coming to Pine Hollow stables as part of a fictional Fresh Air fund event. For some reason, this is happening on Halloween and the girls at the stables are in charge of setting up the party. The sub plot is slightly more intriguing: Stevie's best friend from Vermont, Dinah, is coming to visit. Lisa and Dinah don't get along. Blah blah blah. And in a sub-sub plot, pranks abound and the word poltergeist is thrown around more times than necessary. Eh.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">What Lurks Between These Covers?</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The Marvels!:<br /></span><ul><li>my copy (from paperbackswap.com) had a note stuck in the pages. It said: Lunch in refreg. Drink in freezer.</li><li>the crazy military father (Carole's dad) has some kinda popcorn obsession. Every time the girls enter the house he starts popping popcorn. I sorta love him.<br /></li></ul><span style="font-style: italic;">The Horror!:<br /></span><ul><li>the Saddle Club girls (plus the bitchy Dinah) dress in the most boring costumes ever: Betsy Ross, a cowgirl, a jockey, and Paul Revere</li><li>there is a barbecue dinner for the city kids. next to the horse stalls. I can't think of a place I'd want to eat at less than next to a horse stall.<br /></li><li>Dinah is a huge bitch.<br /></li><li>Trick-or-treating on horseback. I don't know, I don't think I want horses all over my lawn. Where there are horses, there is horse shit.<br /></li></ul>Afraid of the Darkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11666443932410048569noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-960938042798304320.post-70098394485765722302007-07-13T11:39:00.000-05:002007-07-13T11:58:46.218-05:00Sweetblood by Pete Hautman (Bibliomancy)I've been neglecting to do any bibliomancy entries these past few weeks. Quite possibly due to the fact that I lost the little Moleskine notebook that I keep all my reading notes etc. in.<br /><br />So this week's book is <span style="font-style: italic;">Sweetbood</span> by Pete Hautman. It's a slim young adult novel filled with a troubled diabetic, internet vampires, teenaged theories, and a dorky best friend turned love interest.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhigcwBpmhoobFRPCkVfdDP5bmBcOfn4VdTOTGqF8XYEgzCfvJME8J-IwnzZHyl2Qtltg6qvMrjN3cqZkDJCfMRpYEZMR9-EDbBdlp81ecVxKHIU0Z7vsCOb4tH_9Nm1to0GfE-r4bI648/s1600-h/sweetblood+cover.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhigcwBpmhoobFRPCkVfdDP5bmBcOfn4VdTOTGqF8XYEgzCfvJME8J-IwnzZHyl2Qtltg6qvMrjN3cqZkDJCfMRpYEZMR9-EDbBdlp81ecVxKHIU0Z7vsCOb4tH_9Nm1to0GfE-r4bI648/s320/sweetblood+cover.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5086726898445981986" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Rating:</span><br />3.5 granola bars out of 5<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Bibliomancy:<br /><br />Q: </span>Should I drop out of school and join a cult?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">A: </span><span style="font-style: italic;">"Over dinner, I find out that Fish is just as bad as the rest of them. My parents tell me that he wants me to see a psychologist. Some guy named Carlson, a specialist in adolescent behavior."<br /><br /><br /></span><div class="tag_list"><span style="font-size:78%;">Tags: <span class="tags"><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/bibliomancy" rel="tag">bibliomancy</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/sweetblood" rel="tag">sweetblood</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/vampire+novel" rel="tag">vampire novel</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Pete+Hautman" rel="tag">Pete Hautman</a></span></span></div>Afraid of the Darkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11666443932410048569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-960938042798304320.post-11534512743099483692007-07-12T11:22:00.000-05:002007-07-12T11:37:33.900-05:00Celluloid (Booking Through Thursday)<a href="http://btt2.wordpress.com/">Booking Through Thursday</a>:<br /><blockquote>1. In your opinion, what is the best translation of a book to a movie?<br />2. The worst?<br />3. Had you read the book before seeing the movie, and did that make a difference? (Personally, all other things being equal, I usually prefer whichever I was introduced to first.)<br /><br />And, by all means, expand this to as long a list as you like. I’m notoriously awful myself at narrowing down to one favorite ANYTHING. So, feel free to list as many “good” or “bad” movie-from-books as you like. (Heaven knows that’s what I’ll be doing….)<br /></blockquote><br /><br />This is a hard one for me. I'm usually not too thrilled with movies based on books if I have read the book. I'm hard pressed to even remember a movie I've seen in the past few years that has been based on a book (except for the dozen or so films based on the works of Shakespeare). To make matters worse, I watch very few movies.<br />I guess I'd have to choose "To Kill a Mockingbird" as my favorite film based on a book. Which, is saying a lot because I utterly despise Gregory Peck's voice. Given a choice though, I'd re-read the book before I watched the movie again.<br /><br />The worst? Well this one is easier. The live action version of <span style="font-style: italic;">Animal Farm</span>. I could not even make it through the entire movie. I don't have the time to list all the faults I had with that film. It made me angrier than any film has a right to.<br /><br />It makes a great difference If I have read the book prior to seeing the movie. In all cases I have enjoyed the book much more than the film version. More often than not, the film just cannot compare to the images already etched into my brain due to my reading of the book.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">A list of not-so-bad movies based on books:</span><br />A Clockwork Orange<br />Frankenstein (the original one, even though it bears no resemblance to Shelley's novel)<br />Dracula (Bela Lugosi)<br />Little Women (all)<br />(Reluctantly) A series of Unfortunate Events<br />Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">And the bad:</span><br />I'm going to try to stay positive.<br /><br /><br /><div class="tag_list"><span style="font-size:78%;">Tags: <span class="tags"><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/booking+through+thursday" rel="tag">booking through thursday</a></span></span></div>Afraid of the Darkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11666443932410048569noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-960938042798304320.post-88413960864081247912007-07-10T12:05:00.000-05:002007-07-10T12:53:15.058-05:00Mommy, Why Don't We Celebrate Halloween? by Linda Hacon Winwood<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCWIuGcE2GgVhTcUL0QgkTOC10sqrQIhfTLeeF-vhy52lqs7bBWco9-O-hOn1eV2mnqESWyNiCRpCl8_A1fJjrK7nsHNeoXeSrfpQgdl93N_LpaQ2BIfzUmjR8t-JzlRhEXgGnlHSI0TI/s1600-h/mommy+why+cover.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCWIuGcE2GgVhTcUL0QgkTOC10sqrQIhfTLeeF-vhy52lqs7bBWco9-O-hOn1eV2mnqESWyNiCRpCl8_A1fJjrK7nsHNeoXeSrfpQgdl93N_LpaQ2BIfzUmjR8t-JzlRhEXgGnlHSI0TI/s320/mommy+why+cover.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5085615963234626530" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">The 13 Words!:</span><span> Spreading "Christianity" through fear and hate, one trick-or-treater at a time.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Creature from the Back Cover!</span>: <span style="font-style: italic;">"Mommy, Why Don't We Celebrate Halloween? helps children understand why Christians shouldn't celebrate Halloween. It reveals, in story form, the truth behind the activities that have become such an accepted part of Halloween traditions. Children who read this book and talk about it with their parents will learn how the "fun" of Halloween harms them. They will also learn what to say to others who do not understand the true meaning of Halloween."<br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Facts that Attacked Mars!: </span><span style="font-style: italic;">Mommy Why Don't We Celebrate Halloween </span><span>is written by Linda Hacon Winwood and illustrated by Al Berg and published in 2004 by Destiny Image Publishers, Inc. There is a whole series of Mommy Why books written by different authors such as : <span style="font-style: italic;">Mommy, Was Santa Claus Born on Christmas Too?, </span>and<span style="font-style: italic;"> Mommy Why Can't I Watch That T.V. Show.<br /></span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Monster Speaks!:</span>Well, to say that this book angered me would be an understatement. As a bit of a preface, I am tolerant of any and all religion. I don't care what people choose to believe or not believe. But, and this is important, I do not want to be preached to, especially if your religious beliefs are tied up in hate and a refusal to understand those that are different.<br />Ok, that's out of the way. This book is preachy, misguided, misinformed, and barely hides the hate that the author appears to have for anyone not of the same religious persuasion as she (the author was raised in the Catholic church, and seems to have some issues with the church).<br /><br />The story is simple enough, a little boy and girl ask their mom why they doesn't celebrate Halloween. As an answer, the mother resorts to scare tactics masquerading as religious reasoning: trick-or-treating harms your relationship with Jesus, the Catholic Church(known as Roman rulers in the book) is responsible for the evils of Halloween, etc etc etc. In my opinion it's not a good idea to create such an atmosphere of fear with such a small child. How much fun could it possibly be to be 5 years old and afraid that everything you do is going to send you to hell?<br /><br />It's fine if people wish to not celebrate Halloween,I respect their decision, but why must the same lies, misinformation, and scare tactics be used again and again? There has to be a better way to go about it. But, to each their own I guess. I suppose their is a market for this book. According to the author on her website, Anthony LaVay (son of Anton LaVay who wrote the Satanic Bible). called her publishing company to say,<blockquote><span style="font-style: italic;">"Thank You for producing this book and please thank Mrs. Winwood for writing it. It's about time someone wrote a book for children. If parents knew what still happens on that night, they would never let their children out of the house. This book will really make an impact."</span></blockquote><span style="font-style: italic;"></span>Mrs. Winwood appears to be an advocate for literacy, from information that I have gotten from her website. I cannot say too many bad things about a woman who wants to ensure that every child(and adult) can read. However, I do wish that one day the author's eyes and mind will be opened and she will realize that Christianity in its purest form should not be about fear or hate.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">What Lurks Between These Covers?</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The Marvels!:</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiA37LIUSwc7W2huFlu0FBkrfke4kCDawZcWd5EmnJTjfCxeOUrq3JR7iog2COJfvMQPCV0R5Ll13W_xEB19EX8WWTAMpSl0fB5aJNcOuHhnMl0KkRGid-ER5TATtchK24QaCm1sTz7TA/s1600-h/mommy+why+logo.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiA37LIUSwc7W2huFlu0FBkrfke4kCDawZcWd5EmnJTjfCxeOUrq3JR7iog2COJfvMQPCV0R5Ll13W_xEB19EX8WWTAMpSl0fB5aJNcOuHhnMl0KkRGid-ER5TATtchK24QaCm1sTz7TA/s320/mommy+why+logo.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5085625897493982194" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><blockquote>"<span style="font-style: italic;">My daughter, Sarah, was born with six fingers on both hands and six toes on her left foot. When our children did artwork or sent homemade cards,we put a six-toed foot on the back of the cards like Hallmark puts a logo on theirs.That was the beginning of the Winwood logo."</span></blockquote></div><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The Horror!:<br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPrUzDkGyDZr0FQ547hm85aFjvaeIYoKW6kYvZ3qYahy-7LPoQimF5yjjrbV2aG_3wPhU7hHu2IN0MI8fng9BZ2JGuIJg3eDafvnkf6iU3deT9fIiR3dIWv_uho3qrdMfXmlSErWa48EA/s1600-h/mommy+why+celts.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPrUzDkGyDZr0FQ547hm85aFjvaeIYoKW6kYvZ3qYahy-7LPoQimF5yjjrbV2aG_3wPhU7hHu2IN0MI8fng9BZ2JGuIJg3eDafvnkf6iU3deT9fIiR3dIWv_uho3qrdMfXmlSErWa48EA/s320/mommy+why+celts.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5085627190279138338" border="0" /></a></span><span>The Evil, evil Celts.<br /><br /></span></div><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span><div class="tag_list"><span style="font-size:78%;">Tags: <span class="tags"><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/anti-halloween" rel="tag">anti-halloween</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Linda+Hacon+Woodward" rel="tag">Linda Hacon Woodward</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/mommy" rel="tag">mommy</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/why+don%27t+we+celebrate+halloween" rel="tag">why don't we celebrate halloween</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/halloween+books" rel="tag">halloween books</a></span></span></div>Afraid of the Darkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11666443932410048569noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-960938042798304320.post-83602236688276251922007-07-06T20:18:00.000-05:002007-07-06T20:53:18.279-05:00Creepy Crawly Critters (An I Can Read Book) by Nola Buck. Pictures by Sue Truesdale<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimWOgnXwApDuHOGshbmwUp6ff_1vI0P8IPMODp_ru6GmslDhe4ob7Q40gVwuO67rjTzRN27Z7VVc66qHfebn-mEpkNc5yVm6r2PqKJo3MYtyHF3jNKV7BoGqFAxfzZcLPD1Lx5dSFZaqo/s1600-h/creepy+crawly+cover.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimWOgnXwApDuHOGshbmwUp6ff_1vI0P8IPMODp_ru6GmslDhe4ob7Q40gVwuO67rjTzRN27Z7VVc66qHfebn-mEpkNc5yVm6r2PqKJo3MYtyHF3jNKV7BoGqFAxfzZcLPD1Lx5dSFZaqo/s320/creepy+crawly+cover.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5084259110051376018" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">The 13 Words!: </span><span>Cute and sweet collection of simple rhymes combined with kid friendly color illustrations.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />The Creature from the Back Cover! </span><span><span style="font-style: italic;">"Itchy witches, groaning ghosts, and plump pumpkins are just a few of the characters in this collection of giggle-producing Halloween tongue twisters. It's so much fun, it's like trick-or-treating for your tongue!"</span></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Facts that Attacked Mars!: </span><span><span style="font-style: italic;">Creepy Crawly Critters </span>is a hardcover collection of Halloween tongue twisters published in 1996 by HarperTrophy, as part of the I Can Read series of books. As a level 1 book, it's a guaranteed easy read.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Monster Speaks!: </span><span>Cute. That's about all I can really say about this one. It's hard to take all of it at one sitting, even though I'm a moderate fan of alliteration. If I was 3 or 4 years old though, I am sure this would be a favorite of mine. The illustrations are quite nice though.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">What Lurks Between These Covers?</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The Marvels!:<br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsx4eHHVXXsylX8RD8cjcofwiDEvQk2Rb9sRjE0kJyw-mU2R2to2KfLh7ozrjlgfCMDhoVLzVs4hlmPbcptE7zakqqoyd17cbM1tKgFez97c_Byw69BJLcoIGbvjcqURfCOEqAzRHwCc4/s1600-h/creepy+crawly+dedication.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 208px; height: 310px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsx4eHHVXXsylX8RD8cjcofwiDEvQk2Rb9sRjE0kJyw-mU2R2to2KfLh7ozrjlgfCMDhoVLzVs4hlmPbcptE7zakqqoyd17cbM1tKgFez97c_Byw69BJLcoIGbvjcqURfCOEqAzRHwCc4/s320/creepy+crawly+dedication.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5084259878850522018" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">From the dedication page<span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />"A Humongous Hug for Henry<br />On Halloween !!<br />lots of love from xo<br />Auntie J---- (and Nola Buck too!)<br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">I'm not sure why Auntie J-something includes Nola Buck(the author), but I like her attempt at a Halloween tongue twister.<br /></div><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwK1_YEJkOHFOLuXxQqtvTIlYhJws2Tfscf9uhfC_a-XC7hnuEl_Vrf4NQZeIm2tOPtYr7yS9-CZ4rTcjQHT1EpiKyun1FkbdRfmTQP3plfwesiKf_kBHTmLYjrwoGi4Oel7IxtIfVphc/s1600-h/creepy+crawly+interior+1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwK1_YEJkOHFOLuXxQqtvTIlYhJws2Tfscf9uhfC_a-XC7hnuEl_Vrf4NQZeIm2tOPtYr7yS9-CZ4rTcjQHT1EpiKyun1FkbdRfmTQP3plfwesiKf_kBHTmLYjrwoGi4Oel7IxtIfVphc/s320/creepy+crawly+interior+1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5084265964819180498" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-NgOHOhSV_EpXj1dvMaXrXxnLyf11o_EvkDOME1he604-2wVad9Nc3hsmHUw-LXWtcEYXre7hjrRlnslIsVIngDmMlaRfaBBZ-3ILlpZGqN83pHR7i8FzlvnWrI3bsuc94WcfO2szYBw/s1600-h/creepy+crawly+interior.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-NgOHOhSV_EpXj1dvMaXrXxnLyf11o_EvkDOME1he604-2wVad9Nc3hsmHUw-LXWtcEYXre7hjrRlnslIsVIngDmMlaRfaBBZ-3ILlpZGqN83pHR7i8FzlvnWrI3bsuc94WcfO2szYBw/s320/creepy+crawly+interior.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5084260484440910770" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Though not technically a monster get-together, these two illustrations depict a sort of get-together, and that's fine with me<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The Horror!:<br /></span>Nothing really. Overall, not much bad can really be said about a book for very early readers with colorful illustrations and rhyming alliteration.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><div class="tag_list">Tags: <span class="tags"><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/halloween+books" rel="tag">halloween books</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/I+Can+Read+Books" rel="tag">I Can Read Books</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Nola+Buck" rel="tag">Nola Buck</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Creepy+Crawly+Critters" rel="tag">Creepy Crawly Critters</a></span></div>Afraid of the Darkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11666443932410048569noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-960938042798304320.post-68041988464383867912007-07-01T22:13:00.000-05:002007-07-02T13:41:34.868-05:00Zoey 101: Lights Out<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtLCaBlF_j2YC_0vgIFAmNyUCfYDWTkdijg6LrkdEi6y_VhsvHjVkApU3iYh6b3AbdZIBEOeHJcwPKI_xgoB3P0oYojmMCnAklEeVXynFzQFR_4mUeXRN8J6F1YF7X8vcJq42uuwEHiI4/s1600-h/zoey101+cover.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtLCaBlF_j2YC_0vgIFAmNyUCfYDWTkdijg6LrkdEi6y_VhsvHjVkApU3iYh6b3AbdZIBEOeHJcwPKI_xgoB3P0oYojmMCnAklEeVXynFzQFR_4mUeXRN8J6F1YF7X8vcJq42uuwEHiI4/s320/zoey101+cover.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5082637386234981234" border="0" /></a> <span style="font-weight: bold;">The 13 Words!:</span> I'd rather shave my legs with a weed-wacker than read this book again.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />The Creature from the Back Cover!</span>:<span style="font-style: italic;">"It's Halloween and following PCA tradition, the upperclassmen are creating a haunted house for the younger kids. Logan is determined that it's going to be the scariest, spookiest, creepiest night of the little kids' lives. But when two of them vanish, including Zoey's little brother, the night takes a turn that no one imagined!"<br /></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Facts that Attacked Mars!:</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">Lights Out</span> is book #7 in the Zoey 101 series, which is based off of the television show of the same name that airs on nickelodeon and stars Jamie Lynn Spears, sister to Britney. This book was adapted by Jane Mason and Sara Hines Stephens based on "Haunted House" written by Steve Holland. (There is a second half to this book which I am choosing to ignore, it is not Halloween related at all)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Monster Speaks!:</span> This is a pretty weak attempt at a Halloween story coupled with an annoying font and a nice heaping pile of misogyny to start things off. Includes a time-honored Halloween book theme (though on a small scale): kids afraid of Halloween. But, these scared kids turn things around. It's all very lame, not at all spooky, and was pretty torturous to get through. I couldn't even bring myself to scan the cover, and instead used a stock photo. Up until now, I haven't really posted a book I hated, nor have I really negatively described a book. This book deserves worse than I can spew out.<br />This book lead me to think about the onslaught of books based on tv shows and movies that are produced for kids. It isn't hard to see how quickly and poorly these books are usually put together. However, I'm glad the publishers put out this Halloween themed atrocity so I could have it in my collection and marvel at its terribleness.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">What Lurks Between These Covers?</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The Marvels!:</span><br />N/A<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The Horror!:</span><br /><ul><li>The cover. It doesn't even hint at being Halloween related, though the boy is kind of creepy with that little smirk and the frizzy hair.</li><li>Every sentence uttered by a male, young or old, is ended by "man" and started with "dude". I'm all for realistic teen dialogue, but come on!</li><li>The last paragraph:</li></ul><blockquote style="font-style: italic;">"Well, c'mon" Chase turned the music up and the lights down. "It's Halloween! Let's party it up!" And the motley crew boogied down in the haunted house without fear.<br /></blockquote><br /><br />Read an excerpt (if you dare) <a href="http://www.scholastic.ca/titles/zoey101lightsout/#sample">here</a>.<br /><br /><div class="tag_list">Tags: <span class="tags"><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/zoey+101" rel="tag">zoey 101</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/lights+out" rel="tag">lights out</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/halloween+books" rel="tag">halloween books</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/tv+tie-ins" rel="tag">tv tie-ins</a></span></div>Afraid of the Darkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11666443932410048569noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-960938042798304320.post-55169376267903029022007-07-01T20:54:00.000-05:002007-07-01T20:58:10.303-05:00Some Sites About Halloween Books; Or, I Hate Books About PumpkinsThis <a href="http://www.childrenslit.com/th_halloween.html">site</a> has a nice collection of Halloween book reviews. But, there are too many books about pumpkins! I HATE books about pumpkins. Now, I like pumpkins on their own, in pies, in breads, and even in ice cream, but not in books. I find books that center around a pumpkin patch, or worse yet, have talking pumpkins, or even worse, a precocious little boy or girl that <span style="font-style:italic;">grows</span> pumpkins, absolutely, dreadfully boring. <br />Fortunately there is an abundance of Halloween books without pumpkin characters or pumpkin plots. The multitude of books with costume drama, terrified trick or treaters, and of course, monster-get-togethers that can be found makes up for the cursed pumpkin books.<br /><br />The <a href="http://monsterlibrarian.com/">Monster Librarian</a>, has a nice <a href="http://monsterlibrarian.com/horrorfictionlistkd.htm">list of scary books for kids under 12</a>. No pumpkins to be found there, thankfully<br /><div class="tag_list">Tags: <span class="tags"><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/i+hate+books+about+pumpkins" rel="tag">i hate books about pumpkins</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/pumpkin+hate" rel="tag">pumpkin hate</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/sad+and+pathetic" rel="tag">sad and pathetic</a></span></div>Afraid of the Darkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11666443932410048569noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-960938042798304320.post-9181295250055209652007-06-28T11:06:00.000-05:002007-06-28T11:29:07.480-05:00DesperationSo, since my blog is primarily about books, I think it's appropriate to include this meme.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><a href="http://btt2.wordpress.com/">Booking Through Thursday</a></span><br />Today’s question is suggested by <a href="http://mymiddlenameispatience.typepad.com/">Carrie</a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">What’s the most desperate thing you’ve read because it was the only available reading material?<br /><br />If it was longer than a cereal box or an advertisement, did it turn out to be worth your while? </span><br /><br /><blockquote>Well, I always read EVERYTHING that is put in front of me. Cereal boxes, coffee cans, bumper stickers, etc. etc. etc... But, the most desperate thing I've ever read is kind of hard to pick out, since I avidly and routinely read books written primarily for toddlers. To some, this is desperation probably! (just to make this sound better, I do read adult fiction too, I have a particular affinity for Medieval Literature)Ok, no more tangents!However, now that I think about it, I don't think I ever read anything out of pure desperation. I always have plenty of reading material. I carry books with me everywhere. I've read some pretty boring and unpleasant things that would surely be desperation picks for some, but as far as I can remember, I consciously chose them. I chose to read that tutoring manual. I chose to read the insert that came with those batteries. <br /><br />And everything I have read has been worth my while, even if the experience was frustrating, boring, tedious, angering, or painful. But, that's just my opinion.</blockquote><br /><br /><div class="tag_list">Tags: <span class="tags"><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/booking+through+thursday" rel="tag">booking through thursday</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/desperate+readers" rel="tag">desperate readers</a></span></div>Afraid of the Darkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11666443932410048569noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-960938042798304320.post-73451508083312893792007-06-27T11:01:00.000-05:002007-07-10T12:58:21.279-05:00Tantalize by Cynthia Leitich Smith (Bibliomancy Wednesday)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGNeyJfyxqtS9gxHuDw7I6xz1AZLRPk_MohYKTYdXNYp6KBI_8HaQUDuOuwhIIRXKbTNJ0I_vPHT9zchxBK6JFojgwT2GQg4R-hb2o8Mc_zB5e6EtNpMEFWF8zy6Is-FOfL5d0OHyJBCc/s1600-h/tantalize+cover.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGNeyJfyxqtS9gxHuDw7I6xz1AZLRPk_MohYKTYdXNYp6KBI_8HaQUDuOuwhIIRXKbTNJ0I_vPHT9zchxBK6JFojgwT2GQg4R-hb2o8Mc_zB5e6EtNpMEFWF8zy6Is-FOfL5d0OHyJBCc/s200/tantalize+cover.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5080775101300337490" /></a> <span style="font-style:italic;">Tantalize</span> by Cynthia Leitich Smith is a fun read that was published earlier this year. It is a welcome addition to the seemingly never-ending onslaught of vampire novels for young adults. However, this book is not the ordinary bandwagon book. Instead it is an immensely readable and enjoyable tale filled with a hairy love interest, a chef from Paris... Texas, chilled baby squirrels, suspicious Italian food, and a few nods in homage to Bram Stoker's <span style="font-style:italic;">Dracula</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Rating:</span><br />4 red cowboy boots out of 5<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Bibliomancy:</span><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Q:</span> Will I ever get over my fears?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">A:</span> <span style="font-style:italic;">"I refused to be intimidated, though. The veal tartare was exquisitely raw, the foie gras terrine predictable, the main courses--from pig's feet to boar's head pie--a toe-to-top invitation for the eager carnivore, the sides obligatory, but the deserts.... The deserts were something else and something <span style="font-style:normal;">else</span>, at least one of them was. I lingered over the last bite of the rice budding blood cakes."</span><br />(page 175)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">More Info:</span><br /><a href="http://www.cynthialeitichsmith.com/">Author's Website</a><br /><br /><div class="tag_list">Tags: <span class="tags"><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/bibliomancy" rel="tag">bibliomancy</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Tantalize" rel="tag">Tantalize</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Cynthia+Leitich+Smith" rel="tag">Cynthia Leitich Smith</a></span></div>Afraid of the Darkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11666443932410048569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-960938042798304320.post-72324961237656206482007-06-26T16:34:00.000-05:002007-06-26T16:51:03.917-05:00Creepy Castle by A.J. Wood<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmPHFyVNtHf0JuJB6Rj7caRdNbamJkzB0wUyBdX4a3YwR4D43vBPSKMiKWfy5syIJ1SC4GhfG_vb3q2Vhc5YjdUWsJuW4iZO0fsZGEnf0J8Nw515WEjCcfKc4eqCwbADxrAbvJyC-pPaI/s1600-h/creepy+castle+cover.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmPHFyVNtHf0JuJB6Rj7caRdNbamJkzB0wUyBdX4a3YwR4D43vBPSKMiKWfy5syIJ1SC4GhfG_vb3q2Vhc5YjdUWsJuW4iZO0fsZGEnf0J8Nw515WEjCcfKc4eqCwbADxrAbvJyC-pPaI/s320/creepy+castle+cover.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5080490073123154962" /></a> "Creepy Castle" is an odd little book. It was published in 1996 by the Templar Company plc., which is an English company. The back cover of the book says that the book was published in the USA by Anytime Books, and imprint of Penguin Books. There is no bar code or ISBN number on the book. It also appears to be a part of a series entitled Spooky Tales, which includes titles such as "Hubble Bubble, Cauldron Trouble", "Monster Mayhem", and "The Wizard's Lizard Blizzard". The entire book basically just describes what goes on in Creepy Castle, and details what each monster does in the castle. The cover has a stick on hologram sticker of a mummy. <br /><br />EDIT: it appears as if this book came as a set with the other books in the series, labeled as "Spooky Tales Hologram Storybook Collection".<br /><br />Some of the illustrations are pretty nice.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3aWCHT-bA-dHOhsHl9dDsY5P3jEU0LInIcM4axLcBNseHwKYkwV0wjtXrB5rTUHMqJ0d3NtNN5tcsHgBG3PEtLuKE0hpwJyITurSczSzy6CEFUG3XwjpwMWgL4cje9tlhYGS-8e65yAo/s1600-h/creepy+castle+interior+1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3aWCHT-bA-dHOhsHl9dDsY5P3jEU0LInIcM4axLcBNseHwKYkwV0wjtXrB5rTUHMqJ0d3NtNN5tcsHgBG3PEtLuKE0hpwJyITurSczSzy6CEFUG3XwjpwMWgL4cje9tlhYGS-8e65yAo/s400/creepy+castle+interior+1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5080491653671119906" /></a><center> The opening pages<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_2PAA_7C3WKKWHTW92GwQ9INCfNq4V7LEZTuEYG5zDTOtJlTT7CzNq-qxAXeiwXyJ54RCSqtXbCcZHzsZYWzBghMIteX6FFJU0eRt6ao-QwUC5XMR8jkiTQmts39brjkZBOfhiq1Ztjk/s1600-h/creepy+castle+interior.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_2PAA_7C3WKKWHTW92GwQ9INCfNq4V7LEZTuEYG5zDTOtJlTT7CzNq-qxAXeiwXyJ54RCSqtXbCcZHzsZYWzBghMIteX6FFJU0eRt6ao-QwUC5XMR8jkiTQmts39brjkZBOfhiq1Ztjk/s400/creepy+castle+interior.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5080491950023863346" /></a>The inhabitants promise ice cream and cookies<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguRyOuhm_sFhppMctMd0wy5jbvX74vypGvnhopgu10_Sadl6Cfd_qlqOQQoNaCz1phP0SGelPI_z2y7hP9dE2H-N7SNtmzEYojXBP67olxMI1oWCGRjStXTEnR_oHfH7XCBDbEqrxlHSg/s1600-h/creepy+castle+interior3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguRyOuhm_sFhppMctMd0wy5jbvX74vypGvnhopgu10_Sadl6Cfd_qlqOQQoNaCz1phP0SGelPI_z2y7hP9dE2H-N7SNtmzEYojXBP67olxMI1oWCGRjStXTEnR_oHfH7XCBDbEqrxlHSg/s400/creepy+castle+interior3.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5080492259261508674" /></a>and of course, a monster get-together.</center><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div class="tag_list">Tags: <span class="tags"><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/Creepy+Castle" rel="tag">Creepy Castle</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/halloween+books" rel="tag">halloween books</a>, <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/halloween+books+for+kids" rel="tag">halloween books for kids</a></span></div>Afraid of the Darkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11666443932410048569noreply@blogger.com1