Karen's Ghost (Baby-Sitters Little Sister #12) by Ann M. Martin

[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.]

The 13 Words!: I still hope that Ben Brewer's ghost will turn out to be malevolent.

The Creature from the Back Cover! "Karen thinks there's a ghost in her house! But she's never really seen the ghost of Old Ben Brewer---until now.
Karen and her stepsister Kristy have found out that Ben Brewer and his spooky friends are going to have a birthday party in her attic on Halloween night!
It used to be fun having a ghost around. But now Karen's not so sure!"

The Facts that Attacked Mars!: 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.
This series had quite a few Halloween related titles, certainly more than the BSC ever had.

The Monster Speaks!: 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.

What Lurks Between These Covers?

The Marvels!:

• "Honk! Honk! Mommy was here. It was time to go back to the little house" (p 51). I always imagine Karen's mother as a goose during this part.
  

The Horror!:

• it's Karen Brewer
• the stupid slang terms. especially gigundo. ugh
• 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.

Tags: baby-sitters little sister, Karen Brewer, halloween books

Junie B., First Grader : Boo...and I MEAN IT! by Barbara Park

The 13 Words!: A fun book that portrays Halloween through a child's eyes, fears, and words.

The Creature from the Back Cover!: "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 really real? And what if pumpkins with sharp teeth and eat your feet? And don't even get her started 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 creepiest competition. And so maybe Halloween will turn out to be a real scream after all!"

The Facts that Attacked Mars!: Junie B. Jones is a series created by Barbara Park. The series debuted in 1992 with the first book, Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus. So far, 26 other books have been published. There has also been theatrical productions based on the series.
The books have been challenged in Wisconsin and North Carolina school districts. Despite this, the series continues to be extremely popular among young readers.

The Monster Speaks!: I figured this was an appropriate choice considering the recent NY Times article that asks: Is Junie B. Jones Talking Trash?. 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.

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.

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.

What Lurks Between These Covers?
The Marvels!:

• 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.
1. real witches and monsters go trick-or-treating on Halloween
2. pumpkins with pointy teeth eat feet
3. bats wll swoop down and live in hair
4. black cats can claw someone into "shreddle"
5. candy corn isn't really corn

The Horror!:

• I don't really have anything bad to say about this book, but I'm sure others have plenty to say.
  

Tags: halloween books, junie b. jones

The Holloween Goblin (Pixie Tricks #4) by Tracey West

The 13 Words!: Pixie Tricks indeed, this book tricked me into believing it was about Halloween.


The Creature from the Back Cover!: "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? 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?"

The Facts that Attacked Mars!: The Halloween Goblin is book four in the Pixie Tricks 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.
Tracey West is also the author of numerous Scholastic series including Scream Shop.

The Monster Speaks!: 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.
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.
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)
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.
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.
All in all, the entire thing felt like a fluffy Artemis Fowl mixed with an even fluffier Spiderwick.


What Lurks Between These Covers?

The Marvels!:

Each book comes with stickers.

The Horror!:

• it's not about Halloween
• enough said

Tags: pixie tricks, halloween goblin, books masquerading as halloween books, children's books, Tracey West

Horse Magic (Saddle Club #47) by Bonnie Bryant

The 13 Words!: Three girls lead lives so boring that even Halloween and poltergeists can't help.

The Creature from the Back Cover!: "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!


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?"

The Facts that Attacked Mars!:

The Saddle Club 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.

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.
-From Wikipedia

The Monster Speaks!: 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.

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.

What Lurks Between These Covers?
The Marvels!:

• my copy (from paperbackswap.com) had a note stuck in the pages. It said: Lunch in refreg. Drink in freezer.
• 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.
  

The Horror!:

• the Saddle Club girls (plus the bitchy Dinah) dress in the most boring costumes ever: Betsy Ross, a cowgirl, a jockey, and Paul Revere
• 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.
  
• Dinah is a huge bitch.
  
• 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.