Scary (And Not So Scary) Scarecrows

Come October an elementary school in my neighborhood "plants" a scarecrow garden in front of the building. Each scarecrow is dressed in its own unique costume. Here are a few of my favorites. Happy Halloween!

Bone Dog

One of the rules I live by is not to read anything in which a dog dies, and that includes picture books. I made an exception for Bone Dog, by Caldecott medalist Eric Rohmann. Ella, an old dog, tells Gus, the boy who loves her, that she won't be around much longer. "But no matter what happens, I'll always be with you," she promises. How Ella keeps her promise is the charm behind this picture book, perfect for Halloween, or any old day.

 Although the book might be scary for some young readers (a skeleton crew ambushes Gus in a cemetery), on the whole humor dominates, as when the skeletons tell Gus, "You've got guts kid...but not for long." And the ending message, that a dog's loyalty knows no bounds, is ultimately reassuring. Rohmann's signature style of dark outlines underscores the dramatic cemetery setting and is guaranteed to send shivers up readers' spines. Don't wait for Halloween for this one, check it out now.

Bone Dog
by Eric Rohmann
Roaring Brook Press, 32 pages
Published: July, 2011

Halloween Costumes for Beginning Readers

I echo Mad for Reading's excellent suggestion to dress up trick-or-treaters as characters from their favorite books. Kids just learning to read have a greater selection to choose from than you might think.

Of course, there's always everybody's favorite, The Cat in the Hat. But what about dressing up two BFFs as Thing One and Thing Two? This works even better with twins.

Encourage boys to take on the identity of Captain Underpants, a truly one-of-a-kind superhero from the series by Dav Pilkey. Girls who like a bit of glam might appreciate the chance to become Fancy Nancy from the popular series by Jane O'Connor. And don't forget the one-handed horse picker-upper Pippi Longstocking.

Clifford the Big Red Dog makes a great costume for pint-sized dog lovers. If you're artistically inclined, face make-up can really make a costume pop. Use red face paint and a red sweatsuit to transform any basic cat costume costume into that dastardly feline Rotten Ralph.

With so many eye-popping costumes to choose from, trick-or-treaters will be bringing home the loot. Just make sure they share!