Sunday, March 1, 2009

Flashlights Work Wonders!

picture from amazon.com (different language)
Scary Godmother
by Jill Thompson
published by Sirius Entertainment, NJ, 1997

Summary: "While trick-or-treating on Halloween night, Hannah Marie meets her ScaryGodmother and a host of creepy creatures."


Strengths: I liked the fun costumes and pictures that are combined with easy to read text. Children would be able to relate to both Hannah as the younger child who gets to be the hero and to the older children who either help or pick on Hannah. The characters are very funny and the comic book feel makes the story quick and easy to follow. Children who are scared of different elements of Halloween will find comfort in this fun story.

Concerns: Some parents may not approve of teaching about or emphasizing Halloween in school. In addition, I thought that it was sometimes difficult to see who was speaking based on the word bubbles. Finally, I thought it was a little strange that part of the book was very scientific with information about bats, but other parts were very imaginative with made-up monsters.

Classroom Use/Other Comments: If there is no problem with Halloween celebrations in your class or school, teachers can read this to their class as part of a science lesson on bats and bones. Through the book, a lot of information is given about bats and the skeleton sings the bone song, which is a fun way to add music to the lesson. Children ages 7 and up would identify with the older kids not being patient of the younger girl or with the younger child trying to be brave.


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