I love to share seasonal books with children. Arthur’s Halloween is a fun read aloud book for this time of year. At the beginning of the story, Arthur is a bit scared by Halloween. He doesn’t enjoy the “Bat Wing” brownies. He doesn’t want to stick his hand in the cold spaghetti “guts”. He’s even a little frightened of his own little sister’s costume. And he’s worried about trick or treating too. He’s especially worried about walking by what all the kids say is haunted witches house.
Arthur has to take his little sister D.W. along. She’s not scared of anything. She ends up disappearing into the “witches house”. All of Arthur’s friends are afraid to approach the house. Arthur goes in though, because he has to rescue D.W. He finds her happily eating doughnuts with a nice old lady. The old lady is not a witch, but a nice neighbor who is too old to keep up her house and yard. That’s why the house seems spooky. Arthur plans to bring friends by to help her.
I like the book because it gives the message that we shouldn’t judge by appearances. I also jump on the example that D.W. should never have gone into a stranger’s house without her parents. I emphasize that even though it worked out for D.W. it was a stupid and dangerous thing to do.
My favorite part is that Arthur finds his courage. At the end of the book he’s ready to take a short cut throw the cemetery! I think a lot of children who are little worried about the spooky time of year will find some courage in this book.
As with all Marc Brown books you can find the names of his wife and children hidden in the illustrations. Looking for them makes his books even more fun!
Also See:
Arthur and Friends: The First Almost Real Not Live CD