Spooky Pookie

Boynton's Little Pookie is celebrating Halloween, and picking a costume is proving difficult. Lively rhymes list off the options Mom offers ("A clown would be funny./ A pumpkin is cute./ You would make a fine bunny/ in the white bunny suit") as Little Pookie raids the costume chest. The final selection-a classic white-sheet ghost outfit-proves frightening enough to scare Mom, so it's the clear winner. It's a fun Halloween diversion that should easily please Little Pookie's (and Boynton's) many devotees. Up to age 3. (July) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

One of Boynton's signature characters celebrates Halloween.It's Halloween time, and Pookie the pig is delighted. His mother helps him pick out the perfect Halloween costume, a process that spans the entire board book. Using an abcb rhyme scheme, Boynton dresses Pookie in a series of cheerful costumes, including a dragon, a bunny, and even a caped superhero. Pookie eventually settles on the holiday classic, a ghost, by way of a bedsheet. Boynton sprinkles in amusing asides to her stanzas as Pookie offers costume commentary ("It's itchy"; "It's hot"; "I feel silly"). Little readers will enjoy the notion of transforming themselves with their own Halloween costumes while reading this book, and a few parents may get some ideas as well. Boynton's clean, sharp illustrations are as good as ever. This is Pookie's first holiday title, but readers will surely welcome more. A pleasant holiday spent with a perfectly charming character. (Board book. 1-3) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.