The ghosts went floating

Favorite children's counting song "The Ants Go Marching" gets a sweetly spooky makeover in this vibrant Halloween rendition. The titular ghosts, floating one by one ("BOO-rah! BOO-rah!"), are joined by two cackling witches, three stumbling mummies, and an assigned number of other characters until they form a parade heading "up the hill/ in the chill,/ by the light of the moon,/ moon, moon, moon." In addition to showcasing numbers one through 10 and a solid array of monsters, Norman's bouncy text laudably introduces a colorful variety of ambulatory verbs (among them lumbered, lurched, plodded, and swarmed). Fleck uses a pleasant palette and simple lines to create friendly-looking subjects on the move, in and out of moonlight and shadow and toward, in the closing pages, a festive Halloween fete. Ages 3--6. (July)

Various fearsome but playful beings wend their ways toward a secret destination on Halloween night. Ghosts, vampires, mummies, zombies, witches, skeletons, and others utilize various styles of locomotion to navigate "up the hill, / in the chill, / by the light of the moon, / moon, moon, moon." And they do so very rhythmically in this winner of a holiday-themed counting book. Those adult readers who are familiar with the bouncy song "The Ants Go Marching" will happily trot that tune out to sing to listeners, rather than read, the rollicking verses herein, inspired by the rhyme schemes and rhythms of that jaunty ditty. The rhymes read and scan deliciously well and develop vocabulary wonderfully by utilizing nifty words to describe the characters' movements and behaviors as the creatures and count-along proceed. Witches "cackle" and "crank their motors" (their brooms have outboards); mummies "stumble,…murmurs echoing frightfully"; zombies "lumber" and "lurch"; and vampires "hover." The humorous, extremely child-appealing illustrations are set against mostly dark red, blue, and purple backgrounds lit by a full moon, as befits the occasion. Cheery, dapperly attired protagonists move inexorably through the atmospheric evening--until the final spread makes it delightfully clear why the motley crew's trek up that hill was well worth the trip. A bevy of smiley ghosts float gracefully across front and back endpapers. No trick: Count this one as a real Halloween treat. (Picture book. 3-6) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.