If Animals Trick-or-Treated

by Ann Whitford Paul, David Walker (Illustrator)

Overview

A must-have for any nursery! If Animals Trick-or-Treated is a beloved board book in the bestselling If Animals Kissed Goodnight series that imagines how creatures from all across the animal kingdom experience Halloween night– making it the perfect read aloud for your littlest trick-or-treaters!

What if animals did what YOU do?

Owlet and Mama would carve pumpkins together and read scary stories feather to feather. Zebra Foal would prance-prance in a costume of spots, while Little Leopard would run wearing stripes—lots and lots! Together every creature would knock-knock-knock at nests, outside dens, and under rocks to collect yummy sweets.

Featuring playful rhymes and adorable art, little ones can see how creatures, great and small, celebrate Halloween. Families will giggle along as they imagine the critters that inhabit places near and far. A wonderful gift for baby showers, birthdays, new parents, or any occasion!

Don't miss the other books in this adorable series: If Animals Kissed Good Night, If Animals Said I Love You, If Animals Celebrated Christmas, If Animals Went to School, If Animals Gave Thanks, If Animals Tried to Be Kind, and If Animals Went to Work.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780374390099
Publisher:	Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Publication date:	07/11/2023
Series:	If Animals Kissed Good Night
Pages:	24
Product dimensions:	6.50(w) x 6.50(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	3 Months to 3 Years

About the Author

Ann Whitford Paul and David Walker collaborate on the If Animals Kissed Good Night series, including If Animals Kissed Good Night, which School Library Journal calls "charming" and which has sold more than a million copies; If Animals Went to School; If Animals Celebrated Christmas; If Animals Gave Thanks; and If Animals Tried to Be Kind. Ann lives in Los Angeles, California. David lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Editorial Reviews

"All the Halloween check boxes are ticked for the littlest listeners: carving pumpkins, decorating, donning costumes, and trick-or-treating... Walker’s scenes start during the day and gradually fade to night, when the illustrations almost seem to glow, gentle stars in the sky shining down, and the shared book at the close is the ideal end to a busy day." —Kirkus Reviews

"This endearing read-aloud will make young children giggle and will warm their hearts. Throughout the story, Paul invites children to imagine what animals would do if they celebrated Halloween like humans…A wonderful choice for an autumn story hour at the library or at home that will have young children laughing, learning, and saying, 'Again!'" —School Library Journal

"On Halloween, Owlet finds that every animal celebrates the scariest time of the year differently. From Hatchling and Papa Crocodile’s segmented croc-o’-lantern with the 'sneee-eeery smile' to Raccoon’s 'garbage-fudge squares,' each animal’s traditions feel unique to its species. Refreshingly, Halloween regulars (such as bats) mingle with animals not often featured (such as an armadillo)." —Horn Book

From the Publisher

07/29/2022

PreS-Gr 1—This endearing read-aloud will make young children giggle and will warm their hearts. Throughout the story, Paul invites children to imagine what animals would do if they celebrated Halloween like humans. A jolly little owl chooses to carve a pumpkin that looks just like him, a piglet dresses up in a mummy costume, and an armadillo brings chocolate ants to share. The playful use of rhyme and alliteration invites readers in as they listen and gain language comprehension. The whimsical typeface is combined with brightly colored onomatopoeia sprinkled throughout. The number of sentences per spread is limited, making this book perfect for children ages 3–6. Walker incorporates innocent, animated animals that children will enjoy. Instead of portraying a scary holiday filled with monsters, this sweet book allows children to see the fun-loving side of Halloween. VERDICT A wonderful choice for an autumn story hour at the library or at home that will have young children laughing, learning, and saying, "Again!"—Kelly Richards

School Library Journal

2022-04-27
We’ve seen how Paul and Walker’s adorable animals celebrate Thanksgiving; what about Halloween?

All the Halloween check boxes are ticked for the littlest listeners, and Paul zooms in on Mama and little Owlet at they complete each one: carving pumpkins, decorating, donning costumes, and trick-or-treating. Interspersed among these, other animals join in on the festivities. Bat adds fangs to her pumpkin, and “Hatchling would beg Papa Crocodile / to carve his pumpkin a sneee-eery smile.” (Cleverly, their pumpkin croc features an oblong pumpkin carved sideways with successively smaller pumpkins for the body.) Bushes and trees get festooned with spiderwebs and orange-and-black steamers, and, somewhat disturbingly, “Vulture chicks would scat-scatter fresh skeleton bones / close to a cluster of old tombstones.” Costumes include the traditional (superhero, mummy, witch) as well as some creative twists (Zebra Foal wears “a costume of spots” that resembles a giraffe’s hide; Little Leopard dons a striped costume). Treats match the giver: Parrot gives seeds, Armadillo passes out chocolate ants, and Raccoon offers “garbage-fudge squares.” Page turns and line breaks sometimes interrupt the rhythm of the verses, though the rhymes are pretty spot-on. Walker’s scenes start during the day and gradually fade to night, when the illustrations almost seem to glow, gentle stars in the sky shining down, and the shared book at the close is the ideal end to a busy day.(This book was reviewed digitally.)

A cute introduction to Halloween for youngsters. (Picture book. 3-7)

Kirkus Reviews