As an unconventional librarian, and life-long learner, I constantly find myself curious about new topics and eager to share book reviews, experiences, research and media, contributing to an "Accidental Education" that only comes from living in a digital age, or a monumental library!
Dutra, Sally and Brian. (2024). Frankie D, Vegan Vampire. Kids Can Press.
*Downloadble activity sheets at the end of this post!
Frankie D, a distant cousin of Count Dracula mind you, and his family moved to American from Transylvania. They are determined to live life like humans, appreciating one day at a time, uniquely vegan with a no-blood diet! Their main mission, to blend in with humans and that includes Frankie going to school in the 4th grade.
He bravely approaches a boy on the school bus, Zeke, and decides he will be his first friend. Soon, he has a good handful of human friends, who all have their eccentricities, like him, but appreciate him for who he is.
Frankie even find a bully. At first he tries to be friends with Eddie, but Eddie is mean to Frankie and his friends and Frankie can’t quite figure out why, until one day he stands up to Eddie and then follows him home. Frankie learn that he and Eddie may have some similarities and Frankie learns how he can help Eddie, as long as they keep it on the down low, of course.
Meanwhile, Frankie has Zeke and his family over for their first dinner party. He finds a pet (or does the pet find him) and his music class is learning La Bamba to perform at the school concert. But his friend Hector, who his classes depended on as their lucky charm, gets sick the night of the concert and the class ends up in a little bit of a pickle, due to nerves and lack of confidence but an unlikely person shows up and helps save the day.
The book even ends in a cliffhanger! But I won’t spoil it for you.
The early chapter book is a quick read. Even at 186 pages I finished it in less than a day. It is full of heart, little lessons, and tons of humor. Frankie is trying to be the best him, while fitting in, but also being himself. All in all, I really enjoyed it and would not hesitate to recommend it. It’s also a series, with two books so far.
*Downloadable activity sheets at the end of the post!
At Christmastime, (stay with me folks), there was a Christmas tree lot. The saplings were wide-eyed and excited, wanting to be like the great big Christmas tree at the front of the lot with the lights and decorations.
But there was one little sapling who was a little different. (the looks on these kids’ faces and the mom just kill me.)
It was grumpy, and cross, with less needles and exclaimed it didn’t want decorations and it didn’t like people. Hrmph. It wanted to stay exactly where it was. (look at this adorable spider who has fallen in love with it). It was determined! So much so that if it even thought of becoming a Christmas tree it’s needles would brown and fall off!
Soon, the Christmas tree lot emptied and the little tree was the only one left. Then houses started to be built all around it. It grew taller and more curvy and bumpy. The new families didn’t quite know what to make of it.
“Yikes,” a boy named Ben cried. “That tree looks gruuummpy.” But then the children, doing what children do, started to dare one another to climb it’s gnarled limbs. Soon, it became a pirate ship and a fort, a spaceship…
even a dragon! But when winter came, and the children stayed indoors, the tree got kind of lonely.
Then, one day he saw, through a window, one of the family’s joyfully putting up a Christmas tree and even though he told himself that’s not what IT wanted…it couldn’t quite convince itself.
The next year, the same things happened. In the Spring, the children came out. In the winter, they went inside, and the tree found itself wanting the happy children and the decorations more and more. It even tried hard to grow needles, but they never looked quite right after trying so hard, for so long, to keep them from growing.
When Fall came, the grown-ups started calling the tree “horrible” and saying it was time to cut it down. The tree was sad and terrified. It didn’t want to lose those happy children in its branches and dancing around its trunk. And neither did the kids! So, they formed a plan. They were now the determined ones. They gathered jack-o-lanterns, lights and rubber spiders, cardboard cats and skeletons.
They dressed that tree up right and proper, and that little spider, now all grown-up, helped too! The children danced around the tree, delighted, and happy as their parents now had a new perspective on this glorious Halloween Tree. And they were all happy together.
I wasn’t so sure about this book at first. That could be reading and writing fatigue on my part (you have no idea how many Halloween books I have read, even though I LOVE Halloween) but one of the library managers convinced me to try it, and I’m glad they did.
This was sweet, and wonderful and really showed how sometimes what we want can change, and that with a little help, and a little change in perspective, our dreams can come true, and we can be loved exactly as we are…spooky, gnarled, grumpy and all, and can be appreciated for it! It really warmed my heart. Plus, there is a fantastic activity kit available for this one. It’s below.
Hudson, Katy. (2024). The Bold Pumpkin Plan. Capstone.
Another super cute, winner picture book from Katy Hudson. Let me tell you about it!
So, here is my man, Hedgehog. He decides he is going to be ambitious and plan and build a house out of a pumpkin this year. He gets all his plans together and makes it to the pumpkin patch, and that’s where everything goes sideways. Now, it is important, at this point to understand that not only is Hedgehog shy, but he’s also really introverted and likes to be alone.
First, he has to get his pumpkin through a corn maze, but he keeps running into dead ends and getting sad and frustrated. A little mouse offers to help but he stammers, and stutters, trying to tell the mouse what he needs help with, getting the pumpkin home to build his house. Mouse helps and sticks around even when they get stuck in a forest full of leaves. But they meet another friend, a raccoon, who also offers to help and soon they are on their way, even in the face of a harsh wind, until…
…they reach the top of a hill and the pumpkin rushes all the down the hill and into the water. Will there be another friend to help?
But, oh no, Hedgehog forgot about the creaky old bridge! Oh dear. Now what? Well, I don’t want to ruin it all but…
…eventually the pumpkin makes its way to Hedgehog’s home, and “when all the work was done, he felt different. He was still timid. He was still quiet. And he still liked his alone time (Same bro). But… he liked spending time with his new friends just as much.”
SUPER SUPER cute book. The more of Katy Hudson I read, the more I love her work (the characters are ADORABLE and so expressive). As an extroverted introvert, little Hedgehog sure spoke to me. It can be hard to ask for help, to accept help, heck to even admit you NEED help, especially for kids, and the sooner they get comfortable with it, the sooner it becomes less of an issue, that hopefully will not follow them into adulthood. It’s good to be independent, but it’s critical to be able to ask for help when you need it and that does not make you any less independent.
So, when it comes to movies or DVDs that are pumpkin related, you want to have options for your kiddos. But also, what if you want some Halloween/spooky options, too?! Here I have a selection that should not drive you bonkers, separated into younger kids vs. older kids.
Ages 5 & Younger
It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. (Did you NOT expect me to start with this one? But be prepared if it has been a while since you have seen it…some of those kids are MEAN…especially Lucy…even though she still takes care of her little brother, Linus. Odd dynamic. Also, lots of mentions of slugging (hitting) people. Times have changed, so good opportunity to have a conversation, if so desired.)
Max & Ruby: The Perfect Pumpkin
Maggie and the Ferocious Beast: Recipes for Trouble (Episode: Recipe for Trouble)
Doozers: Spookypalooza
Halloween Treats: The Runaway Pumpkin & Pumpkin Heads (Both based off books)
Berenstain Bears: The Complete Collection (Episodes: Trick or Treat, The Haunted Lighthouse, The Prize Pumpkin,
Peppa Pig: Pumpkin Party
Pumpkin Time (Based on the picture book by Erzsi Deak)
Curious George: A Halloween Boofest & Spooky Fun
Pooh’s Halloween Heffalump Movie (Stinking adorable. Lumpy and Roo are perfect buddies)
WordWorld: Kooky Spooky Halloween
Dinosaur Train: Buddy’s Halloween Adventure
Little Bear: Halloween Stories
Spooky Buddies (The Halloween edition of the “Buddies” movies)
Halloween Town (Debbie Reynolds is a witch and this Halloween her granddaughter finds out she is too, which leads to a mystery to solve, danger and an unexpected trip to Halloween Town)
Ages 6 & Up
Nightmare Before Christmas (Epic, dark Disney spookiness. Good for Halloween AND Christmas. Catherine O’Hara, Chris Sarandon, Danny Elfman, Paul Reubens)
The Worst Witch (1986 version. There is also a modern Netflix TV series, but it’s not quite the same camp and epicness)
Monster House. (Steve Bushemi, Kathleen Turner, Kevin James, Maggie Gyllenhal, Jason Lee…the animation was ground-breaking for the time. Now it is highly stylized and the story is still great. Definitely for older of the older kids. Brief mentions of violence, drinking, teenagers, etc.)
Coraline. (Based off the book. Claymation, Dakota Fanning, Keith David, Jennifer Saunders. Spooky and classic)
Igor (Highly overlooked. Star studded cast including John Cusack, Molly Shannon, Jay Leno, Steve Buschemi, Suzie Izzard, Sean Hayes, Jennifer Coolidge and more. Featuring music of Louis Prima)
Kubo and the Two Strings (Star studded cast. Amazing story. Fantastic animation and style. I love this movie.)
Monsters vs. Aliens: Mutant Pumpkins From Outer Space (I really tried not to like this show but it’s oddly entrancing)
The BoxTrolls (British, underrated, claymation movie with a darker tone, but I absolutely love the trolls)
Hotel Transylvania (Kooky and sweet. Adam Sandler, Andy Samberg, Selena Gomez, Steve Buschemi, Ceelo Green and more!)
Casper (A little raunchy (ghosts with bad manners) but also sweet. Christina Ricci, Bill Pullman.)
The Addams Family (Lots of over-exaggerated suggestion of violence, just like the tv show. Lots of gags. Dark humor. Angelica Huston, Raul Julia, Christopher Lloyd, and more)
Ghostbusters (The classic with Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Rick Moranis, Sigourney Weaver, Ernie Hudson, Harold Ramis…some suggestive content (one scene really, but I didn’t even understand it until I was in my TWENTIES!)
Disney’s Legend of Sleepy Hollow (I would watch this and Night on Bald Mountain every year as a kid)
Coco (Probably my favorite. I’m including it even though it is about Dia de los Muertos/Dia de Muertos because of shared traditions and timing)
The House with a Clock in the Walls (based off the book by John Bellairs. LOVE this film)
Disney’s Haunted Mansion (There are two different movies with the same name. I like this one with Rosario Dawson over the Eddie Murphy version).
Spiderwick Chronicles (Also a book series)
Hocus Pocus (I know, I should have loved it straight off, but I didn’t. HOWEVER, it grew on me.)
Honorable Mentions:
Not my personal favorite but one of my co-workers LOVES this one, and I told her I would include it:
ParaNorman
Have a favorite I didn’t include? Put it in the comments!
There are a lot of streaming t.v./series options out there for Halloween. Some funny, campy, spooky or scary. The intent of this list is to give you some recommendations and to hear about your favorites, too! Just leave them in the comments.
Some of these I would recommend as Adult only, or Adult & Older Teen (The Haunting of Hill House, The Haunting of Bly Manor, Fall of the House of Usher, American Horror Story, Interview With The Vampire and Penny Dreadful mostly come to mind) but of course, view at your own discretion. You know yourself and your kiddo better than anyone!
*Downloadable list at the end of this post.
1. The Haunting of Hill House
2. Wednesday
3. The Sandman
4. Stranger Things
5. Fall of the House of Usher
6. The Haunting of Bly Manor
7. Locke and Key
8. The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
9. Dead Boy Detectives
10. The Munsters (The original. I do not recommend the remake)
