There is a rich selection of new books for Halloween reflecting a variety of genres and some spectacular illustrations. One such example is HALLOWEEN by Katherine Leiner (Atheneum, $15.95). The contemporary text about children on their way to "trick or treat" is accompanied by the work of 22 photographers who are donating all profits and royalties of the book to the Pediatric AIDS Foundation. A short profile of each award-winning photographer is included as an index.
A "must-have" for families and classrooms is THE HALLOWEEN GRAB BAG by Freida Wolff and Dolores Kosielski (Harper Trophy, $5.95). This is stuffed with games, jokes, costume ideas and bits of holiday lore such as, "According to Sicilian folklore, bats have the face of the devil and are thought to bring disease" and "If a black cat crosses in front of you, it brings bad luck. If it walks toward you, however, good luck comes with it."Top of the list is A JOB FOR WITTILDA by Utah writer/illustrator team, Caralyn and Mark Buehner (Dial, $13.95). This is a unique story of the witch who saves the day by becoming a delivery person for Dingaling Pizza. The illustrations are delightfully funny from Wittilda's sequin-trimmed glasses to her 47 cats (No! Forty-eight, she picks one up on the first delivery). Children will have fun identifying kitten antics and locating a quick shot of Marvin from the Buehners' previous picture book, "Marvin, the Ape."
Speaking of witches, what about one named Blavia in TRIPLE WHAMMY (Har-per-Collins, $15) who lives with Mug, a monster, and they are bored, bored, bored! Teryl Euvremer's silly illustrations lend themselves to predicting what will happen next, and the unexpected ending makes it a real "trick and treat."
THE WITCH'S FACE adapted by Eric Kimmel (Holiday House, $15.95) is a story from the oral tradition of the Mazahua Indians of Central Mexico. Even though Don Aurelio is warned "all is not as it seems," he stops at the house of three women - all of them witches - and falls in love with the youngest. Fate does not aid the passion, however, and Don Aurelio learns what happens when a human falls in love with an immortal being. This is a tremendous read-aloud for upper graders (fourth through sixth) and adds to the folklore of a holiday and a little-known culture.
Some of the Halloween books have lots of scary creatures like the ones in OLD DEVIL WIND by Bill Martin Jr. (Harcourt Brace & Jovanovich, $13.95). Barry Root's dark, sweeping illustrations make the repetition of the text a certain favorite for reading over and over again.
Leonard Baskin's illustrations add much to Richard Michelson's DID YOU SAY GHOSTS? (Macmillan, $14.95). Spooks, werewolves, giants, demons, witches, vampires, dragons, skeletons and slithy toves are all here, and when you chant them over and over the full effect of this eerie book is found.
GRANNY GREENTEETH AND THE NOISE IN THE NIGHT by Kenn and Joanne Compton (Holiday House, $14.95) combines cartoon-like drawings that will appeal to the young reader who likes to study and find detail. The script splashes across the page sometimes with 6-inch letters, and "Bob" fills a whole two-page spread. The children will giggle at the scary parts and feel relief when "Granny's cottage was quiet at last . . . "
James Mayhew's DARE YOU (Clarion Books, $13.95) is a real-life story of children who do scare each other when they wrap up in sheets to venture into the night.
PUMPKIN LIGHT by David Ray (Philomel, $14.95) tells about Angus, whose passion is sketching jack-o'-lanterns. Angus is transformed into a gray dog by a scarecrow, and only magic turns him about again.
My "pick of the bunch" is a cumulative tale that really tickles the funny bone. BY THE LIGHT OF THE HALLOWEEN MOON by Caroline Stutson and Kevin Hawkes (Lothrop, $15).
A toe!
A lean and gleaming toe
That taps a tune in the dead of night
By the light, by the light,
By the silvery light of the Halloween moon!
That gleaming toe hanging over the edge of a bridge is a real set-up for the Halloween creatures like a "bungling bouncy breezy bat, a ghastly drooling graveyard ghoul, a grumpy grungy hobgoblin sprite" and others to attack. The clever ending, "Oh, no you don't! That toe is mine!" will make this a read-it-again book. I particularly like the way "By the Light of the Halloween Moon" lends itself to reader's theater (taking different parts) and for setting to music.
Finally, there's a new collection of poems for Halloween. RAGGED SHADOWS (Little Brown, $15.95) combines 14 verses selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins from well-known poets such as Valerie Worth, Nancy Willard and Jane Yolen. The clever collages by Giles Laroche make this a delightful combination.
Now for older children.
Alvin Schwartz's popular series STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK is marketed this season in a coffin-shaped "fright box" accompanied by a set of vampire teeth, an audio tape of the stories and a tube of fake blood. This may just be the winning trickor treat this year.
Twelve Newbery Award-winning authors have contributed parts of their popular novels to A NEWBERY HALLOWEEN (Delacorte Press, $16.95). This anthology selected by Martin H. Greenberg and Charles G. Waugh is for all ages, but the reading level makes it appropriate for sixth grade and above.
The following is a list of novels for fifth grade and up that will guarantee a tingling of the spine:
"Famous Tales of Terror" (A Watermill Classic, $2.95 paper).
"Calling All Monsters" by Chris Westwood (HarperCollins, $15).
"The Haunted Circus" by Thomas McKean (Simon & Schuster, $13).
"The Ghost Witch" by Betty Ren Wright (Holiday House, $13.95).
"The Backyard Ghost" by Lynn Cullen (Clarion, $13.95).
"Ghosts Don't Get Goose Bumps" by Elvira Woodruff (Holiday House, $13.95)
"Uncle Vampire" by Cynthia D. Grant (Atheneum, $13.95).
- NOTE: Next week: A book that ties Halloween to Christmas. Look for it!