posted on 30 Oct 2023

Spooky Little Halloween by Nick Sharratt and Sally Symes

Colourful and interactive board books are guaranteed to engage the attention of very young children, especially when they are illustrated by the internationally acclaimed Nick Sharratt. 

The symmetrical design of the front cover draws the reader’s eye, with the familiar orange pumpkin shape smiling out. I’m not sure at what age babies recognise this symbol as being something to do with fun spooky times, but as the shape is everywhere in the environment during October, it presumably has some impact on their perceptual development at the very least. There is another deliberate reference to the well-known nursery rhyme ‘Humpty Dumpty’, but in this case the pumpkin replaces the usual egg shape sitting on a wall. I wonder how many children would notice this even before fingers are wriggled through the holes to suggest legs? 

There is plenty to talk about on the next page when we see a very friendly looking green faced witch riding her broomstick. The text on the facing page is simple and rhythmic:

‘This little witch 

Is riding on her broom.

wiggle wiggle

zoom-zoom’

The third line is repeated on all the pages with a different fourth line to develop vocabulary and encourage joining in and physical actions with the fingers.

Then we are gently introduced to more characters that are very familiar in the spooky genre: a wolf, a spider, a ghost, a bat, a cat and a monster. I particularly warmed to the rather perplexed looking ghost floating by a lamppost against a starry sky. All of them are jolly and smile out appealingly, so there are unlikely to be any frightened children as a result of reading this book! 

I strongly recommend this deceptively simple picture book which uses Sharratt’s distinctively bold colours and uncluttered style throughout. There is just enough detail on each page to encourage a child to use some new vocabulary without overwhelming the very young reader. When I looked at it more closely I realised that there were also some counting opportunities with differing numbers of stars on each page. The bat is of course upside down which requires the reader to turn the book around to make it work. I think that it would soon be a favourite choice and so I look forward to trying it out with individual children and in small groups.

Available now from Walker Books, you will be able to get this from your local independent bookshop and if they don’t have it on their shelves, they will be happy to order it for you.       

Karen Argent

October 2023