No Tricks Just the Monthly Challenge

By Janie Reinart

Time to howl at the moon, cast a spell, or turn into a pumpkin. Treat yourself to writing a 

Halloween tale. It can be a little scary, a little funny or somewhere in between. 

by Lynne Marie

Papa Scare (a monster), Mama Scare (a mummy), and Baby Scare (a vampire) live in a 

haunted house.  One night, they go out to walk their dog (a bloodhound) to let 

their soup cool down. While they’re away, in walks the zombie Moldilocks, looking for food, 

a chair, and a bed that’s just right. 

" In a huge haunted house-- with room enough for four, there lived three scares: Papa 
Scare, Mama Scare and Baby Scare. One chilly night, Papa sliced finger sandwiches and 
brewed a batch of  Alph-Bat Soup. This recipe serves four, just enough for one more."

By Doreen Cronin

Will the animals trick or treat Farmer Brown?

"Farmer Brown does not like Halloween. Witches give him nightmares. Pirates give him 
shivers. Jack-o-lantern's flicker spooky shadows on the wall.  Farmer Brown leaves a bowl 
of candy on the porch...He draws the shades and locks the door. But in the barn, the 
Halloween party has just begun."

By Kim Norman

Don't be scared. A silly pirate skeleton seeks to put its bones back together in this rhyming 

romp beneath the waves.  The inside of the book jacket serves as a poster of the skeleton 

put back together. Great vocabulary words . A mandible and a clavicle, phalanges and 

femurs, a tibia and a fibula -- could there be a set of bones scattered across the ocean 

floor? And who might they belong to? 

"Cast a spyglass 'round here 

while breakers curl and pound here. 

There's treasure to be found here -- I feel it in my bones!"

"Help me find my head bone,

my pillowed-on-the bed bone,

the pirate's flag of dread bone-- 

I'm scouting out my skull."

By Katie May Green

A midsummer moon shines on Shiverhawk Hall, where portraits of children come alive on 

the wall. As night falls, the playful painted residents wake up for another rhyming caper. 

When the DeVillechild twins are nowhere to be seen, the other children 

escape their frames in search of two girls in white dresses — and, possibly, a midnight 

game in the garden.

"Right at the top of Silverhawk Hall 

live children in pictures on the wall.

Peeking out, woken gently

by a midsummer moon,

they spot something strange

about their room:

the twins have vanished

from their picture frame!

Where could they be?

It's time for a game..."

By Patricia Toht

This wonderful read-aloud text shares the excitement of a favorite holiday tradition. 

Readers will be happy to follow along, from picking out the perfect pumpkin (be sure to stop 

for cider and toffee apples) to carting it home, scooping out the insides, carving a scary 

face, and finally lighting a candle inside — transforming an ordinary pumpkin into a one-of-

a-kind glowing jack-o’-lantern.

"Pick a pumpkin from the patch--
tall and lean or short and fat.
Vivid orangae, ghostly white, 
or speckled green
might be just right."

Don't be afraid to burn the midnight oil. 

BUMP. 

Did you hear that?  

It's only an idea lurking around.  It's time to write your Halloween tale before it's gone.