From My Reading Chair…
Who’s inside the haunted house? Me! Who else?
Goblins, mummies, pumpkins, Frankenstein’s monster, ghosts and witches! All my favourite fiends, housed in a friendly first gathering of Halloween archetypes rather than anything alarming.
Courtney Acampora and Edward Miller’s uniquely shaped board book turns the haunted house itself into something little hands can explore. Monster-shaped tabs peep from the page edges, letting me choose my preferred monster room before I’ve even stepped inside. A baby-friendly choose-your-own haunted adventure? Now that’s a bit of haunted-house hospitality you don't see every day.
The illustrations are quirky, graphic and immediately legible. Bold silhouettes, simplified shapes and bright colour give each monster an immediate visual identity, while the spooky motifs scattered through the rooms reward closer looking on repeat visits. Perfect for fresh eyeballs to visit and re-visit all year round.
The rhyming couplets give the text its satisfying creaky-floorboard trot. Each paired end rhyme carries the tongue, like a guest, from room to room, while the changing characters invite voices, expressions and a little theatrical monster business. A lovely invitation to read it again (and again) and try out another monster voice (or all of them!).
I REALLY love the final wish that more people would visit the haunted house. It turns our tour into an invitation and leaves the supposedly spooky residents appearing lonely rather than menacing and threatening. Challenging monster stereotypes one board book at a time!
For the smallest house-guests, this is basically Baby’s First Monster Mash: all the familiar faces, none of the nightmare-fuel hangover!
Please tell the monsters to put the kettle on. I’ll be right back with a few of my monster mates!
Creep on Reading, Pumpkins!