David Hyde CostelloCritiques

Great story!!½

For older kids play up the humorous wordplay in the background dialogue.

The scariest creatures appear Halloween night where there's a party every year. As guests begin to arrive, a mama goblin explains to her little ones "that a good scare lets you know you're alive." One by one they come...warlocks, witches, ghosts, an owl, ghouls, and more. The party has begun with candy, stories, and dancing. It's really swinging now. Then suddenly it's time to hide because the scariest creatures have arrived. Can you guess who they are? I won't tell, but be ready for a fun little scare.

The Bottom Line: This rhyming book is fun to read aloud. Costello's watercolor illustrations are lively, colorful, and entertaining. Kids ages 3 – 6 will love the twist ending. It's a great introduction to Halloween for the little ones.

This review also appears at the Mini Book Bytes Book Review Blog.

The book uses rhyming, which most of the time I do not like books that rhyme. But, this book makes it work. It is a fun read aloud book. I read it to my nephew and he loved it! Its a cute story about monsters getting ready for a Halloween Party. A fun read.

Little Pig's family goes to Grandpa's house to visit. They find all of his marching band instruments and materials. But Little Pig is too young to play any of them. But his four brothers and sisters are playing way out of sync. Once they all crash on the floor he gets the idea to put the Drum Leader outfit on and lead the group. He soon finds his talent is more of being a leader than that of playing an instrument.

I think this is great for young siblings and for an introduction on leadership for young children. It would also be cute for elementary music teachers.½

Little Pig didn’t like being little when his family got out their instruments and marched in a band. He is too little to play the instruments. When he discovers a whistle and a baton and a drum major’s hat, he happily finds that he can join the group.

A nice triumph for a small pig, with sweet illustrations.

“Little Pig was too little to play the drum,
so Margie played the drum.
Little Pig was too little to play the trombone,
so Peter played the trombone.
Little Pig was too little to play the trumpet,
so Sally played the trumpet.”

All the animals are ready and willing to help their friends. The large, colorful illustrations in this book will keep kids' attention. It also teaches really young children about being helpful and using manners. All the animals help in their own special way, which can be true for children, too, and it is important to always say "thank you".

Little Pig tries to find an instrument that is small enough for him to play while his brothers and sisters play the much larger instruments. Little Pig sees how unorganized they are and decides he can be a part of the band by being a leader. This book has a lot of comedy throughout for kids and adults alike.

Excellent rhyme scheme, a bit long. Goblins throw a party in the clearing in the woods, every scary thing comes, even the monster that is mostly hat. A good time is had by all but then they scatter after seeing the scariest thing of all, kids in their halloween costumes