A round orange pumpkin soaks up the light of the round orange moon in this Halloween picture book from author Tony Johnston and illustrator Douglas Florian, attracting the admiring attention of an owl in flight, a cat on the prowl, a choir of crickets, a sneaky witch, and a group of children. Transformed by the latter into a jack-o-lantern, the pumpkin gives them all a surprise, proving how very scary he is...

I have enjoyed a number of picture books from both Johnston and Florian, so when I saw Very Scary on my public library's Halloween display, a few weeks back, I immediately snatched it up. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get to it before the big night, but I'm glad that I now have, as I found the narrative engaging—the text is simple, but evocative—and the watercolor artwork engaging. Unsurprisingly, as an aficionado of witchy picture books, I particularly enjoyed those scenes in which the witch is featured. Recommended to younger picture book audiences looking for fun Halloween fare that leans toward the spooky side (at least in its conclusion). ( )

A pumpkin soaks up the light from the moon and seems to glow in its pumpkin patch. On Halloween night, a parade of creatures comes to admire it: an owl, a cat, a cricket, and....a witch! As the pumpkin becomes a jack-o-lantern, it becomes a scary pumpkin. Scary enough to chase away the witch?

This book is a good example of a fantasy because the reader believes that the animals and witches go to find the pumpkin but in reality witches are not real. This book also gives good examples of onomatopoeias of words that express sounds like the owl makes the sound woo woo. Age appropriate: primary. Media: watercolor. ( )