A Rattle of Bones: A Halloween Book of Collective Nouns - Hardcover

West, Kipling

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0531331962 ISBN 13: 9780531331965

Publisher: Orchard Books, 1999

Synopsis

An assortment of collective nouns are revealed as some children go out on Halloween night

About this title

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 4 Two children dress up for trick-or-treating and encounter a wide variety of creatures along the way. A brief rhyming narration takes brother and sister through the woods and home again, but it is the additional description of what they see that makes this a unique Halloween offering. Taken from several sources, these collective nouns are clever and intriguing: "a GRIMACE of masks," "a LEER of jack-o'-lanterns," "a BRIDGE of trolls," "a RATTLE of bones," and "a CACKLE of hyenas" are some of the descriptive words used in this holiday language lesson. Ink-and-acrylic paintings fill each double-page spread with nonthreatening, flat cartoon figures in muted shades of purple, green, gray, and, of course, black. This story lacks the brilliance of Ruth Heller's A Cache of Jewels (Grosset & Dunlap, 1987), but it is an unusual addition to holiday shelves and an inspiration for creative-writing projects. Beth Tegart, Oneida City Schools, NY
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

A little boy and his sister go out to trick-or-treat on Halloween night and as they walk through their adventures, a series of rhymed couplets provide the text. Each couplet features a hand-lettered name for the groups of creatures shown in the pictures: a cloud of bats, a murder of crows, a venom of spiders, a wake of vultures. All these groups can make for some crowded illustrations, but the bold, simple lines and broad areas of color help keep things from getting too visually chaotic. In a closing note, the author challenges children to make up their own terms for groups of people and things. This picture book is a bit ungainly for reading aloud, but teachers with units on collective nouns may find it useful. Carolyn Phelan

Edition details

• Publisher: Orchard Books
• Publication date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0531331962
• ISBN 13: 9780531331965
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 32