A Creepy Countdown - Hardcover

Huck, Charlotte

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0688154603 ISBN 13: 9780688154608

Publisher: Greenwillow Books, 1998

Synopsis

From one to ten--and down again to one. And every number will make you shiver and shake. (Well, sometimes you will be shaking with laughter, but no matter.)

Start counting with One Tall Scarecrow. Go on to Two Lumpy Toads. How long will it take you to learn all these creepy couplets by heart? Not much longer than it will take you to count to ten and down again to one!

On you mark--get set--GO!What do lumpy toads, hooting owls, furry bats, skinny witches, ghastly ghosts, yowling cats, and brave mice have in common? They all parade through the spine-tingling pages of Charlotte Huck's imaginative countdown and revel in an especially eerie night! But the mice get the last Boo (or maybe young readers do) in this enchanting book that goes from one to ten and back again, and dazzles with its ticklish scratchboard pictures. A positively creepy-crawly read-aloud for Halloween, storytime, and anytime!

About this title

About the Authors

"When I was a child, my favorite fairy tale was the story of Furball. I loved this variant of Cinderella that portrays a spunky young woman who uses her own ingenuity to change her life," says Charlotte Huck. She wondered why this dramatic story had never appeared in a picture-book edition, and it is not surprising that she chose it as the basis of her first book for children, Princess Furball. She felt that the selection of the right illustrator was crucial, and she says, 'Anita Lobel was the perfect artist for it. I think no one today extends the narrative of the story through art in the way Anita does. She is a true master." Charlotte Huck's retelling of a second classic fairy tale, Toads and Diamonds, was also illustrated by Anita Lobel.

Ms. Huck was a professor at Ohio State University for thirty years, and in 1996 the university established in her name the first endowed professorship in children's literature in the United States. Her honors include Ohio State University's Distinguished Teaching Award and the Arbuthnot Award, given annually by the International Reading Association to an outstanding professor of children's literature, and she was selected by the Association of Library Service to Children of the American Library Association to deliver an Arbuthnot Honorary Lecture.

Ms. Huck was the author of five editions of the classic Children's Literature in the Elementary School. As an anthologist, she selected poems of nineteen wellknown poets to create Secret Places, a collection for the youngest readers.

Jos. A. Smith, illustrator of Hurry! by Jessie Haas, Ogres! Ogres! Ogres!: A Feasting Frenzy from A to Z by Nicholas Heller, and A Creepy Countdown by Charlotte Huck, lives in New York City.

Reviews

PreSchool-Grade 2-Huck's spirited counting rhyme from 1 to 10 and back again trips easily off the tongue, and Smith's black ink on scratchboard with watercolor overlays provide appropriate ghoulish harmony. Beginning with "one tall scarecrow standing on a hill" and "two lumpy toads sitting very still," the verses proceed to "ten tiny mice, feeling very brave." They shriek, "BOO TO YOU," which is set in large yellow letters, and get a horrified reaction from the collected bats, witches, skeletons, ghosts, and wraiths. Then, in reverse order, the creatures disappear-"nine eerie skeletons laid their bones to rest," "eight yowling cats arched their backs and fled" until "one tall scarecrow stood all alone." The mostly black-and-white scenes (ghost eyes are red) are set in large frames, bordered by thin strips of color, focusing the drama. Smith's fluid drawings contain a balance of scariness and humor sure to delight young listeners and with enough detail to invite investigation. Suspended from branches that twine behind the frames are somewhat grotesque, somewhat funny faces that are bound to catch attention. A surefire Halloween treat.
Barbara Elleman, Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Ages 4^-7. This bit of fun keyed to Halloween gives children the opportunity to hone basic counting skills. Huck uses a simple rhyme to lead little ones through their numbers--1 to 10, then backward to 1 again. The rhyming text isn't particularly fresh, but it has solid child appeal: "One tall scarecrow / standing on a hill. / Two lumpy toads / sitting very still." And Smith's stark scratchboard illustrations are very appealing. Although their frame-within-a-frame design detracts a bit from the main picture, the beautifully detailed scratchboards, overlaid with judiciously placed watercolor, give kids a clear shot at doing their counting. At the same time, they capture the eerie holiday mood without being overly frightening. Stephanie Zvirin

Edition details

• Publisher: Greenwillow Books
• Publication date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0688154603
• ISBN 13: 9780688154608
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Smith Jos. A.
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 24