Mummies! Me-oh-my!

 Oh there's witches, and vampires,

Big monsters that go bump in the night,

Werewolves are howling,

So many creepy creatures are out tonight!

Mummies are mumbling incomprehensibly

Wrapped in their bandages

These faceless creatures are out for a night of fright!
-Fawn-

I love that there are tons of legends, cultures, and folk lore that you can look into, and teach about around Halloween.  This does greatly depend on the age of the child you're talking to.  As I've grown I love looking into and learning more about different cultures and learning about the origins of all these eerie curiosities. If you celebrate Halloween or want to look into different cultures or myths there are countless lessons and books you can focus on, but for today I'm going to share just about Mummies.

Let's start with a fun fictional picture book that's great for the little ones and a "spooky" story time.
Where's My Mummy?


Written by Carolyn Crimi
Illustrated by John Manders

The title is such a cute play on words and you know that is the complete theme of the book where could mommy be?  I like that they give you the intro to why mom is missing, they are playing a game of hide and and "shriek" and little mummy starts searching for Mama Mummy.  Where do mummies hide? Well you'll have to look in the deep, dark woods, and the cave, and the slithery swamp, and all over the place.  Little Mummy isn't afraid of these places or the creatures that live in them, he's brave when the blob comes out, and even for Drac, but what creature does give him a scare and make him yell for his mom?  You'll have to read and find out the cute thing that does scare him.
This cute story is a lot of fun to read with your little ones.  I love the sounds and how you can slow down the words and make it nice and spooky then chime in (or have your child help you read) "I'm not scared!" in a big brave voice.  I think this repeating of "I'm not scared!" is empowering and when the little mummy does get scared it's silly and yet Mom is right there.  A very sweet story.
The illustrations are playful.  They are dark and suspenseful when you first get to a new place to look for Mummy, but when the monster that was in that section is revealed it's colorful and funny. I love the details, and emotions in the illustrations.  Your children will be laughing throughout Where's My Mummy? as they watch the bedtime routine for all the spooky characters.

Skeleton Meets the Mummy


Written by Steve Metzger
Illustrated by Aaron Zenz

Sammy is a skeleton who is excited about going out to get candy with his friend Derek, but before he meets up with his friend and has some fun he has to take soup to his grandma, and walk through the dark forest all alone.  Each noise startles him and he tries to calm his nerves "it's only a bat, a tree, or the wind," but then he's sure something is following him! Sure enough there's a mummy behind him!
What kid (or adult) isn't afraid of walking through the woods at night?  At 30 I can still relate to this book!  That's a bit embarrassing to admit! But it's true.
Sammy runs from the mummy at first but then decides to confront his fear and unravel the mummy.  Who can the mummy be?  Of course the mummy isn't real, and the Metzger ends the book on a funny note with a joke.
This is a great way to tell kids that it's OK to be afraid of something, and you can comfort them with some information like how even some adults are afraid of the dark and that science says that this fear is linked with have a good creative imagination!  You can take time to talk about what they may be fearful of and let them know that that's normal.
The exaggerated facial expression are the focal point of Aaron's illustrations.  With colorful and simple silhouettes all the focus is on how Sammy is feeling.


Now as children get older or question about mummies there are many interesting books you can use to teach the history of mummies and about real mummies!

In my searching for mummy stories of both fiction and nonfiction I came across this awesome chapter book duo:
The Magic Tree House:
Mummies in the Morning (fictional)
Research Guide: Mummies and Pyramids (a nonfiction companion to Mummies in the Morning)

Written by Will Osborne and Mary Pope Osborne
Illustrated by Sal Murdocca

I did not read Mummies in the Morning but I did check out Mummies and Pyramids.  I love how this is a research guide to take kids through how the Osbornes found information to use in their story.  This is a fun and easy way to learn a lot of information about ancient Egypt and all about mummies. They included about everyday life, religion, tomb treasures and robbers.  I found the part about the funerals fascinating and learned a lot there that I didn't back in 6th grade when we studied Egypt.  There are black and white illustrations on every page which will help not only with the point of the text but also to keep readers focused.  I loved studying the art and reading the side notes.

Egyptian Mummies a pop-up book


Written by Milbry Polk
Illustrated by Roger Stewart
Paper-engineered by Jose R. Seminario
Art direction by Jim Deesing

Obviously since this is a pop-up book it's interactive.  Not only are there pictures popping out of the pages but there are little flaps to reveal more information or illustrations.  We often think of pop - up books for small children but this one has small print and a lot of great detailed information packed in it's 8 pages.  This is not a board book for babies and toddlers as it can easily be damaged, no this is aimed for children 7 and older.  Did you know it took at lease 15 days to wrap the body?  This fact along with many other around why Egyptian's preserved their deceased in such a way and how they did it are in these pages.  Take time to check out this fun learning book.  Want to see more of Egypt and the pyramids and tombs?  Check out Egypt Cradle of civilization

Want to move past Egypt and learn about all sorts of Mummies all over the world and how researchers have learned to learn from them without destroying them?
Outside and Inside Mummies


by Sandra Markle

Sandra dives deep into the science of studying mummies.  She tells how the way people have studied these preserved bodies have changed over the years, what we are still learning today and why people want to study these old bodies.  I love how Markle uses photographs to show real mummified bodies and xray images showing not only bones but also inside the body to see lungs and the packages they stuffed inside the body before wrapping.  This is an intense and in depth book that if for those older children who really want to know more, or are studying mummies or love science and medical fields.
A fun science experiment or project for all ages is at the end of the book: Make your own mummy!  (you use an apple!) but it's awesome to give kids a hands on project to go with history and science.


Some other nonfiction Mummy books that are on my list to check out are:


I hope you found these books fun or interesting as I have.  Wrap up your mummy filled week with some mummy movies:


Not sure what to be this year for Halloween?  Why not a mummy?

Pumpkins!!

There are two types of people come fall....

Those who are thrilled over pumpkin everything and those who are rolling their eyes wondering why someone would ever ruin an Oreo or coffee with pumpkin spice.  Which are you?
Regardless of your take on pumpkin flavored and scented everything you can't deny that pumpkins are a staple decoration and food in the fall.  This isn't much of a surprise because it's the time of year when they come into harvest, and these orange fruits have some great stories and activities to go along with them.  I have complied a very small stack of pumpkin filled books for you to enjoy with your little ones of both fiction and non fiction.


The first book I have for you goes out to all of you that are in disgust over the pumpkin spice monopoly.
Too Many Pumpkins

written by Linda White
Illustrated by Megan Lloyd

When Rebecca Estelle was growing up her family could only afford pumpkins and that's what she ate each year.  She vowed that she'd never even look at a pumpkin again when she was older, and she didn't until one day.... and unforeseen event happens and her yard is full of pumpkins!  What is she to do with her unplanned pumpkin patch?
If you grew up on a low income or ever struggled you can relate to Rebecca and her distain of pumpkins. What I love is how Linda White turned this around into something good and beautiful at the end.  It's such a sweet story.
This is a wonderful book to have a conversation with your child about how you will use your pumpkins.  What would you do with a yard full of pumpkins?  What pumpkin food was made that you'd like to try?
The illustrations!  Oh I love cover, it's eye catching.  The look of shock on the lady's face and her cat while looking at a pumpkins all over just sets the tone for the book.  The colorful and animated illustrations continue throughout the book.  I love the facial expressions on Rebecca as each event unfolds.

 Now that we've read about having Too Many Pumpkins and what Rebecca did with her's let's explore how to grow a pumpkin and make a favorite tasty treat.
Grow a Pumpkin Pie!

written by Jane E. Gerver
Illustrated by Tammie Speer-Lyon

This cute book really is self describing in the title.  Jane goes over the steps for planting and growing a pumpkin, then to harvest it and turn it into a pie all while rhyming.  This simple level 1 reader from Scholastic helps those kids just learning to read on their own with short sentences and high frequency words.  This is a non fiction book that goes into how to plant and grow a pumpkin and then very simply it shares about fall and how to bake a pie.  I wish they actually did give the full recipe at the end of the book but more than likely everyone has their own family recipe.  Instead of a recipe at the end there are a few reflections aimed at young readers.  So you have a maze to do, match the pumpkins, sequence of events, and a rhyming activity that all match the words used in the book.  These activities are fun for the children and work to show comprehension and reinforce phonic skills.
This book would be a fun book to read in the spring before planting a garden and talk about what you want to grow and what steps need to be taken.  Then read it again this time of year for harvesting and making your treat.

Now that we know how pumpkins grow and what we can make with them...what about a story about a pumpkin that grew a little different than all the rest?
The Legend of Spookley the Square Pumpkin

written by Joe Troiano
Illustrated by Susan Banta

While this story is clearly a work of fiction the lesson in it is so dear.  Spookley is a square pumpkin (clearly that's stated in the title) but he's the only one and he doesn't like that he can't roll around like the other and doesn't like feeling different.  This is something a lot of kids and people can relate to.  Of course we are all different because we aren't robots and if we were the world would be so boring, but this is not how you picture things when you are young and are trying to fit in with everyone.
While Spookley is feeling like the odd pumpkin out a storm comes in and tosses all the round pumpkins all over and a couple break a hole in the fence and are lost to the bay.  Spookley sees that he can stop the others from the same fate and saves the day.  When the farmer discovers the one square pumpkin he saves Spookley's seeds and the next year grows all odd shaped pumpkins.
Fun fact you can incorporate with this book, while round is the natural shape of pumpkins and many other fruits and veggies but there is a company who has successfully made square watermelon!  Check out how and why they did.

Another book that teaches about how differences are good is:
The Bumpy Little Pumpkin

written by Margery Cuyler
Illustrated by Will Hillenbrand

 The Bumpy Little Pumpkin is about a family of Big Mama, two big older sisters and a little girl named Nell.  They grow their own pumpkin patch and when it's time to pick their pumpkins to carve each older sister picks out a big pumpkin.  Only Nell finds a small little pumpkin that's bumpy that she likes.  The sisters tell her to pick a smooth one but Nell decides to keep her own and ends up with a cute Jack O'Lantern.
I find it neat how Margery included animals in this story.  There's a reindeer, a bear, hare, crow, Cardinal, and Sparrow who all help Nell in carving her pumpkin and felling better about the pumpkin she chose.  This book offers a couple great lessons you can expand upon.  If you have a little zoologist on your hands you can dive into each type of animal listed and learn more about them.  Study what type of birds you have in your back yard this time of year.  Also you can compare how each pumpkin is different and how it's okay to have one that is so odd looking because you can make something unique out of it.  There's also the obvious "now let's make our own Jack O' Lantern."


Speaking of Jack O'Lantern's where did that tradition come from?  Read this folklore book that started this tradition and be sure to check out the link above to see what History.com had to add to this legend.
The Story of the Jack O'Lantern

written by Katherine Tegen
Illustrated by Brandon Dorman

This bit of folklore that is retold comes from Ireland and is hundred's of years old.  There once was a mean old man named Jack who made a deal with a Devil and when it was his time to pay the Devil back he caught the coal thrown at him in a carved pumpkin and was cursed to wander the earth.  In short that is the story.
I hadn't heard this before so I found it interesting and of course Katherine Tegen goes much more in detail and has a fun animated story to read aloud.
The dark illustrations done by Brandon Dorman really capture the rotten spirit of Stingy Jack.  Even the daytime images are in non vibrant colors so there's a feel of foreboding and a different time period.  The illustrations I really love in the book are the ones at night.  I love how he captured the crisp fall night sky, with scattered clouds, and the shadows and how the moonlight reflects off the pumpkins.  The feeling of a late October night is perfect and beautiful to look at.
Fun fact learned in the author's note: the original jack-o-lanterns were carved out of potatoes, beets, and turnips.  Would you try your hand at carving something as small as a beet?

I love looking at carved pumpkins, and it's on my bucket list to go to a pumpkin house where there are hundreds of carved pumpkins to view.  I would love to do that!  Want to try to up your carving game?
Extreme Pumpkins 2:  Take Back Halloween and Freak Out a Few More Neighbors

by Tom Nardone

I'm going to highly recommend this book for those kids who are crafty and into Halloween.  I love Tom's added comments like his taste comparison of different pumpkins for cooking.  (Did you know there are different types of pumpkins?)  This book reads like a cook book with notes from your mom's funny best friend!  You are gives a list of items (ingredients) you will need and shown a picture of what you can potentially make, and then you are given some directions and set on your own to see what you can create.  Please use this book with adult supervision!
Need some carving tools?
One last book I want to leave you with is a nonfiction from National Geographic Kids all about...
Halloween

by Laura Marsh

As a general rule of thumb, you can't go wrong with National Geographic especially the ones aimed for children!  I have several of their books and we read them often.
I find that this book is a bit different than the NatGeo animal books we read in that it has many open ended questions throughout it.  These questions are great because it's engaging in conversation.  Another thing that is different in this book from most others is that it has jokes.  Yes, they are corny kids jokes that you use to read on go-gurts or Popsicle sticks, but they are still funny and kids love them!
After the first couple pages you get into the fun facts and more in depth information that you would expect to find like how pumpkins grow (did you know each pumpkin has about 500 seeds in it?!) and gives you some ideas on ways to decorate your house.  There's a page the mentions the traditions of Halloween and another one for The Day of the Dead.
Overall this book is great for young children because they love having the chance to talk and getting to respond to questions in a book.  After first grade I think they might be looking for more of a story or more information.  Compared to other National Geographic books I have this one didn't quite meet my expectations but it's still a fun and easy read for younger children.

Since I only touched the tip of the pumpkin pile of books if you are still looking for some other ones check out these two other blogs:

Pumpkin Books Perfect for Reading this Fall

10 Picture Books about Pumpkins

Hope you enjoy these books and if you have a favorite pumpkin themed book I didn't list please comment it below so I can check it out!!

Haunted Houses (in books for Kids)

Haunted House Books for children.

Halloween can be thrilling for all ages, it's fun to let your imagination free.  It's fun to dress up as something other worldly.  Haunted houses and attractions are all over this month and for a large variety of ages, because it's fun to have a little scare.  Now keep in mind that each child, and each person is different; I have a friend who's daughter has watched more horror movies than I have (yes I'm chicken and like my scary movies to be at the PG level.)  You know you're child(ren) best and can judge what their level of spooky fun is.

Inside a House That is Haunted


Written by Alyssa Satin Capucilli
Illustrated by Tedd Arnold
A Level 2 Reader from Scholastic

I have so much fun reading this, and it's one I don't mind reading again and again which is good because it's often asked for now by my youngest in Kindergarten.  While yes, this is a Halloween book that ends with Trick or Treat, we read it year round.

I love how this book is one that builds the story in steps and repeats each one.  This is repetition is wonderful for those beginner readers.  My daughter loves to read (repeat) each of the previous events and is so proud of herself for being able to do that.  This constant going over also teaches and ingrains how sequence of events work and lays a foundation for reading comprehension.

As I said earlier this is a FUN read aloud book because of so many noises and sound effects you can make as you read.  Alyssa captured a funny haunted house atmosphere made for young kids to enjoy.  The startled spider frightened the ghost who surprised the cat...and so on the story goes.  It's funny to see scary creatures being the ones who are getting the fright.  Depending on the kid(s) you are reading to you can down play or really be theatrical in your reading.  I get really into this book and have a deep voice for stomping feet and go up into a high loud shriek, and a nice pause and a loud BOO!  My daughter loves it and laughs and gets her all excited.  I've learned to not be as theatrical at bedtime because I'm going to have a every energized child on my hands.

Ted Arnold has done a wonderful job in doing cute cartoon illustrations for this story.  They are colorful, engaging and funny.  After having read this book a couple dozen times I finally noticed the foreshadowing in the illustrations.

  I love how the ending is empowering for children. I hope you and your pre-K to second graders get a hold of a copy of this book and read it over and over again!


The Haunted Mansion


Music by: Buddy Baker
Lyrics by Xavier Atencio
Illustrations by James Gilleard

As you can tell from the credits above this is a book that comes with a CD, the book is based off of a song from Disney's movie The Haunted Mansion and/or from the attraction at the Disney Parks.  I remember looking forward to all the Disney movies this time of year, this one, Casper, Halloweentown, and Hocus Pocus!  And I still enjoy them even as an adult.
Back to this book, I love the vocabulary Xavier used and think he was extremely creative to pack in so many unique words.  In researching this book I was trying to find the Lexile level and I couldn't find it in any database that measures that, but I did find that it's aimed for children ages 3-5 according to Disney.  I think many of the terms in the book are much more advanced, and that's a good thing because it's expanding vocabulary and making those little pathways in the brain fire up and absorb more.  Personally I'd think this book is for older children ages 6-10.  I want to share with you some of the wonderful words used.  A fun thing to do with these words is to use them for a Word of the Day (or week) and have the children use them in sentences or in a project.

quake,     materialize,     grim,   shrouded,     daft,   knell,  requiem,    etherealize

I will admit I had to look up knell and requiem, there were enough context clues to know it had to do with death bells but I hadn't heard those terms before.  For most kids I'd imagine that many of the words in the book are new and that makes them both fun and a learning opportunity. The rhyming and alliteration paired with the vocabulary make this a very unique children's book that is fun to read.

Buddy Baker has composed more than 200 scores for Disney so the music on the CD is one of brilliance.  If you are into decorating and getting into the full Halloween spirit or are planing a Halloween party this CD is a must.  It's spooky and dramatic.  The vocals singing the song are pure talent. I have a hard time not getting tongue tied while reading the book slow, but they sing it in such a fast and eerie way and make it seem smooth and easy.  When I tried to follow along in the book with the kids I had a hard time turning the pages fast enough.

A fun thing about reading the book is how the text was done to be fluid and ghostly feeling.  As you are turning the pages you are getting a tour thought the Haunted Mansion, a peek into each room and area of the famous attraction and movie.   James Gilleard put a lot of detail into each illustration.  I love how he used purples, pinks, and yellows that I wouldn't usually think of as dark hues, but they are muted and haunting looking, it's a colorfully dark book.  The ghost are far more advanced (realistic) than in Inside A House That Is Haunted which is a lot of fun for older children.

Be sure to grab either the CD with the Grim Grinning Ghost song, the DVD, book, or even better get all three having to do the the Haunted Mansion and have some spooky fun this weekend!


For older readers check out the Haunted Mansion chapter book series:

Have a hauntingly good time reading!

Hocus Pocus, It's Fall!

I can not think of a better book to start off the month of October with!   October, the month of leaves changing, pumpkins, a chilly nip to the air, and of course Halloween!  It's the month of scary movie marathons, books, decorations, hay rides, and haunted houses for kids and adults alike!  I have been put under a spell, and can't wait to share the magic of this book with you.  I have a feeling you will find it as wonderful as I do.

Hocus Pocus, It's Fall!


Written by Anne Sibley O'Brien
Illustrated by Susan Gal

Very first thing to grab my attention...the title.  Hocus Pocus! I love that movie, and rushed to pull this book off the shelf.  Then you see the adorable cover!  Yes, my heart had very high expectations for this book.  Anne and Susan did a phenomenal job in meeting my hearts expectations!  I adore this book!

This is a FUN book to read aloud.  It's impossible to not have fun, get excited and capture your audience's attention when you're using magic words like Abracadabra or burst out in laughter with phrases like Higgledy piggledy! This is one of the magical books that everyone who reads it is animated which brings the book to life and gets children's interested in reading and begging you to read it again.

Anne has done a great job in highlighting so many of the marvels of fall, from going back to school, to jack-o-lanterns, to migration, and silkweed plants.  The silkweed also called milkweed was new to me and I had to ask my husband and look up information about this plant to find out what O'Brien was talking about when she said "Spiky pods are brown and dried. Open sesame! Clouds inside."  As I've said before I love when I learn something new from books.  I love that she took something that is so overlooked that I didn't know what it was and put it in the book.

While this book is just a fun book to read it does offer many lessons that you can take and expand upon or do activities around.  Since I've mentioned fall leaves and hayrides in Fun Fall Books we can skip those activities and focus on some new ones that are brought up in this book.

Migration and Hibernation

In the illustration and text we see Geese flying south, squirrels collecting acorns, and chipmunks hibernating in their burrows. Depending on the age group you are with and how interested they are you can take this into a fun project and go into as much depth as you want.  Where do the Geese go?  Pull out a map and mark it with their migration.  Then find out what other birds or if there are other animals that migrate.  The monarch butterfly migrates, and so do some snakes. What animals travels the farthest?  This could be a very fun project for your class.  You can make a couple writing prompts about it as well like the one pictured here.  A great way to end a lesson on migration with a focus on geese is to watch the movie Fly Away Home.  It's an older movie but one of my favorites.
Now that we know what animals migrate, which animals hibernate?  How does that work?


Seeds
In Seeds of Fall I shared a couple books and talked about plants coming to harvest but O'Brien has shared a something new that you can focus a lot of time on: silkweed.  This one plant is vital to Monarch Butterflies and you can do a whole lesson on what it looks like, how people think of it as a week, and how to make a garden to attract these butterflies.

Pumpkins and Apples
If you take a trip to a pumpkin patch or orchard take a look at all the different shapes, sizes, and variety of the fruits and vegetables.  Make applesauce or a pie together.

Susan Gal has done a fantastic job in showing fall magic and capturing life, movement, and all that fall brings with it into her illustrations.  They are full of colors and texture.  This book is an expanded page good, so after the "magic" words you expand out a page to see the magic unfold and the scene change.  I love this concept and how she has taken each event that Anne mentions and finds the details to bring forth.  I love how Susan has included so many extraordinary elements to what could have just been and ordinary scene.  For example when Anne is telling about leaves changing color when you expand the page Susan didn't just paint a forest of autumn colors ablaze, she included hot-air balloons!  When you expand the migration page it's not just birds flying in the sky, you see cranberry farmers harvesting the fruit as the birds fly overhead.  These small details could be overlooked but they offer talking point.  I had my kids guessing about the cranberries, they thought they were just raking up leaves so it offered us an opportunity to go into how cranberries are grown.
Another thing I want to point out about these illustrations is how Susan Gal has combined so many different elements into her art.  You can clearly see that she used paint, and crayons, and as someone who is not an artist I'm not sure what other medias she used; but you can see that the art is complex.  All the elements and different textures make these images ones that you want to study and are beautiful to look at.

I hope you find this book as lovely as I have.  It may well be your favorite fall book yet!

If you are interested in the book or any of the movies I listed above here are some affiliate links to them directly.  By using these links I will get a credit at no additional cost to you and I thank you all for your support in either buying from my blog or just by reading it.

For my fellow Hocus Pocus fans check out this book and fun shirt: