Halloween Poems for Preschoolers -- It's Halloween!

Here is another great book our family discovered at the library -- It's Halloween by Jack Prelutsky, illustrated by Marilyn Hafner. 

It's Halloween is a collection of rhyming poems about Halloween, with fun illustrations. What I like about this book for my almost four-year-old is that it's not too scary. I'm very sensitive to things that may make my kids uncomfortable, and this book passed the sniff test. The two most concerning poems in the book are one that describes an unfriendly (OK, mean) family who didn't give treats (and how they got tricked). It ends well though -- the people say, "We're sorry!" The other slightly sensitive poem describes a haunted house where all the spooky things are having a party and how the kids prefer to stay away -- it mentions witches and goblins, etc., but the context is more about having a fun time than about being scary. So it works for us. During our reads, my son seemed concerned over the mean people, so I made it a point to emphasize that they said sorry. And we talked about how sometimes people are mean. He's OK with the book and has requested several reads, insisting that all the poems in the book are read at each sitting -- no shortcuts for mom!

We've really enjoyed It's Halloween and I plan to get a copy for our kids' collection. 

A note on formats:  We checked out a hardcover from the library, but the most common format at Amazon is paperback.  The cover graphics are different but interior illustrations appear to be the same as far as I can tell.  Although I prefer the hardcover version, I'll probably buy what's least expensive.

It's Halloween

Today is Poetry Friday among the Kidlitosphere -- check out some wonderful poems shared by kids lit bloggers at this week's host, Two Writing Teachers.