Homeschool Friday - Things That Go Bump in the Day

Homeschool Friday is a feature here at Somewhere Only We Know that showcases books my family reads during homeschool and provides a mini-review for each.

Things That Go Bump in the Day

By: Melinda Beatty

Illustrated By: Charlene Chua

Publication: August 6, 2024 by Dial Books

32 pages

Genre: Children's, Halloween

Source: Publisher via Edelweiss (Thank you!!)

( Goodreads | Amazon )

*Note: The above link to Amazon is an affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--The sun is out and it’s time for vampire Vlad to go to bed, but it’s easier said than done with all the creepy, creaky daytime noises that keep him (and his mother) from getting a good day’s rest.

Vampire Vlad is all tucked in, ready for bed. But his imagination runs wild when he hears all the daytime noises happening outside. A clickety-clack, a skreek and a clang? Who knows what that could be!

With each new sound, Vlad races to his patient and reassuring, but tired mama’s room until he learns how to calm himself down and finally get a good day’s rest. Melinda Beatty’s clever text and award-winning illustrator Charlene Chua’s imaginative illustrations make the perfect bedtime read (during the day or night) for anyone a little nervous to go to bed.

Things That Go Bump in the Day is very conceptual. There's a kid vampire who sleeps during the day and is scared of normal daytime noises like the mailman putting the mail in the mailbox or a fire engine off to a firefight. He runs to his mother to discuss what he's heard. And she comforts him by telling him the noises he's heard are just various monsters about their normal activities. And of course, the mother's explanations aren't scary at all. I can see kids being confused about this. I guess it depends on the age range that you're reading to. My three-year-old would be drawn to this book because he loves all the Halloween-themed books, but I can also bet you that he wouldn't understand the concept. My older two kids might get it, but I'd probably have to explain it to them. I did like the illustration style. And the cover is eye-catching. Things That Go Bump in the Day gets 3 Stars. Have you read Things That Go Bump in the Day? What did you think? Let me know!

Homeschool Friday - The Haunted Scavenger Hunt

Homeschool Friday is a feature here at Somewhere Only We Know that showcases books my family reads during homeschool and provides a mini-review for each.

The Haunted Scavenger Hunt: A Spook-tacular Storybook

By: Steve Patschke

Illustrator: Roland Garrigue

Expected Publication: July 2, 2024 by Templar

40 pages

Genre: Children's, Humor, Halloween

Source: Publisher via Edelweiss (Thank you!!)

( Goodreads | Amazon )

*Note: The above link to Amazon is an affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--A delightfully spooky and funny Halloween story

When four friends find a mysterious box with the message “Don’t look at it, don’t touch it, don’t open it!”, they decide that they have to know what’s inside. And so they end up on a haunted Halloween scavenger hunt that leads them to the basement of a spooky house. But one by one, a friend goes missing as the group gets closer to discovering the mystery behind the clues. Will they be able to reach the surprise at the end? This humorous Halloween page-turning story begs to be read aloud again and again.

My kids love scavenger hunts, and they love Halloween. So I thought I would check out this book. Unfortunately, I didn't love it. The illustrations were nice and spooky. Very Halloweenish. But I didn't love the messaging.

Four friends stumble upon a box that says not to open it. They open it. It says not to follow the map. They follow it. They come to a door that says don't open it. They open it. A voice says not to go down the dark hallway. They go down it. They come to a door that again says don't open it. And there's only one friend left by this point. She opens it. But what's at the end of the hunt is a glorious party for the last girl. Since becoming a parent, I'm more interested in the messages that my kids are getting, and I don't love the messaging of doing the opposite of what you're told or asked to do. Of course, the other friends were in on the surprise party. So one could argue that they knew what was waiting for Sarah at the end and they were trying to influence her in a positive direction. But the overall message is to ignore the stop and maybe there's a big happy surprise for you at the end of the journey.

I know, I know...I'm reading too much into this. But I'd rather read a book to my kids where the kids who didn't listen to the stops came face to face with a scary evil monster. Or about kids who listened and got rewarded. Or even about some kids just doing a fun scavenger hunt that may have been a little spooky but they pushed through their fears and were rewarded with a fun party at the end.

The Haunted Scavenger Hunt gets 2 Stars. Have you read The Haunted Scavenger Hunt? What did you think? Let me know!

Top Ten Bookish Halloween Costumes

Top 10 Tuesday is a post hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and this week's topic is Top Ten Bookish Halloween Costumes.

So I'm not going particularly original here. You could make a costume out of just about any character from any book.

1. Any character from Harry Potter is an obviously perfect choice for Halloween.

2. Assassins - the lovely ladies from the His Fair Assassins series by Robin LaFevers or Caleana from the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J Maas

3. Zombies - The Walking Dead by Robert Kirkman, The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan,

4. Any of the Lunar Chronicles characters - You could go with cyborg Cinder, hybrid Wolf, Android Iko...many choices and options here. Or the original characters of Cinderella, Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, or Snow White that the series is based off of.

5. Dystopian revolutionaries - Katniss or Tris from The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins or Divergent by Veronica Roth

6. The REAPER OF MARS - Darrow from Red Rising by Pierce Brown. Or a howler like Sevro.

7. Reign of Terror or Terror Gypsies - from Thunder Road by Katie McGarry

8. Any character from A Song of Ice and Fire by George R R Martin

9. Shadowhunters - You've even got multiple time periods to choose from here. The Mortal Instruments, The Infernal Devices, or The Dark Artifices by Cassandra Clare

10. Fantasy Princesses - Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit, Chronicles of Narnia, The Kiss of Deception

Who are your top bookish characters to dress up as for Halloween? Let me know!

Top Ten Favorite Things About Halloween

Top 10 Tuesday is a post hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and this week's topic is Top Ten Favorite Things About Halloween.

1. CANDY – Hello candy corn! I have a sweet tooth. I always have. And I absolutely love candy. I love chocolate, especially when paired with peanut butter or caramel (think Reese’s, peanut butter M&Ms, Milky Ways, etc). But I also love Starburst, Skittles, and various fruit flavored candies.
2. Costumes – I’ve always loved the idea of dressing up as someone you’re not normally. My more memorable costumes as a kid were the typical witch and clown, but I also dressed up as a cheerleader one year (yeah that was a big stretch for me). And probably the last year I trick-or-treated I was about 12 or 13 and went as a “hippy”. As an adult, I still love the idea of dressing up. Face Off is one of my favorite TV shows.
3. The Weather – Where I live (central Alabama) it’s usually just starting to cool off around the end of October. It’s usually just starting to get on the cold side, but the weather can swing quickly. One thing I’ve noticed repeatedly is the wind. I love a cool (not COLD) windy night. The air just smells like fall.
4. Scary Stories – Where I’m usually kind of a wuss, I tend to love a good scary (but not too scary) story, book, TV show, movie. All things paranormal, magical, fantasy, mystery/thriller during Halloween.
5. Parties – I’ve been a co-host of an annual Halloween party for the last three years. And I love it. I love hosting parties, but specifically this Halloween party. It’s usually themed in some way. We have kids and adult so we always try to have games for each. And we take lots of pictures of the memories we’re making. This year we weren’t able to have the party due to Ever’s arrival. And now I’m not sure if we will be able to going forward either as we’ll have to factor in her birthday every year. (We have a lot of October birthdays in our family.)
6. Decorations – Is there any wonder why Halloween and Christmas are my favorite holidays? Thanksgiving comes in a close third, but these two are the most widely decorated holidays. The colors…black, orange, purple, green. Glitter. I love being able to radically transform the house with seasonal decorations. It makes things special. Our neighborhood is pretty good about participating in Halloween when it comes to decorating and trick-or-treating, and so this is my favorite time of year to take walks around the neighborhood and check out all of the other houses’ decorations also.
7. Crafts – Hello Pinterest! Feed my addiction! Pinterest Halloween crafts meet my love of holiday decorating. We’ve had a Halloween Pinterest Party in the past, but like I said…lots of family birthdays in October so planning became difficult. Either way, I usually end up doing my own craft project around this time of year.
8. Trick-or-Treating – I kind of already mentioned this, but our neighborhood has a great turn out for trick-or-treating. I’m always torn because I love walking around the neighborhood and being in the mix of all of the kids running up to houses to get candy, but I also love being there at the house to hand candy out to the kids who come up. We usually try to walk as early as we can so we get home in enough time to do both. Last year one niece and two nephews came to our house to trick-or-treat so we walked around with them for the majority of the time.
9. Haunted Houses/Corn Mazes/Pumpkin Patches – We don’t do these nearly enough. And truthfully, I usually psych myself out when we do go. But I always have fun. I think more than anything, I’d like to work at a Haunted House/Corn Maze one year. That would be fun.
10. Local Legends – I’m sure every town has its share of legends and ghost stories. We definitely have our share down there. There’s Lovelady Bridge and Harper Hill where I grew up. There’s White Thang close to where we live now. Thirteen Bridges. And Sloss Furnace isn’t too far away. And various others for sure.

What about you guys? What are your absolutely favorite things about Halloween? Let me know!

Top Ten Movies to Spark the Halloween Spirit

Top 10 Tuesday is a post hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and this week's topic is Top Ten Movies to Spark the Halloween Spirit.

1. Practical Magic starring Sandra Bullock & Nicole Kidman
2. Hocus Pocus starring Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, & Kathy Najimy
3. 28 Days Later starring Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Christopher Eccleston
4. The Craft starring Robin Tunney, Fairuza Balk, & Neve Campbell
5. The Walking Dead (TV show) starring Andrew Lincoln, Norman Reedus, Chandler Riggs, & Steven Yeun
6. Blade starring Wesley Snipes
7. Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV show) starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, Nicholas Brendon, & Alyson Hannigan
8. The Sixth Sense starring Haley Joel Osment & Bruce Willis
9. The Village starring Joaquim Phoenix & Bryce Dallas Howard
10. The Grudge starring Sarah Michelle Gella

And an honorable mention of:
11. Casper starring Christina Ricci & Bill Pullman

What are the movies/tv shows that you go to in order to get into the Halloween Spirit? Let me know!

This feautre is part of my All Things Halloween event--a month of paranormal, supernatural, mystery/thriller, etc reviews and books.