Everyone knows Fall Hollow is haunted. It has been ever since Abigail Snook went into the woods many years ago, never to be seen again. Since then, it’s been a tradition for the sixth graders at Beckett Elementary to play the Bellwoods Game on Halloween night. Three kids are chosen to go into the woods. Whoever rings the bell there wins the game and saves the town for another year, but if Abigail’s ghost captures the players first, the spirit is let loose to wreak havoc on Fall Hollow—or so the story goes. Now that it’s Bailee’s year to play, she can finally find out what really happens. And legend has it the game’s winner gets a wish. Maybe, just maybe, if Bailee wins, she can go back to the way things used to be before her grandma got sick and everyone at school started hating her. But when the night begins, everything the kids thought they knew about the game—and each other—is challenged. One thing’s for sure: something sinister is at play…waiting for them all in the woods.
Author Bio: Celia Krampien grew up in a house in the woods in a small town near Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada. She studied illustration at Sheridan College and currently lives in St. Catharines, Ontario, with her partner, a mischievous cat, and a nosy beagle. She is the author of The Bellwoods Game.
At its heart, OCTOBER WITCHES is about the importance of family and of connection with others. While the curse of being an October witch threatens to drive the entire family apart, it is Clemmie’s love for them and her determination not to give up that saves them all and brings them back together again. With Arthurian elements, themes of friendship and family, a whole lot of magic and witchery, and quirky, offbeat family of eccentric aunts, this is sure to please.
Clemmie’s voice is an absolute delight, and her quirky, offbeat family of eccentric aunts are, no pun intended, deeply enchanting. They are a new offering in a genre grounded by its casts of communities of idiosyncratic and unconventional women—think Practical Magic, Hocus Pocus, and The Craft.
Both books are perfect for Middle-grade students!
It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
I’m the biggest fan of Snoopy and the Peanuts gang so I was delighted to receive this next book! A spooky season classic gets new life in this lap board book edition of the Peanuts gang’s whimsical Halloween adventures!
It’s Halloween night, and the Peanuts gang is busy dressing up in costumes, trick-or-treating, and bobbing for apples. Meanwhile, Linus waits for the Great Pumpkin to rise from the pumpkin patch and bring toys to all the children of the world. Could this be the year it finally appears? I love this story and it’s a must-buy!
With her stick-on fangs and widow’s peak drawn in waterproof eyeliner, Sylvie is an expert at pretending to be a vampire. More kids at school would know that if they bothered to join her monster LARPing (live action role playing) club. Not even her dad understands her passion for the undead and denies her request to attend a monster LARPing summer camp. But Sylvie is not so easily deterred. She decides to tell her dad she’s attending another camp located near Monster Camp then sneak over to her real destination after he drops her off. Sylvie feels bad lying to her dad, but there’s no way she’s going to miss the chance to finally meet other kids that share her interests. And when she lays eyes on Monster Camp, she knows it was all worth it—the immersive campgrounds look like they came off a Hollywood lot! But when an obnoxious kid dressed like a werewolf gets punished by being magically turned into a Pomeranian, Sylvie realizes she made a critical miscalculation. These aren’t LARPers, they’re real monsters, and Sylvie’s preferred costume means she’s placed with blood-sucking, human-biting campers who would breathe fire if they knew the truth about her. She has no choice but to try to stick it out by doing exactly what she does best: pretending to be a monster.
About the Author: Sarah Henning is a recovering journalist who has worked for The Palm Beach Post, The Kansas City Star, Associated Press, and more. She is the author of Sea Witch, The Princess Will Save You, Throw Like a Girl, and Monster Camp, among others. When not writing, she runs ultramarathons, hits the playground with her two kids, and hangs out with her husband, Justin, who doubles as her long-suffering IT department. Sarah lives in Lawrence, Kansas. Visit her at SarahHenningWrites.com.
Happy Halloween!
Self Disclosure: I received free copies of the above books to facilitate this post. Images and information were also provided.
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