The Ghouls Come Haunting One by One

By: Tom McDermott
Illustrated by: Liz McGrath
Publisher: Pelican Publishing
Publication Date: September 2010
ISBN: 978-1589807860
Reviewed by: Ellen Feld
Review Date: September 2010

Halloween is coming and along with this very fun and spooky holiday will come ghost, globins and witches.  Will you be able to count them all?  And more importantly, what are they up to?  Young children who love Halloween will get their answers with the new counting book, The Ghouls Come Haunting One By One.

Set to the tune, ‘When Johnny Comes Marching Home,’ the sing-song verse is happy and playful.

The ghouls come haunting one by one, 
Oh nooo!  Oh nooo!
The ghouls come haunting one by one,
OH NOOO!  OH NOOO!
The ghouls come haunting one by one;
They scream and shout, “Let’s scare someone!’
And they all come haunting out
Of the hills
Into Town
For some thrills.

As more and more ghouls join in the adventure, they get closer and closer to YOUR house, OH NOOO!  OH NOOO!  But fear not, the ghouls are in for quite a surprise when they try to scare you. 

The Ghouls Come Haunting One By One is a perfect counting book not just for youngsters who can’t wait to go trick-or-treating, but also for those who may fear there is something sinister hiding underneath their bed.  Seeing just how easy it is to send those spooky ghouls back to the hills may just convince more timid children that there’s nothing to fear during Halloween.

This is one of the best Halloween books for young readers that I’ve seen in a long time.  The mischievous rhyming text is easy to follow (and easy to sing!) and the lively illustrations add just the right amount of spooky and fun to the story.  I loved the surprise ending where the ghouls are taught a lesson and suspect kids will too!

Quill says: If you’re looking for a Halloween book for your little goblin or as a read-aloud to a class, take a close look at this new offering.