THE MONSTERS ON THE BROOM

On Halloween, when the buses don’t run…everyone rides a broom.

“On Halloween night / monsters delight / in taking a broomstick / out for a flight….” A smiling, green-skinned witch is first (of course) on the broom, and “The witch / on the broom cackles / ‘Hee hee hee, / hee hee hee, / hee hee hee,’ ” and, you know, does it all through the town. The kindly witch shares the ride, and a buck-toothed mummy solo-rides next, “mm hmm hmm”–ing through the town (though it looks, from the brightly colored illustrations, that they are flying in the country). A werewolf howls, and a ghost wails. And a vampire with a fanged smile shrieks “voo ha ha” before they all ride the broom together to shout “Happy Halloween” all through the town. Guertin’s rhyme, based on the oft-rewritten tune about the busy and noisy town bus, is a fine new rendition that will have kids singing along the second time through. Panczyszyn’s likely digital illustrations are adorably unscary. The board-book page tops are different heights, so the closed book makes a Halloween scene, and each page reveals more of the final tableau. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Definitely worth adding to your holiday collection of chunky-chewys.