An array of children’s picture books …

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Mickey’s Halloween
A Lift-the-Flap Book

By Matt Mitter
Illustrated by Loter, Inc.
Disney Press. $8.99

This interactive board book features 50 fun flaps that will engage the young reader. The child will be challenged to help Mickey look for sweet treats or characters in four two- page spreads.

First, there is a Halloween Parade and you’ll have to flip the flaps to see who is wearing each costume. Then it is trick-or-treat time and you will accompany Mickey and his friends as they go around with their goody bags.

In this instance a list of ten special goodies (cupcakes, chocolate bars, etc.) is provided and you’ll have to look behind the flaps to locate them.

No Halloween is complete without a visit to a haunted house. As you check behind the flaps at Mickey’s haunted house, you’ll find all sorts of scary surprises, plus you’ll be looking for various shapes from a circle to a triangle.

Finally, the book wraps up with a party at the clubhouse and you’ll share in the fun here along with all the Disney characters. Mom or dad may want to help find and open all the flaps the first time through this book, but after that this colorful celebration of Halloween should keep a three or four year old busy for quite some time.

Pumpkin Moonshine

By Tasha Tudor
Little Simon. 7.9

Not all Halloween stories have to be scary to be enjoyable, as you’ll see when you share this Tasha Tudor classic with your child. Halloween is fast approaching and little Sylvie Ann is looking for the biggest, fattest pumpkin in the patch. But before she and her grandfather can carve it, Sylvie Ann must somehow get it home.

The little girl decides the best course of action is to roll the large pumpkin and that works until she finds a hill in her way. Before you can say “jack-o-lantern”, the pumpkin rolls down the slope scaring the farm animals and upending a man carrying a bucket of whitewash.

After she apologizes for the mayhem the run-away pumpkin causes, Sylvie Ann gets on with the task of carving the pumpkin and setting it out for the neighbors to see. And, when Halloween is over the cute little girl collects the pumpkin’s seeds to plant the following year.

A gentle story with attractive illustrations, “Pumpkin Moonshine” will be a book you’ll want to share each year with family members. This sturdy board book “classic” edition will stand the test of time and heavy use.

Ghost in the House
A Lift-the-Flap Book

By Ammi-Joan Paquette
Illustrated by Adam Record
Candlewick Press. $9.99

The simple rhyme of this book’s narrative makes it ideal for reading aloud and the Halloween theme is very timely. A little ghost slips through what appears to be an empty house and each sound it hears means the reader will have to investigate and check behind the flap featured on each page.

A mummy, orange monster, skeleton and witch join the ghost in the exploration of the house, but the biggest surprise awaits the group when a light pops on to reveal another inhabitant of the house.

Besides a not too scary story, this book allows the youngster to practice counting up to five and back down again. The flaps are easy to flip while being sturdy enough to survive constant wear, which is important because this will be a very popular book around Halloween!

Star Wars Doodles

By Zack Giallongo
Disney. $12.99

If you know a youngster (or adult for that matter) who can’t get enough of the Star Wars characters, here’s an upscale coloring book that features over 100 pages of incomplete line drawings that need to be completed and colored.

Page through the book and you’ll find pictures that need vegetation added around Yoda’s hut and instruments provided for Max Rebo’s band. In other instances you’ll need to give C3PO a new body, draw in the skyline for Coruscant and add wings to Darth Vader’s TIE fighter.

This is one activity book that lets the child use his or her imagination even though some guidance is provided. If you need a rainy day activity book or a book to eat up some time when traveling, this is the one you’ll want to purchase. It will keep the child busy for a couple of hours.

The Bus Is For Us!

By Michael Rosen
Illustrated by Gillian Tyler
Candlewick. $16.99

Small children love to take rides and as you page through this picture book you’ll see how many choices they have. Besides the usual modes of transportation like a bike, car, train, and boat, there’s a horse and sleigh.

You’ll also find some unconventional rides like a fish, butterfly and polar bear.

But when all is said and done, the best way of getting around is on a city bus. Of course, the author of this book lives in London where everyone relies on the bus system.

Although its rhymed text is fun to read aloud, the reason this book will attract young readers is because the illustrations feature a variety of ways of getting around. Little boys and girls too, for that matter, love looking at pictures of various vehicles and that’s what this book provides.

Counting Crows

By Kathi Appelt
Illustrated by Rob Dunlavey
Atheneum. $17.99

Here’s a counting book with lots of eye appeal. Dressed in red striped sweaters, a dozen crows are flying around from tree to tree looking for treats. They are having a wonderful time until suddenly a little kitten with a red scarf appears and finds the birds “objects of interest”. Now it’s time for the crows to find a new place to look for treats.

Young readers will have fun counting the crows as they sit in trees, gobble up bugs, search for peanuts and sit on telephone wires in this picture book. The red sweaters really make the crows stand out while the kitty adds a bit of drama to the cute story.

Not your typical counting book, “Counting Crows” is a bit different and that’s why it is fun to read as your child practices his or her counting skills.