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Sue Bradford Edwards

Writer--Reviewer--Teacher--Historian

As long as I can remember, I've loved to read. I read in the car going on vacation, I read between spelling test words, and every where else there was light enough to see a book. Because I love good books, I love to review. It gives me the opportunity to see the latest and greatest as well as to help other people find worthwhile books.

Here, in brief reviews original to this site, are some picture books I recently discovered, all suitable in one way or another for Halloween. Below that you will find a link to a Halloween review that appeared in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, October 2002.

HALLOWEEN TREATS FOR YOUNG READERS

The first three books feature cats, cats and more cats!

For a funny story, pick up "Excuse Me...Are You A Witch" by Emily Horn (32 pages, Candlewick, $15.95). Herbert is a black cat without a home. On rainy days, he goes to the library where he reads about witches--people who love black cats and will surely give him a home! Readers 4 to 8 will laugh aloud at the people Herbert mistakes for witches until he finally finds an unexpected solution to his problem.

In "Nobody's Nosier Than a Cat" (32 pages, Hyperion, $15.99), a book with more mood than story, Susan Campbell Bartoletti captures the cats' curious, sinewy personality. Readers 4 to 8 will explore the world of cats through the striking illustrations of Beppe Giacobbe. The book effectly captures feline nature so as to lure in cat-loving readers.

In Margaret Beames' "Night Cat" (32 pages Orchard Books, $15.95), adventure beckons when a young cat explores the household garden at night. Realistic but not overly scarey, Sue Hitchcock's night dark black and violet illustrations, highlighted with glowing eyes, bright-lit white and eye-gripping red, add drama to the tale. Perfect for readers 2 to 6 eager to test limits while wary of the results.

In "Rhyolite: The True Story of a Ghost Town" (32 pages, Clarion Books, $16.00), Diane Siebert's quick stepping rhyme creates a lively text that educates without overpowering. David Frampton's woodcuts give additional detail even as they create an old time feel for readers 4 to 8. Prominent throughout is desert permanence--coyote, tumbleweed and sand--compared to the impermanence of the dreams that created a once bustling town.

Reviews Published in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

2002 Halloween Article and Review

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