A Teeny Tiny Halloween

August 1, 2016
Wohl (The Eighth Menorah) and Cole (Spot, the Cat) team up for a lightly spooky story about a “teeny tiny woman who lives in a teeny tiny house in a very big forest.” When falling leaves bury the woman’s house, she tries to summon help by making noise and, eventually, baking “teeny tiny chocolate chip cookies” that attract the attention of three trick-or-treating kids. Working in an autumnal palette of reds, golds, oranges, and browns, Cole conjures up a cozy forest setting with just a hint of danger in the woman’s predicament. Wohl’s warm, repeating language (complete with “teeny tiny” adjustments in font size) is made to be read aloud, though the story’s logic falters toward the end. The house turns out to be more child-size than, say, mouse-size, so it’s unclear why the woman—who’s larger than the children that rescue her—couldn’t just dig herself out. Ages 3–7.

A new "teeny tiny woman" tale joins the Halloween shelf.Nestled in a teeny tiny house in a big forest lives a teeny tiny woman. (You get the point--for youngsters learning to tell a tale aloud, the repetition--and the changing font that indicates volume--is valuable, but adults may need a teeny tiny bit more time to throw themselves into the fun.) Every fall the diminutive woman has a problem: the autumn leaves bury her cottage. She cries out, "Oh, who will save me?" but though each time she cries a little louder than the last, it's still not enough to attract attention. Tapping the windows and banging pots and pans also fails. Her last idea is one that will seem odd: baking cookies. But who can ignore that delicious aroma? Not the children dressed as a cat, a witch, and a ghost who are walking through the forest. The three friends dig through the leaves to uncover the source. One "trick-or-treat!" later, they are enjoying gooey cookies at the table together. While the woman's solution is a clever one, it will also likely have parents reminding their children not to enter people's houses on Halloween. Cole's illustrations are full of the colors of the season. The woman, the boy ghost, and the girl witch are white; the girl cat--an orange tabby--is black. In a nice change from more traditional "teeny tiny woman" tales, this book's protagonist is no crone but a fashionably dressed woman of indeterminate age. Rates high in creative problem-solving and oral storytelling but low in Halloween safety. (Picture book. 4-7) COPYRIGHT(1) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

September 1, 2016

PreS-Gr 2-Every year the autumn leaves completely cover up the "teeny tiny woman's teeny tiny house." And so begins the familiar folktale that takes on a modern dimension designed by Wohl and Cole. With a palette of browns, reds, and yellows, the illustrations set the atmosphere with a multitude of leaves blanketing the landscape, while the three children dressed in their Halloween costumes (witch, cat, and ghost) add to the playfulness of the holiday season. As an aid to storytellers, the font size of the text is small for a tiny voice and increases in size for a louder voice. There is a twist on this tale: despite her dilemma, the homeowner decides to bake cookies. The children smell the delicious aroma and are resourceful enough to dig out her house. The reward is cookies for all. VERDICT This fun and engaging Halloween book is ripe for audience participation at the conclusion.-Blair Christolon, Prince William Public Library System, Manassas, VA

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 15, 2016
Preschool-G Living in the middle of a forest full of huge trees is a little house occupied by a small lady with a gigantic problemher house is about to be buried by leaves. She calls out, but her voice is teeny tiny and no one hears. Even banging her pots and pans and cookie sheets together doesn't do the trick. But all those cooking implements give her an idea: who can resist the aroma of baking cookies? There's no smell too small for a gang of trick-or-treaters to notice, and when they discover the small-house-sized pile of leaves, they start digging until they find the door and receive the perfect Halloween treat. Wohl's singsongy text presses the phrase teeny tiny to its limit, but the repetition might be a hit with group storytimes. Cole's warm illustrations in a seasonally rusty palette, full of tawny oak leaves and looming tree trunks, nicely evoke both the coziness of the woman's little house and the vague but gentle eeriness of the woods. A fine choice for a Halloween read-aloud.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)