Halloween Sleepwalker

Written by Thomas Freese

Illustrated by Fran Riddell

64 pages – ages 6+

Published by Schiffer Publishing, Ltd. on September 28, 2013

Eight year-old Shelby Sherman Sanford was just a normal kid. He and his normal family sat around eating normal popcorn on Halloween night. They talked about all the things that scare them about Halloween. Dad was afraid of  Jack-o-lanterns, Mom was afraid of ghosts, Penny (his sister) was afraid of witches (real ones not  fake ones). Shelby couldn’t think of one thing he was scared of. In fact, Shelby wanted to go for a walk outside Halloween night. But Shelby’s parents wouldn’t let him. That night, Shelby had a fantastic Halloween dream. He walked out of the house and met witches and ghosts and had a wonderful adventure. In the morning Shelby told his family about the awesome things he saw, but it was only a dream… or was it?

The plot of this picture book is very unique. The story is very fun to read. I think the illustrations are very well done, and I like the collage-like feeling to it. They really pull you into the adventure in the book. I especially like Shelby’s glasses. I really enjoy the part where the family shares their fears. That was a nice touch. The book is more of a story book than a picture book because there are a lot of word on a page. I can see this being a great book for a family to read together or an older kids to read alone. I think it would make a nice bed-time story too. The mysterious ending of the book is really fun.

I give this book 4 out of 5 bookworms!

Categories: Age 6-9

Tags: bibliophile, book review, bookworm, childrens books, Fran Riddell, halloween sleepwalker, Thomas Freese