I was sad that I didn’t like this more.

I was disappointed in this.  I thought I would like more of it, and perhaps I would if I were more caught up on my nursery rhymes.  I recognized some of them, and a few were quite clever, but there were some I couldn’t place. After reading another Halloween book that was more to my taste, this felt a little lacking.

We start off in a festive mood with “Boys and Girls, Come Trick-or-Treat,” which is based on “Boys and Girls, Come Out to Play”.  I’ve heard of the original rhyme, but it is not one I know by heart. The artwork shows that everyone is having a good time, and the lantern that the mummy kid has is kind of awesome.

Then we have “The Man in the Moon,” and I couldn’t place that one at all.  The moon is giving an over-enthusiastic wink which is slightly creepy.

“Mary Had a Little Ghost” was clever, and children will recognize the original, although the word “shroud” may not be one they are familiar with.

“Hey, Diddle, Diddle, Black Cat with a Fiddle” is also clever and recognizable, and the artwork of the skeleton is a bit more menacing than what has appeared so far.

“Zombie Miss Muffet” is cute, and kids will get a kick out of it.

“What Are Little Bats Made Of?” is another one that is older and less recognizable.  Again I’m tangentially aware of the source material, but not enough to fully appreciate the changes.  The artwork hints at things more sinister here, as a little boy is offering plants to a friend, but the mother of the baby plants is obviously shocked and distressed.

“Old Mother Hubbard” is good, and our creepy skeleton from earlier makes a reappearance.

“Sing a Song of Witches” is also very clever, and one of my favorites in the book.  In my head, the last line is missing a syllable, though, but that’s probably just me.

“Mary, Mary, Tall and Scary” is well enough, I suppose.  

“Frankenstein Had a Marvelous Mind” has a clever rhyme, but the illustration makes me a little sad. The stereotypical Frankenstein’s Monster looks a little grumpy, but other two monsters look so sad!

“Little Boy Drac” is simple enough, although why the rats have pointy ears is anybody’s guess.

“Twinkle, Twinkle, Lantern Jack” has our missing syllable from before!  I’m not sure why the ghosts are afraid, though.

Our last rhyme, “Wee Willie Werewolf,” brings the book and the night to a close.  Some of the children look tired but pleased, but others look a bit shocked, like they’ve seen things that they rather had not.

This fulfills the CBR10 Bingo square of “Cannonballer Says!”  I picked this up based on BlackRaven’s review.  This also gives me my first Bingo!