Now Playing: 2 Halloween Books: One scary and one not
In the last couple of days, I've read two different Halloween books. One of them, I must say, was much more satisfying than the other.
The first is one that I've had sitting around for a while...but more about that later.
The second is a sequel to one of my favorite holiday books ever, but this book, I'm sorry to say, is not nearly as good. I knew that The Best Halloween Ever, by Barbara Robinson, was never going to be as good as The Best Christmas Pageant Ever because...well, how much can there be to say about Halloween? I really didn't get this book at all, and I was disappointed because Robinson doesn't allow the twisted charm of the Herdmans, the outrageously bad family who takes over the holidays, to come through at all.
I think the thing I always loved about Christmas Pageant is that it reminds me of my childhood Christmases when I was so terribly excited about the big day...that would only come after I put in my required hours at church with its yearly Christmas performances...the stress of doing it right...getting the "right" part...who would be Mary...I always picture Pageant right in the church I attended as child and feel like I'm right there. In Halloween the town actually makes the holiday a school activity in an attempt to control the Herdmans...who naturally wrest control of the holiday right back.
Pageant also reminds me, in a subtle way, of the meaning of Christmas by showing that charity is not leaving a turkey on someone's porch...it's about giving what you have and what you hold dear. It's also about a gang of neglected kids reaching out for something more.
Now, I have read Pageant aloud to eighth graders...and they stay rooted to their chairs. Even though it is a book for older children, I recommend it for middle schoolers. I also like Caroline B. Cooney's What Child is This?, which also attmepts to address the true meaning of Christmas through three teenagers.
But back to Halloween...I read Margaret Person Haddix's Running out of Time because it reminded me of the film The Village. ; When I saw The Village, I had no idea what was going to happen so I was as lost as the villagers through most of the film. The blurb on the cover of this book lets you know that the characters aren't really living in 1840 but in a recreated town. Most of the action actually takes place outside of the town, as Jessie, the protagonist, is sent away by her mother to find help for the residents who are dying of diptheria. Although it doesn't delve deeply into either subject, it did provoke a little thought on my part about history and a little about scientific ethics. It is eventually revealed that medicine was being withheld from the town's residents to create a "superrace" of people who could withstand disease.
I really didn't think Halloween was even a very good Intermediate book, but Running out of Time would be a great option for middle school students reading below grade level. Jessie is about thirteen, and the book is suspenseful and does, as mentioned above, pose some deeper questions.
