This is the most adorable Halloween book I've ever read!
Author Mark Kimball Moulton introduces Miss Fiona through the eyes of a neighborhood child. The child describes her dilapidated home and property and then Miss Fiona's appearance, from her stringy hair, pointed hat, pale green skin, wart, and long black dress, to her age - Fiona is rumored to be 403, but "...she never looked much older than 200 years to me!"
Miss Fiona has a large pumpkin patch and she grows hundreds of pumpkins in order to make homemade pumpkin pie for the community every Halloween.
She spends Halloween day prepping the pumpkins and making the pies while the trick-or-treaters peer into her windows, anxiously awaiting the finished product.
When trick-or-treating is done, the children gather outside Miss Fiona's house and she chooses one lucky child to be her helper. Everyone waits outside while Miss Fiona and her helper prepare the pies for serving.
When the church bell tolls at midnight, Miss Fiona calls them in and feeds them her delicious pie and while they eat, she reads spooky stories to them, then sends them on their way with an extra slice of pie to share with their families.
Karen Hillard Good's illustrations take this book above and beyond the normal Halloween book. Her folk art style, with muted colors and rusted tintype look, keep it warm and friendly. Every page is a treasure trove of detail - spiraling stars, sunflowers, black cats, jack-o-lanterns, and pumpkins spilling out of every possible nook and cranny.
One of my favorite moments is when the child narrator observes, "...who cares how kooky someone looks, when there's goodness deep within." The other is when Miss Fiona finally reveals the secret to her scrumptious pumpkin pie.
Mark Kimball Moulton Blog
Karen Hillard Good website
Other Halloween books:
Halloween Rhythm and Rhyme (8 books in 1 post!)
National Geographic Kids: Halloween
Halloween Night: Twenty-One Spooktacular Poems
The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
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