Fall Reading 2013 Black and Bittern Was Night

Black and Bittern Was Night by Robert Heidbreder is a story told in nonsense verse about a Halloween night that almost wasn't. Readers will enjoy the idea that trick-or-treaters face the Skul-a-mug-mugs and drive them away. It is even more enjoyable that the adults in the story were so afraid of the skeletons that they canceled Halloween and hid behind locked doors. The illustrations maintain the playful tone of the nonsense words. These are not scary skeletons, and they can be defeated so that trick-or-treating may begin. One of my favorite scenes is the children with their cat facing off against some Skul-a-mug-mugs with their little skeleton dog. The nonsense words remind of "Jabberwocky" by Lewis Carroll. (If you haven't heard of it, you might want to read Through the Looking Glass, the sequel to Alice in Wonderland.)

The publisher's website has some background on the author.