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The Bones of Fred McFee
In this rhythmic story, an unsuspecting brother and sister bring a toy skeleton home from the harvest fair. They name it Fred McFee and hang it from a sycamore tree. Soon, eerie things begin to happen. And then on Halloween night, Fred vanishes!
32 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
180 people want to read
About the author
Eve Bunting
314 books411 followersAlso known as Evelyn Bolton and A.E. Bunting.
Anne Evelyn Bunting, better known as Eve Bunting, is an author with more than 250 books. Her books are diverse in age groups, from picture books to chapter books, and topic, ranging from Thanksgiving to riots in Los Angeles. Eve Bunting has won several awards for her works.
Bunting went to school in Ireland and grew up with storytelling. In Ireland, “There used to be Shanachies… the shanachie was a storyteller who went from house to house telling his tales of ghosts and fairies, of old Irish heroes and battles still to be won. Maybe I’m a bit of a Shanchie myself, telling stories to anyone who will listen.” This storytelling began as an inspiration for Bunting and continues with her work.
In 1958, Bunting moved to the United States with her husband and three children. A few years later, Bunting enrolled in a community college writing course. She felt the desire to write about her heritage. Bunting has taught writing classes at UCLA. She now lives in Pasadena, California.
Anne Evelyn Bunting, better known as Eve Bunting, is an author with more than 250 books. Her books are diverse in age groups, from picture books to chapter books, and topic, ranging from Thanksgiving to riots in Los Angeles. Eve Bunting has won several awards for her works.
Bunting went to school in Ireland and grew up with storytelling. In Ireland, “There used to be Shanachies… the shanachie was a storyteller who went from house to house telling his tales of ghosts and fairies, of old Irish heroes and battles still to be won. Maybe I’m a bit of a Shanchie myself, telling stories to anyone who will listen.” This storytelling began as an inspiration for Bunting and continues with her work.
In 1958, Bunting moved to the United States with her husband and three children. A few years later, Bunting enrolled in a community college writing course. She felt the desire to write about her heritage. Bunting has taught writing classes at UCLA. She now lives in Pasadena, California.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 75 reviews
October 21, 2025
The earliest tingle of autumn’s breeze; the first glimpse of falling leaves. The spiced scents of contented ease. Shall we commence All Hallows’ Reads?
I hold little sacred, but the season of splendor and fright is the exception. Everything about Halloween and its brief accompanying atmospheric perfection brings out the exuberant beast child and cozy basic bitch in me. There are rigid rituals to be observed; chief among them, two months of nothing but spectacularly spooky literary exultation. I invite you to join me.
To establish the annual convention, we begin with a picture book to summon the childlike spirits of the season.
Fred McFee is a plastic decoration, a skeleton hung from a sycamore to complete the Halloween scene. He rattles in the wind and watches as the Jack-o-lanterns wither. An ominous, moonstruck forced-perspective tableaux. But a decoration can have its own declaration. Bones need burying, but spirits must soar. Ever watchful like the owl, McFee is part of the tree.
I hold little sacred, but the season of splendor and fright is the exception. Everything about Halloween and its brief accompanying atmospheric perfection brings out the exuberant beast child and cozy basic bitch in me. There are rigid rituals to be observed; chief among them, two months of nothing but spectacularly spooky literary exultation. I invite you to join me.
To establish the annual convention, we begin with a picture book to summon the childlike spirits of the season.
Fred McFee is a plastic decoration, a skeleton hung from a sycamore to complete the Halloween scene. He rattles in the wind and watches as the Jack-o-lanterns wither. An ominous, moonstruck forced-perspective tableaux. But a decoration can have its own declaration. Bones need burying, but spirits must soar. Ever watchful like the owl, McFee is part of the tree.
We’ll let Fred Hang till Halloween—
He won’t come down before.
We’ll hide him where he can’t be seen,
Till Halloween comes once more.
November 22, 2020
I happened across this in Open Library and decided to read it as the cover looks Halloweeny. Wow! This is an amazing story with out-of-sight artwork! I love the creepy crawly vibe of the art. This is a poem and man, Eve Bunting made this so spine-tingling.
It's a story in rhyme for beginning readers and nothing is overtly scary, but it uses the imagination in such a way, with artwork ground in nature that we see every day that this is pretty chilling. I would say to know your kids and know if they can handle this.
The story is about 2 kids who hang a plastic skeleton in a sycamore tree for the month of Halloween. The wind makes the plastic, though real looking, bones dance and the dog and yard animals, even the kids are scared of it. One day, they come outside and the skeleton is missing and they don't know who cut it down.
This is a fantastic story and one of the best Halloween picture books I've read. This reminds me a littl e of Poe and Lovecraft. I'd love to own this story. It's a wonder.
Happy Thanksgiving.
It's a story in rhyme for beginning readers and nothing is overtly scary, but it uses the imagination in such a way, with artwork ground in nature that we see every day that this is pretty chilling. I would say to know your kids and know if they can handle this.
The story is about 2 kids who hang a plastic skeleton in a sycamore tree for the month of Halloween. The wind makes the plastic, though real looking, bones dance and the dog and yard animals, even the kids are scared of it. One day, they come outside and the skeleton is missing and they don't know who cut it down.
This is a fantastic story and one of the best Halloween picture books I've read. This reminds me a littl e of Poe and Lovecraft. I'd love to own this story. It's a wonder.
Happy Thanksgiving.
October 28, 2018
Told in rhythmic rhyme, this spooky Halloween tale relates how the young-boy narrator and his sister bring home a plastic skeleton and hang it in their sycamore tree, as a holiday decoration. They soon begin to notice, however, that the bones of Fred McFee (as the skeleton is soon named) have an odd effect on their animal companions, scaring them away from the tree. Then, the morning after Halloween, they discover that the skeleton has vanished...
Having read quite a few eerie tales from author Eve Bunting - The Banshee , Scary, Scary Halloween , Ghost's Hour, Spook's Hour - I fully expected to enjoy some delicious thrills while perusing The Bones of Fred McFee, and I was not disappointed! From the opening page - "There's a skeleton high in our sycamore tree, / High as high can be. / He was hung up there by my sister and me, / High in our sycamore tree" - the rhyming text here builds the sense of suspense and feeling of dread quite nicely. The accompanying artwork by Kurt Cyrus, created using scratchboard and watercolor, perfectly complement the text, and adds to the chilling sense of unease. Recommended to anyone lookinf for delightfully creepy Halloween fare for the picture-book set.
Having read quite a few eerie tales from author Eve Bunting - The Banshee , Scary, Scary Halloween , Ghost's Hour, Spook's Hour - I fully expected to enjoy some delicious thrills while perusing The Bones of Fred McFee, and I was not disappointed! From the opening page - "There's a skeleton high in our sycamore tree, / High as high can be. / He was hung up there by my sister and me, / High in our sycamore tree" - the rhyming text here builds the sense of suspense and feeling of dread quite nicely. The accompanying artwork by Kurt Cyrus, created using scratchboard and watercolor, perfectly complement the text, and adds to the chilling sense of unease. Recommended to anyone lookinf for delightfully creepy Halloween fare for the picture-book set.
October 17, 2017
I really don't know what to think of this book but I found the fact that the young children hung the skeleton in tree eerily distressing due to its similarity to lynching. I just couldn't get past that thought.
October 22, 2008
This can be a sufficiently creepy read-aloud if you use hushed tones and raised eyebrows....
September 29, 2014
Great Halloween read. Atmospheric without being too scary.
October 28, 2011
The Bones of Fred McFee by Eve Bunting, illustrated by Kurt Cyrus is the tale of a brother and sister who buy and bring home a plastic skeleton, name it Fred McFee, and hang it from a sycamore tree. Then eerie things begin to happen.
After buying the plastic sketeton and hanging it on the sycamore tree,
flies won't rise and the children's old dog Sam won't go near the tree. The rooster that crowed from the sycamore tree is gone and the hens won't lay. Sam howls on Halloween night and the next morning the skeleton has vanished, and a long, lean mound lies beneath the tree. When the wind howls and shakes the sycamore tree, the children hear the bones dancing the dance of the dead...
The rhyming, alliterative text paints a spooky word picture of strange goings on around the sycamore tree where Sam McFee hangs. One of my favorite verses: At night when the wind howls overhead, With ghoulish, ghastly glee, Our skeleton dances the dance of the dead, There in our sycamore tree.
Effectively extending the word pictures painted by the verse are the illustrations done in scratchboard and watercolor. Cyrus creates eerie drawings featuring the bones, leaves, wind, jack-o-lanterns, and an owl. My favorite images include Sam dancing in the wind, Sam sporting a rooster feather, Sam's howl on halloween night, and the final illustration of the moon and tree branches.
This offers the opportunity for an atmospheric read-aloud of verse around Halloween. I enjoyed this effective collaboration.
For ages 4 to 7, halloween, rhyme, skeletons, brothers-and-sisters, trees, nighttime, wind, and fans of Eve Bunting and Kurt Cyrus.
After buying the plastic sketeton and hanging it on the sycamore tree,
flies won't rise and the children's old dog Sam won't go near the tree. The rooster that crowed from the sycamore tree is gone and the hens won't lay. Sam howls on Halloween night and the next morning the skeleton has vanished, and a long, lean mound lies beneath the tree. When the wind howls and shakes the sycamore tree, the children hear the bones dancing the dance of the dead...
The rhyming, alliterative text paints a spooky word picture of strange goings on around the sycamore tree where Sam McFee hangs. One of my favorite verses: At night when the wind howls overhead, With ghoulish, ghastly glee, Our skeleton dances the dance of the dead, There in our sycamore tree.
Effectively extending the word pictures painted by the verse are the illustrations done in scratchboard and watercolor. Cyrus creates eerie drawings featuring the bones, leaves, wind, jack-o-lanterns, and an owl. My favorite images include Sam dancing in the wind, Sam sporting a rooster feather, Sam's howl on halloween night, and the final illustration of the moon and tree branches.
This offers the opportunity for an atmospheric read-aloud of verse around Halloween. I enjoyed this effective collaboration.
For ages 4 to 7, halloween, rhyme, skeletons, brothers-and-sisters, trees, nighttime, wind, and fans of Eve Bunting and Kurt Cyrus.
September 27, 2018
Two children find a life-like skeleton at the market and bring it home to hang in their sycamore tree as a Halloween decoration. They choose to call him Fred McFee and enjoy the way his bones rattle in the wind and that he chases their dog away from the tree. Come the morning after Halloween, however, Mr. McFee is gone leaving a mystery behind.
The haunting illustrations have a colored woodcut style that is very Halloweenie. The story is told in rhyme that adds a very nice twitchy touch to the tale. The words create a bewitching poem that evokes memories from childhood about what is scary and why. The feeling of the unknown and haunted that drift in the air this time of year. A highly recommended Halloween read.
The haunting illustrations have a colored woodcut style that is very Halloweenie. The story is told in rhyme that adds a very nice twitchy touch to the tale. The words create a bewitching poem that evokes memories from childhood about what is scary and why. The feeling of the unknown and haunted that drift in the air this time of year. A highly recommended Halloween read.
November 22, 2020
This is a well-written Halloween book. Eve Bunting, along with the crucially significant aid of illustrator Kurt Cyrus, effectively creates a pleasantly eerie atmosphere in which the young reader will really be made to wonder just what is going on with these "bones of Fred McFee", bones that are supposed to be completely synthetic.
Constructed in the superb tradition of Bill Martin Jr.'s The Ghost-Eye Tree, this picture book packs a lot of punch for its size, in terms of how eerily scary it can be. I would highly recommend this book for emerging readers when the calendar turns to the month of October.
Constructed in the superb tradition of Bill Martin Jr.'s The Ghost-Eye Tree, this picture book packs a lot of punch for its size, in terms of how eerily scary it can be. I would highly recommend this book for emerging readers when the calendar turns to the month of October.
October 29, 2014
In this rhythmic story, an unsuspecting brother and sister bring a toy skeleton home from the harvest fair. They name it Fred McFee and hang it from a sycamore tree. Soon, eerie things begin to happen. And then on Halloween night, Fred vanishes!
Spooky, spooky ... I love when pictures tell part of the story. Look for the small details - the dog's behavior, the "dingleberries" of the sycamore tree", the overturned jack o'lantern, the rotting pumpkins (sign of time passing) - all these things small children might miss that help explain the ending.
Spooky, spooky ... I love when pictures tell part of the story. Look for the small details - the dog's behavior, the "dingleberries" of the sycamore tree", the overturned jack o'lantern, the rotting pumpkins (sign of time passing) - all these things small children might miss that help explain the ending.
August 28, 2012
37 months - We are currently reading a bunch of Halloween books (yes I know it's June). O grabbed this off the shelf at the library. What a fabulous story. The illustrations are amazing, the story has a great rhythm to it and we are left wondering what happened, who and why. A great spooky tale. Love and might just have to track down a copy for our Halloween collection.
39 months - In preparation for Autumn bought a copy. :)
39 months - In preparation for Autumn bought a copy. :)
March 13, 2013
In this book, a brother and a sister bring home a plastic skeleton. They hang it up in the sycamore tree and name the skeleton Fred McFee. Some odd things happen, but they try to pay it no mind.
I wasn't sure if I'd like this or not, but it was actually better than I thought it would be. It's actually a little bit creepy, but I don't think it will scare kids. This is definitely a great book for Halloween though. Very well-written and being a bit creepy makes it a great read.
I wasn't sure if I'd like this or not, but it was actually better than I thought it would be. It's actually a little bit creepy, but I don't think it will scare kids. This is definitely a great book for Halloween though. Very well-written and being a bit creepy makes it a great read.
October 19, 2013
What a great story! Not only did it have fun and spooky elements for Halloween, but there was a mystery and it really was kind of creepy! Also, the illustrations were fantastic. I've read a few Bunting Halloween books lately and I'm really liking her. Nice, simple, story lines, clean plot and smooth poetry, and just all around nicely put together book. We really like her. We might have to pick up some more by her!
May 19, 2019
Challenge: Borrowathon Round 6 - Completely read a book in a different setting (3). I read this book sitting outside on my porch on the celadon green/creme glider. The overcast and breezy day, more like autumn than spring, was a good setting for reading this little Halloween book. This is the first book I have read by this author who has more than 250 published books and editions. The atmospheric illustrations are done in scratch board and watercolor.
October 31, 2019
This takes a routine piece of Halloween iconography, the safe and even silly plastic skeleton, and renders it slowly, creepingly unnerving. A lot of that is in the art, which has dynamic woodcut-style black lines and copious detail, and frames the skeleton superbly, obscuring the face, vignetting creepy little details. It's not flawless (weaker human/animal figures; the rhyming stumbles) but for a book I picked up on a whim from the Halloween shelf, I'm pleasantly surprised.
August 25, 2011
This book is a poem about a skeleton taht two siblings drag home from a harvest fair. They hand the skeleton high up in a sycamore tree in their front yard.
As I was reading this book, it gave me the chills! I can imagine reading it to children around Halloween in a slow and ominous voice. I'm certain it will scare them also!
As I was reading this book, it gave me the chills! I can imagine reading it to children around Halloween in a slow and ominous voice. I'm certain it will scare them also!
October 12, 2011
I've been reading this book to my 3.5 year old every night, she loves it! It's a great Halloween book with excellent illustrations. Lucky for me both of my girl's love spooky Halloween stuff so they were not frightened by this book at all.
June 21, 2019
Even I found this to be a fair bit creepy. Good read though, especially for someone around the age of ten I would imagine. I wouldn't give it to a 5-6 year old, but in a couple of years I'd definitely recommend it to my nephews.
July 5, 2017
Perfect for Halloween season, this book is a rhyming story about a plastic skeleton hung in a tree in the backyard.
November 17, 2017
Pretty fun for 2nd-3rd graders!
October 10, 2017
This is a great spooky bedtime read. Not great for the library storytime environment because it's too spooky, but it's a bit of a scary mystery.
October 25, 2017
Can’t say I loved this book, but I think it could be a fun and spooky book to share around Halloween. Kid friendly, but a little bit frightening.
November 21, 2017
Perfect for a Halloween storytime! I especially loved the illustrations.
October 15, 2018
Spooky! Two kids hang a skeleton decoration in their tree, and it disappears on Halloween! But they can still hear the clacking of the bones in the tree... dun, dun, dun!
October 31, 2018
I like the prose, love the illustrations. Am a little sensitive to a skeleton hanging in a tree. A little spooky, not too scary.
September 26, 2019
What on earth is this......and how is this targeted for children. *does the sign of the cross*
October 3, 2019
So spooky. Too scary for me!
November 10, 2019
Spooky poem for little ones.
November 14, 2019
Good horror picture book, although Halloween themed.
March 18, 2020
The poem is quite good but I did not find the images to strike the right tone (except maybe for the cover illustration).
Displaying 1 - 30 of 75 reviews