MIDNIGHT IN THE CEMETERY: A SPOOKY SEARCH-AND-FIND ALPHABET BOOK

by Cheryl Harness, Robin Brickman (Illustrator)

This treasure hunt alphabet book features collage art in which ghosts scare away two children searching for bounty in a graveyard. Full color.

Genres: Picture Books

32 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1999

About the author

Author and illustrator. Worked variously as a student teacher, waitress, short-order cook, portrait artist, and needlework designer. Greeting-card artist for Hallmark Cards and Current. Presenter at schools.

Reviews

[Lillian Slater · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not very clear on the alphabet aspect of the book until the last page.

[Monster]

Midnight at the Cemetery tells the tale of two children who go to a cemetery in search of buried treasure. The treasure is guarded by Dead Ed who summons the spirits of the graveyard to scare the kids away. The rhyming text is alliterative, with each verse focusing on a specific letter. Each two page spread is dedicated to one or more letters, and readers paying attention will notice many things on the pages associated with the letter that appears in the rhyming verse. For example, the initial pages, devoted to the letters A and B, reveal angels, ants, bats, and bugs. The illustrations are creepy, unique and fantastic, created solely out of watercolor paper, paint, and glue, The book does have a major flaw, however. The letters are not individually mentioned, as in most alphabet books, and the reader is never told either that there are items on the pages beginning with the letter or what items to search and find until the last page of the book. Although the publisher's suggested age range is 5-9, the level of observation required makes the book more appropriate for older elementary students who have mastered Walter Wick and Jean Marzollo's I Spy books. Contains: attempted grave robbing.

[Angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Things This Book Has Going For It

1)Spooky topic. If I had a penny for every time I got asked for "a scary book" by someone under age 7 I could build walls for our library.

2)Interesting alliteration. Some worked better than others but as a whole it really was pretty well done.

3)Kids LOVE looking for things in the pictures.


Things This Book Does Not Have Going For It

1)Pictures. Didn't care for them and didn't seem all that well done. Though that could be me and my taste.

[Jennie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was tickled by this book. The illustrations are very spooky, but fun. Delightful book to read out loud due to the rhyme and alliteration – “Then the noise of nasty nonsense fills the nippy night, As those nutty, no good ghosts all natter with delight.” Also very interactive due to the search and find exercise.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well written but too ghoulish for the ones who are asking for an alphabet book. Odd trend lately, lots of books for children geared to amuse the adults.