Shake dem Halloween Bones

by W. Nikola-Lisa, Mike Reed (Illustrator)

Little Red Riding Hood, Goldilocks, Tom Thumb, and all of their fairy-tale friends raise a holler at the Halloween ball in a read-aloud book of rap-style rhymes and zany, full-color illustrations.

Genres: Halloween, Picture Books, Childrens, Holiday, Music, Fiction, Poetry

32 pages, Hardcover

First published September 29, 1997

About the author

W. Nikola-Lisa's interest in writing books for young readers began as an elementary school teacher. He is the author of numerous books, including the award-winning Bein' With You This Way (Lee & Low), Shake Dem Halloween Bones (Houghton Mifflin) and the How We Are Smart (Lee & Low), recipient of the prestigious Christopher Award. As an accomplished storyteller and musician, Mr. Nikola-Lisa enjoys sharing his writing experiences with elementary and middle school students nationwide.

Reviews

[Calista · Rating 5 out of 5]

The kids and I enjoyed this energetic book. It is a song various fairy tale characters are dancing to. Goldielocks, red Riding Hood, and Jack with his bean stock make an appearance looking as modern and fresh as ever. They nearly danced off the page. It's fun to read this as you are singing it. It has a natural beat in the writing. I loved the art. It was very colorful. This was
a great book

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's Halloween night in the city, and the narrator invites one and all to the hip-hop Halloween ball! Characters from famous fairy-tales, ranging from Jack (of Jack and the Beanstalk) to Puss-in-Boots, from Rapunzel to Goldilocks, are each invited to "Shake, shake, shake dem bones now," and join the pumpkin-headed MC in dance...

With a rhyming, rhythmic text from author W. Nikola-Lisa, and bright, colorful artwork from illustrator Mike Reed, Shake dem Halloween Bones would make an entertaining read-aloud selection at a Halloween-themed story-time. The inclusion of so many fairy-tale characters adds to the sense of fun, and is sure to please young child readers and listeners, who will enjoy meeting up again with names that many of them will already know. Recommended to anyone looking for more poetic, read-aloud tales for Halloween.

[Aimee · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the special education class I worked in the kids looked forward to reading this book every Halloween. I think I had as much fun reading it as they did hearing it, because it has a lot of rhythm, and I would practically sing it to the kids. In my opinion, it is the best Halloween book there is for children. The rhyming scheme is great, the pictures are inviting, and it incorporates fairy tale characters the children may know.

[Becky Loader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh. My. Gosh.

If you can sit still while you read this book, I will be amazed.

It is Halloween, and everyone is going to the Halloween Hip-Hop Ball.

Great illustrations and joy about celebrating an occasion with friends and dance.

Oh. And don't miss the scary-sweetie cat!!

[Ashlyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my absolute favorite book to read as a kid so I just needed to check it out from the library to reread and I’m so so glad I did. I can’t wait to read this to my children someday!

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had me and my reading buddy singing out loud in the library and even doing a little hand dance every time it said "and shake dem Halloween bones!" My reading buddy and I really enjoyed reading this book. I would definitely break this book out when I am reading it during the month of October. Children can get up and dance to this book every time that phrase is uttered. It is a clean way to talk about Halloween without getting into some of the scarier sides in which some kids my be scared of. All in all, this book is a great time and I really loved reading it with my buddy.

I would recommend this book for grades 3rd through 5th. I would also recommend the students to dance to the words.

[September Michaud · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute song book about a hip-hop Halloween ball. The pictures of the fairy tale and nursery rhyme party-goers (Cinderella, Rumpelstiltskin...) are interesting as well as the Halloween head singer.

The book feels a little too repetitive for my taste, and for that reason I don't love reading it, but I'm sure some kids would really enjoy it.

Would work loud for a real-aloud, but just be aware that it is essentially a song.

What I liked:

- Seeing the Halloween party versions of characters such as Cinderella and Little Red Riding Hood
- The book has kind of a New Orleans feel with all of the "weird" characters coming out at night to party with the music. "The city is quiet. The city is still. But as the lights go down, the music comes up--"

[Laura Salas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting structure, with a prose opening (still poetic and lyrical, though) and then switching to this hip-hop rhyming song. Great read aloud! That refrain of

Shake, shake,
shake dem bones now.
Shake, shake,
shake dem bones now.
Shake, shake,
shake dem bones
at the hip-hop Halloween ball.

works so well. And each verse addresses a different fairy-tale character.

Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let your hair hang down.
Come out of your tower and shake it all around.
Come on, Li'l 'Punzel, won't you dance wiht me
at the hip-hop Halloween ball?

Even the the meter stretches and contracts in places, it's realy read-aloudable. Love that.

[Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like this book because it is about dancing. Theres alot of funny looking characters dancing all the time. The jack lantern sang the shake dem bones song to make the characters dance. The song is like a spell that makes the characters dance. Goldilocks was there and she broke a chair with her bear. Snow white was there dancing with her little small men. Mister Pig was there and he had the worst costume of all. Cinderella was there with a white dress with pink polka dots. I really like this book because I read it four times.

[Tam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute Halloween rhyming book filled with different nursery rhyme characters. It's written like a hip-hop song with a pumpkinhead guy singing it. It has Little Red Riding Hood, Jack (from Jack & the beanstalk), Tom Thumb, Snow White, Goldilocks with a bear, Mister Pig, Rapunzel, Rumpelstiltskin, Cinderella, & Puss & Boots. You won't recognize them though because they aren't dressed in their regular costumes. For example, Snow White has brown hair, a regular dress, and cowboy boots and Cinderella is black hair, a polka dot dress, and sneakers.

[Diana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best. Halloween book. Ever. Seriously. I use it for storytime every year, and it's always a success. The kids love it, and the parents clap along. I do skip the part at the beginning (sentences 2-4) that talk about goblins and witches, but the rest is amazing. I love the fact that it's basically about kids in fairy tale costumes at a party. The rhythm is contagious and the rhyme gets stuck in the head for days on end. Highly recommended to families who like the dress-up part of Halloween but want to avoid anything potentially scary.

[Slayermel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a really fun book to read, if you turn it into a song while you read it. I find once you get into it, you can't sit still your "Shake, shake, shaking your bones" along with the characters.
I love the fact that Fairy tale characters where used in the story such as Snow white, Cinderella, puss in boots etc...
Mike Reed did a great Job illustrating the story, the pictures are fun and give you much to look at.

[Nicole Holden · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really fun book to read to students during halloween. This book has wonderful pictures and a fun song in the book. This book shows repetition by singing the "shake dem Halloween bones" song. I love the way this book integrates story book character like: Little Red Riding Hood, Snow White, Tom Thumb, Goldilocks, Three Little Pigs, Rapunzel, Cinderella, and Puss in Boots. Students of all ages will love to read this book.

[Sherri · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun romp where various fairy tale and other familiar children's story characters are invited to join in the fun to shake their bones at the hip-hop Halloween ball. Multicultural characters and bright, vibrant colors will make this attractive to a variety of readers. However, I was looking for a book version to match a song version I do with my special needs students, and this book wasn't the best match for that--no fault of the book's.

[April Scheivelhud · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was an absolute blast to read during a read-a-loud for a kindergarten class. The students were very engaged in the story. As the story progresses, there is a repetitious choral phrase, "Shake dem Halloween bones". All of the characters are having fun at a festive Halloween party. The children automatically start repeating the chorus during the read-a-loud. Very fun story.

[Deatrice · Rating 3 out of 5]

It would have been helpful if there was a musical tune listed in which to sing this book along to. It definitely has a Louisiana type vibe. It was fun but the chorus verse sounds like a drone when sung so many times so we skipped it every once in awhile. The illustrations were really lively and interesting regardless and the characters applied were creatively placed.

[Kate Hastings · Rating 5 out of 5]

Colin got this book through a scholastic book order. We like to sing the book and it's now one of his favorites. Great refrain he can repeat. The story features fairy tale characters-- and this part goes over his head.

[Sheila · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun and different Halloween book! Kids will love to sing along! I love how the book references classic fairy tales such as Cinderella, Rumpelstiltskin, Rapunzel, Goldilocks, Snow White, and more!

[Phuong Dao · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this book because it is so fun to read and to teach children about rhyming. It gets your body moving when you read it because you can actually hear the music playing in your head when you read it. I highly recommend this book.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun look a Halloween ball featuring all your favorite characters from classic tales such as Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Little Pigs, Rapunzel, Jack in the Beanstalk, Snow White, etc. Pumpkin head is the MC.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fun book for those who are musical. But after one read my husband was rolling his eyes unimpressed and saying there's no way he'd read it. The kids were on the fence too. Oh well lots of other choices for the holiday.

[Tara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this was a fun Halloween book. It's really a song about all the guests at a Halloween party. The guests are fairy tale characters rather than typical Halloween characters which I would have preferred. The song (text) is very rhythmic and easy to sing. The illustrations are nice and vivid.

[Westcoast_girl · Rating 3 out of 5]

My teacher read this book to us in kindergarten. We all would shout the chorus together.

It's a great read-aloud to get your kids hyped up and excited. Soon everyone will be singing along together, loud and proud.

This book gets you into the Halloween spirit!

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a Halloween hip-hop dance and familiar nursery rhyme characters are in attendance. Rhythmic text introduces each dancer and encourages the reader/listener to dance along. Great read aloud with oil paint illustrations for PreK-2.

[Jackie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Shake Dem Halloween Bones is a story set in rhyme with many characters in literature you already know. Some very odd charicatures and illustrations set to a musical rendition of Dem Halloween Bones.

[Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous hip hop rhyming book based on nursery rhymes and fairy tales. It's one of my October favorites for kindergarten. Cute little tune stays in your head long after you've finished reading the book.

[Sarah Wurster]

I LOVE Shake Dem Halloween Bones! When I first read this book to my class, I read it through. Then we go back again and we sing it. The kids can't get enough of the catchy tune and they love all of the fairy tale characters that are in the story that they recognize.

[Penny Gallop · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fabulous book to share with your students. It is a modern day fairy tale with contemporary characters.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another book we got just to add to our Halloween collection. Fun to read with the kids and get them to join in on the reading.

[N · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm so not fun enough for this book. It's kind of corny, which may have to do with it being like 12 years old and about a hip-hop halloween.