The Halloween Party

by Lonzo Anderson, Adrienne Adams (Illustrator)

On Halloween Faraday Folsum runs across a party of witches, ogres, and gremlins that are a bit too real for comfort.

Genres: Halloween, Picture Books, Childrens

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1974

About the author

John Lonzo Anderson was born on March 1, 1905 outside of Ellijay, Georgia. He graduated from Harvard University in 1928 and married illustrator Adrienne Adams in 1935. Anderson and his wife collaborated on a number of children's books.

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Faraday Folsum, all dressed up (as a ghost) for the Halloween party at the artichoke farm, instead finds himself walking into the woods, in pursuit of two witches he sees flying in that direction. Imagine his surprise when he stumbles upon another kind of Halloween party - one with gremlins, and witches, and ogres! When Faraday is discovered, in the course of a ghoulish game of hide-and-seek, he finds himself in danger of being added to the soup! Can he talk, or rhyme (as the case may be), his way out of this...?

Published in 1974, Halloween Party was a collaborative effort between husband-and-wife team Lonzo Anderson, who contributed the text, and Adrienne Adams, who created the artwork. The latter - whose other Halloween titles, A Woggle of Witches and A Halloween Happening , have been so visually appealing - is the reason I sought it out. I love Adams' work, and this one did not disappoint me, having all the unearthly charm I have come to expect from her witchy titles. The story was also very engaging, although a little more frightening than some of Adams' own. All in all, a pleasant little tale for Halloween time! I may have to hunt down more of this couple's joint endeavors.

[Olivia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the classic illustrations, very 70s. I would recommend this story to older kids or maybe to be read as a family because the subject matter, aka. kids being eaten, might be too scary for younger readers.

[Grumpy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute illustrations

[Meredith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Adrienne Adams is a fabulous illustrator, and she is one of my favorite Halloween picture book artists. My all time favorite of hers is A Halloween Happening. This story wasn't outstanding, but the artwork is good.

Faraday Folsom is on his way to a Halloween party at Artichoke Farm when he sees two witches. This frightens him, but he finds this thrilling and decides to follow them. They lead him to a Halloween party filled with witches, gremlins, and ogres. Faraday watches in secret until a child ogre discovers his hiding place. After narrowly escaping being cooked in the stew, Faraday is allowed to join in the celebration. At the end of the night, a witch takes him to the Halloween party at Artichoke Farm.

[Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

My 7-year-old daughter initially felt this was a little bit too spooky to read (illustrations are spooky!). Once we got into the text she enjoyed it more, but it does have darker themes with the ogres' talk of eating Faraday in a stew pot.

[Andrew Greenlaw-Houldsworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny, spooky, and folksy! I love this book. What a gem 💖