The House Of Boo

by J. Patrick Lewis, Katya Krnina (Illustrator)

A rhyming, poetic adventure by the author of Black Swan/White Crow finds three trick-or-treaters visiting the haunted house of Boo Scoggins on Halloween and experiencing scary sights and sounds.

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

32 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1998

About the author

J. Patrick Lewis is the current Children's Poet Laureate. He has written more than seventy children's books, including Once Upon a Tomb: Gravely Humorous Verses. J. Patrick Lewis lives in Ohio.

Reviews

[Alison Whiteman]

This year I am reading children's books as well as adult fiction and non-fiction.

Admittedly, Halloween is my least favorite holiday. This book has a hint of racism as three white ghosts approach the house. It scared me. Why? The times in which we are living.

[Adam Barrett]

I enjoyed the rhyme pattern, but not the content. My students would not understand nor enjoy it. Just a bit too creepy and out there.

[Dolly]

Fun and slightly creepy tale about three children looking for a ghost at an abandoned house. The story is told in verse in the form of a Rubaiyat poem.

We figured out the unique rhyme scheme early on in the tale and were thrilled to read the author's note at the end of the book that explains more about this type of poem and gives a couple of examples of famous poems that use the same format.

The gouache illustrations add an air of spookiness to the story and complement the narrative nicely. We really enjoyed reading this book together.

[Jennybug]

This book is more of a poetry book. I read it to Sawyer and it didn't really hold is attention. The pictures are spooky (this is a good thing, cause it is a Halloween book).

[Lisa]

Picture Book 31
This is a great spooky book to read around Halloween time. The illutrations are amazing! I have read this to my class on Halloween, they were so spooked!