Omar's Halloween

Anne Hutchings, a former elementary-school teacher-librarian with the
Durham Board of Education, is an educational consultant.

Omar is determined to be the scariest trick-or-treater in the
neighbourhood. Yet not even the spider costume with the big hairy legs
nor the swooping bat costume seem frightening enough. Helpful animals
can’t be scary.

As a last resort, and convinced that this is going to be the worst
Halloween ever, Omar dresses as a ghost. But that doesn’t seem to be
very scary, either. At every house he hears the same comment: “Oh
look! Another cute ghost!” Before long, however, the wind begins to
blow and it rains down hard, which turns Omar into a wet, dirty, and
dishevelled monster. When the youngster finally arrives home, he
gleefully declares that this has been his “happiest Halloween” ever!


Maryann Kovalski’s coloured-pencil illustrations rendered in autumn
tones add to our enjoyment of the story. There is a pleasing variety of
double-page and full-page drawings with a few smaller ones interspersed
throughout.

Young children will find the surprise ending amusing and satisfying. It
will serve to remind them that sometimes what starts out to be the worst
can end up being the best. School and public libraries will want to add
Omar’s Halloween to their collections of seasonal stories.
Recommended.