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Summary
Summary
Halloween is almost here and Lily wants to make her own costume for trick-or-treating. Should she be a scary ghost? Or maybe a roly-poly pumpkin? Perhaps a glittery princess! After many ideas and a few wrong turns, Lily finally settles on a costume that will be perfect for a Halloween surprise with her cuddly kittens.
The new book from the duo behind Valentine Surprise is sure to capture readers' hearts once again with its sweet celebration of creativity, as Lily enjoys the fun of homemade costumes and Halloween traditions.
Author Notes
Corinne Demas is the author of numerous books for children including Always in Trouble, Saying Goodbye to Lulu, The Littlest Matryoshka, and Returning to Shore. She also wrote the novel, The Writing Circle, for adults. She is a professor of English at Mount Holyoke College and a fiction editor of The Massachusetts Review.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-With Halloween approaching, Lily needs a costume for trick-or-treating, but she can't decide what she wants to be. With her two white kitties looking on, she makes several outfits: ghost, pirate, pumpkin, ballerina, gypsy, princess, and robot. But they are too scary, mean, clumsy, flouncy, jangly, glittery, or bulky. Finally, with inspiration from her pets, Lily comes up with the perfect costume and surprises her dad in a foldout illustration. The soft, orange-hued drawings done in pencil, watercolor, and gouache are appropriate for the season and full of activity as the industrious little girl goes to work. Children will enjoy the Lily's imagination and the reactions of her kittens as she creates several costumes from materials she finds around her house. The just-right size of the book; plentiful white space; and large, clean font make this a good choice for beginning readers. A cheerful addition to Halloween collections.-Martha Simpson, Stratford Library Association, CT (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Lily, who first appeared in Valentine Surprise, returns for a homey Halloween. As she tries on costumes, two expressive kitties get dressed up, too. But nothing seems right: a ghost is too scary, a pirate is too mean, a ballerina is too flouncy, and a robot is too bulky. Finally, a flap reveals her "purrfect" costume. Alley's airy pencil, watercolor, and gouache spreads, rendered in soft autumnal shades, should stir up anticipation for trick-or-treating and provide some costume ideas, too. Ages 3-6. (July) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
It's almost trick-or-treat time and Lily can't decide what to be for Halloween. After several attempts she comes up with the perfect costume, revealed in a foldout spread at the end of the book. Demas's well-paced text matched with Alley's seasonal watercolor and gouache illustrations showing endearing Lily and (spoiler alert) her humorous kittens make this an enjoyable holiday read. Copyright 2010 of The Horn Book, Inc. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
Sweet little Lily's quest to come up with just the right costume is characterized by quietly entertaining do-it-yourself determination. Unsure what she should be for Halloween, Lily consults her attentive kitties, Fluff and Frisky, as she considers each potential costume. " 'How about a ghost?' / Tooscary!" But her imagination keeps on working. Readers see her try out being a pirate, pumpkin, ballerina, gypsy, princess and robot. Each is unsatisfactory and "too..." something: mean, clumsy, jangly, etc. Here Alley truly enhances the text with full-page pictures that burst with Lily's exuberant musings. Young ones will have fun guessing and chiming in with the crafty little heroine as she deliberates each new idea. Of course, none of these costumes are good enough, and time is running out. Lily looks to her feline friends and "knew just what she wanted to be." Soon she is decked out and ready to surprise Daddyhere the last spread unfolds"Meow." Cozy, muted colors in watercolor and gouache are given delicate detail with pencil.As in Demas' earlierValentine Surprise(2008), Lily's plucky dedication to solving her own dilemma reinforces the lesson to keep trying and do your best.(Picture book. 3-6)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Determined to make her own Halloween costume, Lily tries out many ideas, but nothing seems right. Ghost? Too scary. Pumpkin? Too clumsy. Princess? Too glittery. Robot? Too bulky. But as evening falls, inspiration strikes. Upbeat, independent, and creative, Lily makes a very likable heroine, and her question of what to be is the classic Halloween dilemma. A sequel to Demas and Alley's Valentine Surprise (2008), this colorful picture book features a simply written story and witty illustrations with considerable child appeal.--Phelan, Carolyn Copyright 2010 Booklist
