Publisher's Weekly Review
The characters in this seasonal counting book are all traditionally spooky sorts--a spider named Madam Silk, a mummy called Dr. Cairo, and more--but the scariest thing they have in store is attending Mr. Pumpkin's elegant evening tea party. He offers "one cake"; Sir Bones, a formally dressed skeleton, contributes "two jugs of cider"; a vampire dressed as a flapper offers "three jars of jelly to share"; and neighborhood wildlife get in on the act, too ("four swooping bats/ fly through the air"). Newcomer Barker's watercolor and ink illustrations provide the softest of Halloween atmospherics: gentle night, full moon, weeping willow. Formal wear (Baron Laguna sports a bowtie), tidy tea etiquette, and delicious homemade goodies--Mr. Pumpkin's berry-topped cake, Lord Wolfington's scones--portray this Halloween celebration as a quiet, stylish gathering framed by the counting sequence and the rhyming lines. Just right for fear-averse Halloween revelers. Ages 3--5. (Sept.)
Horn Book Review
Handsome china dishes and raised pinkies accentuate a fancy banquet with friends in autumn twilight in this festive counting book. The pumpkin-headed title character, a debonair host in a sky-blue suit and a stovepipe hat, welcomes his guests (a cummerbund-sporting skeleton, a monocle-wearing-mummy, a flapper-dressed vampire, etc.). The numbers are woven into a rhyming text that alternates guests introductions (Lady Nightshade brings three jars of jelly to share) with atmospheric elements (While four swooping bats fly through the air). As is appropriate for the season, readers count up until the clock strikes thirteen. Elegant watercolor and ink illustrations imagine the partys spooky sophistication. jeannie coutant September/October 2019 p.50(c) Copyright 2019. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
A rhyming Halloween seek-and-find book gives readers some practice counting from one to 13 (natch)."There's a party at Mr. Pumpkin's tonight, / a banquet with friends in autumn twilight. / And at this soire we'll see and we'll find / ghoulish delights of every kind." The host himself contributes a beautifully decorated cake, and each of the seven guests brings increasing numbers of treats to the table, from Sir Bones' two jugs of cider to Baron Laguna's 12 balloons. Bats, cups of tea, and singing frogs round out the counting, which ends with the clock striking 13 and the end of the party. Barker's illustrations are a delight, the spooky details softened by a cartoonish treatment and soft color palette; nothing here is threatening or too scary. But the text doesn't live up to the artwork. The clever character names are sure to go over the heads of readers still interested in finding and counting items in the pictures, and scansion and meaning sometimes take a back seat to the rhythm and rhyme. As a result, the word order can be confusing for young children: "Follow six lamps / to the house they will lead."Visually sparklingbut with a text that doesn't always suit the audience. (Picture book. 3-6) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
