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bookdragon_library's review
3.0
3.5/5 - a story of a cute, pink house who wants to be scary Ike her vampire castle father and witch hut mother. Told in rhyming text the illustrations are just ok. I didn’t see the ending coming with the brute unicorn but it was fitting.
wordnerd153's review
2.0
Cute idea and I liked the ending, but some of the rhymes felt clunky and a lot of the words were way beyond my kiddo.
otterno11's review
dark
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
An amusing picture book, Marcus Ewert’s playful rhymes along with Susie Ghahremani’s colorful artwork makes She Wanted to Be Haunted a cute and topical storytime pick for the Halloween season.
Clarrisa, a cute, cozy cottage finds her floral surroundings and quaint architecture boring and yearns for a few creepy denizens like her parents, a haunted castle, and a witch’s hut, enjoy. Attempting to rectify the situation backfires as spooky clouds only bring more flowers and a horrid stench summons forth the neighborhood pups. For adults, the use of a few fun advanced vocabulary choices (wan, djinn) adds some nice distractions and for kids, the “be yourself” message comes off quite nicely. Just don’t get sidetracked by the logistics of how houses reproduce.
I discuss this and other inclusive Halloween themed children's/young adult books at Harris' Tome Corner, here, https://spoonbridge.medium.com/an-inclusive-halloween-3f36da0ab14d .
Clarrisa, a cute, cozy cottage finds her floral surroundings and quaint architecture boring and yearns for a few creepy denizens like her parents, a haunted castle, and a witch’s hut, enjoy. Attempting to rectify the situation backfires as spooky clouds only bring more flowers and a horrid stench summons forth the neighborhood pups. For adults, the use of a few fun advanced vocabulary choices (wan, djinn) adds some nice distractions and for kids, the “be yourself” message comes off quite nicely. Just don’t get sidetracked by the logistics of how houses reproduce.
I discuss this and other inclusive Halloween themed children's/young adult books at Harris' Tome Corner, here, https://spoonbridge.medium.com/an-inclusive-halloween-3f36da0ab14d .
gypsyfire_89's review
4.0
I immensely enjoyed the author's witty spin with verse in this story! Beautiful illustrations accompany this tale with an ending you may not expect!
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