The 2006 Book Sense Halloween Top Ten

Posted Thursday, Sep 14, 2006

This week Book Sense announces the 2006 Halloween Top Ten. The list is produced in conjunction with the Association of American Publishers' Get Caught Reading initiative and is based on the nominations of independent booksellers nationwide.

Booksellers in the Book Sense program will be receiving the Halloween Top Ten in the September Red Box.

For a downloadable PDF file of the Halloween 2006 Top Ten, click here.

The 2006 Book Sense Halloween Top Ten

Here are some great titles to "Get Caught Reading " this Halloween

1. ROOM ON THE BROOM, by Julia Donaldson, Axel Scheffler (Illus.) (Puffin, $6.99 paper, 0142501123) "This is the cutest Halloween book I have ever read! The illustrations are adorable. A very fun book to read." --Risa Smith, Utah State University, Logan, UT

2. THE MERCY OF THIN AIR: A Novel, by Ronlyn Domingue (Washington Square Press, $14 paper, 0743278828) "With a ghost who hangs around from 1920s New Orleans until today, Domingue's novel would make a great Halloween read for the gentler spirits whose interests run toward human inter-relationships." --Elisabeth Grant-Gibson, Windows a bookshop, Monroe, LA

3. THE HALLO-WIENER, by Dav Pilkey (Scholastic, $5.99 paper, 0439079462) "So many Halloween books are scary -- it's a treat to find one as laugh-out-loud funny as this. A tale of an 'underdog' whose triumph is a holiday favorite year after year." --Angie Tally, The Country Bookshop, Southern Pines, NC

4. 10 TRICK-OR-TREATERS: A Halloween Counting Book, by Janet Schulman, Linda Davick (Illus.) (Knopf Books for Young Readers, $8.95, 0375832254) "Let the countdown begin! Ten children enjoy Halloween night but are scared off (just a bit!) one by one until the last trick-or-treater makes her way to bed. With clever rhyming and bright illustrations, this is the perfect story to give younger children a taste of 'fun fright.'" --Joanne Doggart, Where the Sidewalk Ends, Chatham, MA

5. THE UGLY PUMPKIN, by Dave Horowitz (Putnam, $15.99, 0399242678) "My favorite Halloween book is last year's The Ugly Pumpkin. I love the way it updates Hans Christian Andersen's The Ugly Duckling (using vegetables!) and bridges the short holiday gap between Halloween and Thanksgiving." --Renee Barker, The Bookstore, Glen Ellyn, IL

6. JENNY'S MOONLIGHT ADVENTURE: A Jenny's Cat Club Book, by Esther Averill (New York Review Books, $12.95, 1590171608) "Jenny must figure out how to save the Halloween celebrations for The Cat Club when Madame Butterfly, whose performance is always the highlight of the party, loses her nose flute. Delightful tale for any age, any time of year." --Patricia Whitbeck, The Golden Notebook, Woodstock, NY

7. LEAF MAN, by Lois Ehlert (Harcourt, $16, 0152053042) "One would have to search a long time to find a book like this for the fall season, which teaches children about nature in a wonderful way. The illustrations are created from a palette of colorful autumn leaves and surely will inspire young readers to collect their own leaves." --Donna Allee, Fort Ashby Books, Fort Ashby, WV

8. THE INHABITED WORLD: A Novel, by David Long (Houghton, $23, 061854335X) "This beautifully written ghost story is a moving speculation about the world beyond. A man wakes up to the realities of having dodged just about every stand he could have taken and, 10 years after his suicide, realizes that he's at another branch in the road. If he can't intervene in the world of the living, perhaps the living world can help spur him on to do what he needs to do." --Karen Maeda Allman, The Elliott Bay Book Company, Seattle, WA

9. THE CURIOUS DEMISE OF A CONTRARY CAT, by Lynne Berry, Luke LaMarca (Illus.) (Simon & Schuster, $12.95, 1416902112) "This creatively written book is perfect for reading aloud, and the illustrations are magnificent -- such attention to detail! It will bring to mind the fun and magic of Halloween, not necessarily the scary side of it. Sure to become a classic that parents will share with their kids for many years of Halloweens." --Becky Callaway, Davis-Kidd Booksellers, Nashville, TN

10. SPOOKY SUMS AND COUNTING HORRORS, by Rebecca Cobb (Marion Boyars, $14.95, 0714533076) "This charmingly illustrated children's book is great fun for the Halloween season. Mischievous ghosts, shy wizards, and other spooky partygoers populate witty pictures that encourage kids to practice counting and addition." --Kathleen Jewell, Pomegranate Books, Wilmington, NC

Get Caught Reading is a nationwide book and magazine industry-supported literacy campaign to remind people of all ages how much fun it is to read. Research indicates that early language experience stimulates a child's brain to grow and that reading to children gives them an advantage when they start school. We encourage people of all ages to enjoy books and magazines and to share that pleasure with the young children in their lives. Get Caught Reading is honored to have the support of well-known figures, including First Lady Laura Bush, Drew Carey, Clifford the Big Red Dog, Johnny Damon, Donald Duck, Tim Duncan, Gloria Estefan, George Foreman, Whoopi Goldberg, Jeff Gordon, Grant Hill, Derek Jeter, Alicia Keys, Queen Latifah, Naruto, The Rugrats, Jane Seymour, Sammy Sosa, and Marlo Thomas, who have all been "caught reading" their favorite books and magazines for print ads and posters seen by millions of people across the country. In addition, more than 200 members of Congress have been photographed "caught reading" on Capitol Hill.

For more information visit: www.getcaughtreading.org and "Get Caught Reading" a Book Sense Picks book today.
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