t2p's review against another edition
2.0
Meh. I got this because Lily wanted to know the "why" behind so many of the Halloween themes she was seeing. This book covers a lot, but is very poorly written and not at all accessible to kids. It definitely requires an adult there to edit and contextualize. There are better sources.
bmgoodyear's review against another edition
2.0
’The leering devils, the grinning Jack-O’-Lanterns, the cackling witches, and all the other Halloween symbols go back to a time when people, young and old, lived in real dred of goblins and ghosts, of witches and cats – especially at Halloween.’
Next up on my list of banned/challenged books and since it is almost Halloween I decided to take a peek at ‘Witches, Pumpkins, and Grinning Ghosts: The Story of the Halloween Symbols.’ This is certainly not your typical take on Halloween and certainly isn’t a Halloween book about cute fuzzy black cats or even about silly looking witches on brooms.
Within the first couple of pages I can see why it has been banned/challenged. The book discusses how Christianity had been born and how they attempted to overtake the Pagan religions and convince people of its evilness and even goes on to discuss the witchhunts. All historically accurate information, but not exactly the popular opinion nowadays.
‘In all parts of the Roman Empire, the Christian fathers did their utmost to stamp out everything pagan, as they branded the older religions. It was hard to persuade the conquered Celts that the gods they had known for centuries were evil. It was harder still to wipe out their rites and symbols. So the Christian church gave them new meanings and new names.’
I think it was a decently explained historical book on the details of Halloween and what the holiday really entails, but there were sections that I don’t believe her 100% historically accurate, and I found this on the non-fiction shelf at my library. Pretty interesting book overall though.
Next up on my list of banned/challenged books and since it is almost Halloween I decided to take a peek at ‘Witches, Pumpkins, and Grinning Ghosts: The Story of the Halloween Symbols.’ This is certainly not your typical take on Halloween and certainly isn’t a Halloween book about cute fuzzy black cats or even about silly looking witches on brooms.
Within the first couple of pages I can see why it has been banned/challenged. The book discusses how Christianity had been born and how they attempted to overtake the Pagan religions and convince people of its evilness and even goes on to discuss the witchhunts. All historically accurate information, but not exactly the popular opinion nowadays.
‘In all parts of the Roman Empire, the Christian fathers did their utmost to stamp out everything pagan, as they branded the older religions. It was hard to persuade the conquered Celts that the gods they had known for centuries were evil. It was harder still to wipe out their rites and symbols. So the Christian church gave them new meanings and new names.’
I think it was a decently explained historical book on the details of Halloween and what the holiday really entails, but there were sections that I don’t believe her 100% historically accurate, and I found this on the non-fiction shelf at my library. Pretty interesting book overall though.
bookgirl01's review
3.0
Lots of good information here about the origins of Halloween and harvest festivals. Not the most well-written of books, but entertaining nevertheless.
moonpie's review
2.0
I love the illustrations in Witches, Pumpkins, and Grinning Ghosts -- you can tell they were drawn in the 70s, in a charming way -- but the writing style is too choppy and random for me to enjoy.
I like that a children's book includes info about actual witches, Druids, celebrations of the dead, etc., and I liked the background provided for jack o'lanterns, bobbing for apples . . . all those classic games and symbols associated with Halloween. I haven't gone through the book chapter-by-chapter to fact-check, but I suspect some facts might be a little jumbled; some bits just SOUND wrong, but I can't back that up.
Most of my problem, though, stems from Barth's writing style; the book reads like a grade-school essay, with info just dropped into each chapter randomly, with no smooth transitions between time periods or subjects. It's hard to read, or maybe just hard to focus on. It's not a book I'd recommend unless you really dig the art.
I like that a children's book includes info about actual witches, Druids, celebrations of the dead, etc., and I liked the background provided for jack o'lanterns, bobbing for apples . . . all those classic games and symbols associated with Halloween. I haven't gone through the book chapter-by-chapter to fact-check, but I suspect some facts might be a little jumbled; some bits just SOUND wrong, but I can't back that up.
Most of my problem, though, stems from Barth's writing style; the book reads like a grade-school essay, with info just dropped into each chapter randomly, with no smooth transitions between time periods or subjects. It's hard to read, or maybe just hard to focus on. It's not a book I'd recommend unless you really dig the art.
rue's review
4.0
Fun and informative about Halloween. The illustrations were good, and perfect for the subject matter. Sentences were a little choppy, but it is meant for younger children. Overall, 4/5 stars.
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