About the Holiday

October may have just begun, but as the temperatures cool and the trees begin to turn red, yellow, and orange, kids are already thinking of the thrills and chills of Halloween. Witches and jack-o-lanterns, ghosts, monsters, and skeletons take center stage all month long. Whether your kids like spine-chillers, ghost stories, or stories that make them giggle, Halloween-themed books are a rib-tickling way to enjoy the season.

I Got the Spooky Spirit

Written by Connie Schofield-Morrison | Illustrated by Frank Morrison

A black crow flies into view on a full moon-lit night to announce: “It’s the end of October. / Halloween is almost here! / Everyone loves a good fright / this time of year.” Kids and adults will certainly agree! As a young girl prepares for this favorite holiday, evidence of the spooky spirit is everywhere. It’s in the falling, swirling leaves that “Crunch Crunch” underfoot to picking “the biggest pumpkin in the patch” to mixing up a “bubbling batch of brew—sticky spooky treats are so much fun to chew!” The spooky spirit clings to cobweb decorations “over each door” and “crooked jack-o-lanterns on the old creaking floor. Jeepers Creepers!”

Image copyright Frank Morrison, 2024, text copyright Connie Schofield-Morrison, 2024. Courtesy of Bloomsbury Children’s Books.

At last the big night comes and the young girl is “all dressed up to scare. With my BOO-licious face, FANG-tastic teeth, and witchy purple hair.” She and her ghoulish costumed friends hit the street for trick or treat to fill their sacks with goodies. Then it’s off to a wild “monster mash” party, where she, her friends, and even her dad “bust a move” to the music, bob for apples, and compete for best costume. The night of fun ends with candy trading and finally bedtime. But the girl assures readers, “Before I close my eyes, / I see the spirit disappear, / but I know it’ll be back / October 31st next year.”

Image copyright Frank Morrison, 2024, text copyright Connie Schofield-Morrison, 2024. Courtesy of Bloomsbury Children’s Books.

Connie Schofield-Morrison imbues another major event in a child’s year with her signature rhythm, rhymes, and kid-centric vision. With each page highlighting holiday preparations, readers will feel that eerie, spine-tingling excitement of fall and the Halloween season. Even a jack-o-lantern’s “globs of stringy guts” are here to make kids “ewww!” with giggly anticipation of carving their pumpkin. Each spread contains a fun phrase that young readers will love to chime in on. While kids always hate to see Halloween night end, Schofield-Morrison leaves them with the dream of next year’s celebration.

Frank Morrison’s oil-painting illustrations are lush and atmospheric, full of the natural motions of fall and preparations for Halloween. In the city colorful autumn leaves swirl in the breeze as kids jump and play among them. The perfect-sized pumpkin fills the page, so lifelike that it invites readers to reach out and touch it’s smooth skin. The pumpkin-turned-jack-o’-lantern makes another appearance in the protagonist’s kitchen as she and her friends stir up a batch of face-scrunching sour pops. Readers may find inspiration (or recognition) in the spooky decorations adorning the house.

Morrison puts readers right among the group of trick-or-treaters as they stand on a well-lit stoop, bags at the ready for the small ghost handing out candy. Turn the page and trick-or-treaters throng the shadowy sidewalks. Turn the page again, and kids find themselves in the midst of a show-stopping dance party. Readers will want to linger here to look over all of the costumes. As the party winds down, Morrison continues to include readers in the fun, even having the young girl look straight at them as she reminds them that Halloween will come again next year before saying, “Sleep Tight!”

Fall and Halloween fun jump from every page of I Got the Spooky Spirit, a boisterous celebration of this kid-favorite holiday. The book is a scary-good addition to the I Got series and will make a favorite Halloween read-aloud for families, library story times, and other group activities. 

Ages 3 – 6

Bloomsbury Children’s Books, 2024 | ISBN 978-1547606993

About the Author

Connie Schofield-Morrison captured the rhythm of the neighborhood in her first picture book, I Got the Rhythm, and again in I Got the Christmas Spirit and I Got the School Spirit. She is also the author of the picture book biography Stitch by Stitch: Elizabeth Hobbs Keckly Sews Her Way to Freedom. Connie has been writing since she was a young girl and is inspired every day by the big sounds and bright colors of the world around her. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia. Visit her on Instagram.

About the Illustrator

Frank Morrison works as a fine artist and is the award-winning illustrator of many books for children, including the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award-winning titles Standing in the Need of Prayer and RESPECT: Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul. Frank also wrote and illustrated Kick Push. He lives in Atlanta, Georgia. Visit him at morrisongraphics.com and on Instagram.

Holiday Activity

Spooky Haunted Graveyard

With a few items found in a backyard or park and a few from home, kids can make a spooky haunted graveyard to decorate their room or add to the family’s Halloween décor.

Supplies

• Ten to twelve small to medium stones that have a triangular or rounded shape and can stand on their own (or close enough to be glued down)
• Shallow cardboard box or plastic container
• Small sticks or branches for the tree
• A small amount of dirt, small dry leaves, moss, etc.
• Poly fill for the fog (optional)
• White craft paint
• Small bit of clay
• Paint brush
• Black marker
• Hot glue gun or strong glue

Directions

To Make the Ghosts

1. Paint 5 or 6 stones with the white paint, let dry
2. Add eyes and mouth with the black marker

To Make the Tombstones

1. Add RIP, names, and dates to 5 or 6 stones with the black marker

To Make the Tree

1. Use one or two small branches or twigs to make the tree
2. Stick them into the clay for stability

To Make the Graveyard

1. Draw a fence inside and outside on the rim of the box (optional)
2. Scatter the tombstones around the box and glue in place
3. Scatter the ghosts near the tombstones and around the graveyard, and glue them in place
4. Stick the small branches or twigs in the clay

To Make the Ground

1. Scatter dirt, leaves, moss, around the tombstones and ghosts
2. Add wispy bits of poly fill around the ghosts and tombstones and in the tree (optional)

You can purchase I Got the Spooky Spirit at these booksellers

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop (to support your local independent bookstore)

Picture Book Review