Just Say Boo! - by Susan Hood (Hardcover)

About the Book

A timid little trick-or-treater learns to overcome his fears on Halloween by saying, "BOO!" 9 x 9.

From the Back Cover

If three dinosaurs roar when you open your door, what do you say?

"Boo!" of course! In this charmingly spooky story by Susan Hood, little trick-or-treaters learn just what to say in every Halloween situation. From rattling bones to ghostly footsteps, Susan captures all the best scares of the season--and teaches just the right way to dispel fears in favor of fun. Jed Henry's lustrous watercolors add the perfect crisp chill to this fall-weather story.

For if a skeleton groans as she rattles her bones, what do you say?

Review Quotes

"As three children dressed as a witch, shark, and bat go trick-or-treating, they defuse potentially scary situations with one word: "If a yip and a yowl/ make you shiver and scowl, / what do you say?/ Boo!" Thus armed, the kids face "wind [that] whirls and whines," a jack-o'-lantern's grin, and skeleton and dinosaur costumes. There's a comforting warmth underlying Hood's rhymes, and Henry's copper and silver palette gives the story a note of timelessness." - Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Three costumed youngsters prance throughout their neighborhood on Halloween in this rhyming story that teaches tiny trick-or-treaters to "just say BOO!" to scary situations. ... Touches of humor abound, keeping the story light and nonthreatening. The simple text will make this an interactive choice for fall sharing." - School Library Journal
"A series of patterned rhymes take a family from house to house for Halloween revelry. The simple but multilayered text echoes traditions of the holiday (trick-or-treating), teaches manners (saying thank you), and shows what to do with a scared, teary toddler: "Teach him to just say BOO!" Natural rhymes and use of alliteration ("If the wind whirls and whines and whips through the pines") and strong images ("wet, shriveled leaves") make this picture book a valuable introduction to poetic elements. Illustrated with an appropriate palette of fall colors, the book rises above much of the Halloween fare, inviting interaction from young listeners." - Booklist