a unicorn named sparkle and the pumpkin monster

“Blue gave one small sleepy ‘ Beep.’ / Then Little Blue Truck fell fast asleep.” Joseph’s rich nighttime-blue illustrations (done “in the style of Jill McElmurry”) highlight the power of the storm and capture the still serenity that follows. All aboard for the bedtime ride!’ ” Young readers will settle down for their own bedtimes as Blue and Toad drop each friend at home and bid them a good night before returning to the garage and their own beds. “Duck said, loud as he could quack it, / ‘ THUNDER’S JUST A NOISY RACKET!’ ” In the quiet after the storm, the barnyard friends are sleepy, but the garage is not their home. Blue explains that “clouds bump and tumble in the sky, / but here inside we’re warm and dry, / and all the thirsty plants below / will get a drink to help them grow!” The friends begin to relax. Before long, their familiar, now very nervous barnyard friends (Goat, Hen, Goose, Cow, Duck, and Pig) squeeze into the garage. Little Blue Truck and his good friend Toad are heading home when a storm lets loose. Is it a stormy-night scare or a bedtime book? Both! Holiday-themed endpapers feature Sparkle.Ī unicorn, a pumpkin, and a monster make for light and entertaining Halloween fare. Sparkle is white with a pink heart on his rump his blue horn resembles a party hat. Lucy has dark, curly hair and pale beige skin. Illustrations are lively, humorous, and expressive onomatopoeic sounds in large capitals are incorporated into text and art to dramatic effect. Children will enjoy this cute but thin Halloween story that offers some thrills, sweet good cheer, and reassurances that loyal friendship rises above all.

Just then, Lucy spies a large pumpkin hurtling toward her and believes she’s within a monster’s clutches-until the pumpkin breaks open and…all ends well.

It’s perfect-except he still hears the monster’s fearsome cry and quakes in terror so much the pumpkin detaches from its vine and careens down a hill. Sparkle hides hearing a terrifying wail, he concludes it’s a “pumpkin monster.” Opening a large pumpkin, Sparkle steps inside, creating a perfect new hideaway. Decorating pumpkins is the unicorn’s least fun activity of all: His (carved with his horn) looks happy, but Lucy’s is scary, frightening him so much that he races into the darkened pumpkin patch, a worried Lucy calling after him. They play games eat treats, which Sparkle loves and have spooky encounters, which Sparkle doesn’t. Lucy and her unicorn, Sparkle, anticipate fun at a pumpkin farm. Who knew a unicorn could be a scaredy-cat?

A unicorn named sparkle and the pumpkin monster