The Clock Strikes Thirteen … Only on Shivermore Street
Written: Feb 22 '05 (Updated Feb 22 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Exceptional illustrations, fun story, great for Halloween.
Cons: No real ending ...
The Bottom Line: In the Halloween house on Shivermore Street we all hold our breath as it strikes. Everyone in your place? Now, take off your face!
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| Freak369's Full Review: Pam Pollack and Meg Belviso - Halloween Night on S... |
Knowing my deep love of all things Halloween, I received a lot of spooky, creepy and bat related items for my birthday. One of my favorites was a book called “Halloween Night on Shivermore Street”, while this is a kids book I really loved reading it and checking out the phenomenal artwork. Since Halloween is such a big deal in my house I have accumulated a ton of books on the subject over the years; everything from juvenile fiction to historical roots, arts and crafts to tales of hauntings and things that go bump in the night. This is definitely a keeper for the Halloween season and I’m sure it’s one that is going to get read over and over when Annabelle gets a hold of it. She’s such a sucker for anything that rhymes so this will be right up her alley. There are some sections that rhyme and others that don’t but even so, this is a very cute read for those who want a little scary story before bedtime.
Halloween Night on Shivermore Street
One thing that really struck me as odd about this book is that the three main characters aren’t named. One cute little girl dressed up like a wizard, a boy like a pirate and a very innocent looking little boy dragon. I guess this lets kids create their own names for them or leaves it a little bit of a mystery. The story is about a masquerade ball at the end of Shivermore Street; you don’t know who the other party goers are until the clock strikes thirteen so be prepared for a little scare .. read on if you dare. There are a lot of spooky and creepy guests at the house at the end of Shivermore Street; a werewolf, some mummies, ghosts and witches playing musical chairs. Through the whole story you see the three little human guests, wide eyed and soaking in all that surrounds them. As each hour rolls by, they get closer and closer to the witching hour, when the clock strikes thirteen everyone removes their mask …
The beauty of the story is that it’s so simply. Each hour there is a new thing happening and it really helps to build up to the climax of when everyone reveals who they really are. One of my favorite passages reads … “There’s a truckload to eat on Shivermore Street; sizzling spiders hot out of the pan, fresh fly-trapping plants, whipped cream covered ants. Come gobble as much as you can. We eat until we’re really stuffed – by seven o’clock we’ve had enough!” This gives you a good feel of how descriptive the book is, even though there’s a minimal amount of text used, what is there is dense and vivid. The text flows perfectly with the illustrations and what you see on the pages adds so much to what is written – simply put, the two writers and the person that illustrated the book did an exceptional job working on this collaboration.
With each hour that passes you see more and more weird things; eyeballs in drinks, vampires carving pumpkins, werewolves bobbing for apples, an enchanted game of hide and seek. But it’s the little things that make this such a great book for those who love Halloween; the little pairs of eyes that peek out from the darkness, spider sandwiches, the embellishments on the furniture and of course the monsters themselves. If I had to pick a favorite section it would have to be when they are all gathered around the spooky grandfather clock waiting for it to chime to thirteen; the eerie green glow on the background combined with the look of anticipation on everyone face makes this one of the best drawings in the book.
[Don’t read the next paragraph if you don’t want to know the ending]
I normally don’t let the cat out of the bag in regards to how a book ends but in this case, well, it’s just too cute to keep it myself. When the clock strikes thirteen everyone rips off their mask – the little kids look around in absolute shock when they see who the mummy, werewolf, witch and one eyed monster really are. They aren’t parents or friends, nor are they kids from school … they are a mummy, a werewolf, witch and one eyed monster! The last page shows the kids running down the same pathway they crossed when they arrived at the party only this time the monsters are outside waving goodbye. It’s not all that scary of a book and the monsters never try to hurt the children so younger kids that might read the book won’t be terrified when they see people dressed up at Halloween … but they might give that fat little ghost or unevenly wrapped mummy a second look.
The Bottom Line
When I first unwrapped the book and saw the title I thought it was going to be a little longer than it ended up being but the drawings and artwork made up for the limited amount of text. If you are someone that loves Halloween then this is definitely something that you should pick up and check out. Each page is packed with creepy, spooky and haunted things and the story that goes along with it really keeps you wondering who is really behind each of the masks. Adults can whip through the text portion in about five minutes but it’s the artwork that will keep you coming back time and time again. Just like a complex movie that you have to watch a few times to catch all the details, this book does the same with it’s illustrations.
As always, thanks for the read!
~^V^~ Freak ~^V^~
© 2005 Freak369
Other great kid picks …
Weslandia
I Was A Sixth Grade Alien
The Attack of the Two Inch Teacher
Recommended:
Yes
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