Sunday, September 22, 2024

Becker. The Haunted House that Jack Built

The Haunted House that Jack Built is a children's book by Helaine Becker, with art by David Parkins, published in 2010. It is available at the Internet Archive.

Here is a YouTube read-along:

We begin in Jack's house where the stew is cooling, then here comes a ghost, then a ghoul, a mummy, a beast with a pointy horn (that's when it switches to the longer lines, as in the traditional "Jack"), then a fairy all forlorn (yes, the same rhyme as in "Jack"), then a count (Dracula) on the prowl until morn, then a skeleton, tattered and torn, then a witch, her wickedness sworn; finally, a monster popping the corn... now everybody takes off their masks, and eat their stew, and their trick-or-treats too. 

My favorite is the beast with the pointy horn:

There are a lot of Halloween-themed books out there; I really like the way this one stays close to the form of the traditional "Jack" while creating its own trick-or-treat world.

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