The Ghosts Went Floating

Cheery, dapperly attired protagonists move inexorably through the atmospheric evening—until the final spread makes it delightfully clear why the motley crew’s trek up that hill was well worth the trip. 

Favorite children's counting song "The Ants Go Marching" gets a sweetly spooky makeover in this vibrant Halloween rendition. The titular ghosts, floating one by one ("BOO-rah! BOO-rah!"), are joined by two cackling witches, three stumbling mummies, and an assigned number of other characters until they form a parade heading "up the hill/ in the chill, / by the light of the moon, / moon, moon, moon." In addition to showcasing numbers one through 10 and a solid array of monsters, Norman's bouncy text laudably introduces a colorful variety of ambulatory verbs (among them lumbered, lurched, plodded, and swarmed). Fleck uses a pleasant palette and simple lines to create friendly-looking subjects on the move, in and out of moonlight and shadow and toward, in the closing pages, a festive Halloween fete. Ages 3-6. (July)

"[A] winner of a holiday-themed counting book. . .The rhymes read and scan deliciously well and develop vocabulary wonderfully by utilizing nifty words to describe the characters' movements and behaviors as the creatures and count-along proceed. . .The humorous, extremely child-appealing illustrations are set against mostly dark red, blue, and purple backgrounds lit by a full moon, as befits the occasion. . .No trick: Count this one as a real Halloween treat." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review