The Great Zombie Pumpkin Parade!

Just scary enough to please those looking for a mild fright, this story leads young readers on an annual Halloween romp of pumpkin-headed zombies. "Welcome to the Great Zombie Pumpkin Parade!" Burleigh brings out the silly side of the undead with rhymes: "Leaves swirl and tumble/ as day turns to night./ Zombies stumble/ Left and right," and alliteration: watch out for "Zipper-Toothed Zlumpkin," who is preceded by "Drizzle-Mouthed Dumpkin" and followed by "Slime-Faced Sumpkin." Minor's watercolor and gouache illustrations, which feature an emojilike range of zombie expressions, soften the spooky couplets. VERDICT A natural fit for Halloween-themed read alouds and activities.—Nora Clancy

"Fear and fright!/ Brag and boast!/ On Halloween night/ who's got the most?" Following a spread showing a sun-kissed pumpkin patch at dusk, this Halloween extravaganza from collaborators Burleigh and Minor presents a parade of comically ugly, jack-o'-lantern-headed zombies lumbering across its pages. Rhyming lines introduce the figures: "First in line is/ Drizzle-Mouthed Drumpkin," who drools and carries a pitchfork; "Right behind is/ Zipper-Toothed Zumpkin," whose carved face sports one closed eye and a saw-toothed jaw. The humanoid beings, portrayed with tan hands, are clothed in ragged, alternatingly gray and black clothing that occasionally bears rust-hued traces. Marching across the handsome autumn countryside, the text asks readers to weigh in: "Who's the scariest?/ Creep and crawl!/ Who's the strangest/ of them all?" Though language warns readers to "beware, be wise!" the procession reads as more inviting accounting than genuine threat, especially as the parade winds down into a graveyard snooze. Ages 4-8. (Aug.)