An eccentric babysitter has a knack for telling stories that are eerily well suited to her young charges.
When Carolina Giddle moves into the Blatchford Arms, no one knows what to make of her sequin-sprinkled sneakers and her trinket-crusted car. But the parents are happy there's a new babysitter around, and Carolina seems to have an uncanny ability to calm the most rambunctious child with her ghostly stories.
Armed with unusual snacks (bone-shaped peppermints, granghoula bars and Rumpelstiltskin sandwiches), candles to set the mood, and her trusty sidekick -- a tarantula named Chiquita, Carolina entertains the children with some good old-fashioned storytelling and, at the end, a great Halloween party.
Governor General's Award winner Glen Huser brings his quirky sense of humor and horror to some time-honored motifs. The artistic Lubinitsky girls find out that artists must be wary of the power of their own creations. Holy terror Angelo Bellini discovers that no one can throw a tantrum like a double-crossed pirate. The Hooper kids, including UFO junkie Benjamin, learn about some eerie goings-on in the New Mexico desert. Timid Hubert and Hetty Croop are practically afraid of their own shadows, until they hear the story of a boy who finds the perfect weapon for overcoming his fear of the dark. And Dwight and Dwayne Fergus, two would-be Freddy Kruegers, finally meet their match in Carolina, and her story of the footless skeleton.
As for Carolina Giddle herself, it turns out that she has a timeworn connection to the Blatchford Arms, and to the ghost who still haunts the building -- especially its old-fashioned elevator.
Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.3
Compare and contrast two or more characters, settings, or events in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., how characters interact).
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.9
Compare and contrast stories in the same genre (e.g., mysteries and adventure stories) on their approaches to similar themes and topics.
Glen Huser's novels include Touch of the Clown (shortlisted for the Mr. Christie's Book Award), Stitches (winner of the Governor General's Award) and Skinnybones and the Wrinkle Queen (nominated for the Governor General's Award and the Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Award). A former teacher-librarian in Edmonton, Glen has taught writing for children at the University of British Columbia. He recently explored his passion for musical theater in Time for Flowers, Time for Snow, a picture-book retelling of the myth of Demeter and Persephone (with a CD featuring a 180-voice children's chorus).
Stacy Innerst is an acclaimed artist and illustrator of children's books. His picture books have been awarded a BCCB Blue Ribbon Picture Book Award as well as a Parents' Choice Gold Medal and have been selected for recognition by the Society of Illustrators, the Smithsonian and the Junior Library Guild.
Levi Strauss Gets a Bright Idea (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) was named a Best Book of the Year by
Publishers Weekly. His paintings and prints have been exhibited widely in the US and abroad.
