Mummy Cat and The Witches

New and Fabulous

Mummy Cat by Marcus Ewert, illustrated by Lisa Brown tells of a cat’s love for his owner who used to be a child-queen in ancient Egypt but now is a mummy buried in a pyramid. The cat, too, has been mummified for 100 years but now comes back to life as the book describes, “Deep within this maze of stone, a creature wakes up all alone…” The tone reminds me of Vincent Price’s monologue in the Thriller video I blogged about earlier this week. Shiver.

So there’s a spooky element to this story – a mummified cat coming to life. But it also has a sweet (though melancholy) side to it. The cat deeply loves and misses his mummified girl owner. And he carries around this undying hope that they will be reunited. There’s the Halloween yin/yang again.

An added bonus in Mummy Cat is the history lesson that’s baked in – as the cat walks around the tomb he sheds light on traditions of ancient Egypt.

Pegged for Grades 1-4. A good pick for Halloween reading.

Oldie but Goodie

What’s Halloween without a little Roald Dahl? And The Witches is perfect for the occasion. It’s a fantasy about a group of witches who are out to rid the world of children by turning them all into mice and letting mice-phobic humans take care of the rest.

The boy hero of the story is out to foil the witches. But first he has to figure out who’s who. You see, these witches disguise themselves to look like ordinary ladies – it might be enough to make you take a closer look at some of the (seemingly) innocents walking around your neighborhood (tee hee).

The author is a master at creating horrifying scenarios (like children being turned to stone). But it’s his sense of humor that sets him apart. For example, the witches in this tale are all wig-wearing baldies who are constantly scratching their scalp-itch.

Pegged for Grades 3-7. Great fun!

What did you think of these books? Do you have other Halloween books to recommend?