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Over in the Hollow by Rebecca Dickinson


picture book - 2009
illustrated by S. britt

It's two days past Halloween, but I just saw this book today and had to write about it! It's a Halloween version of "Over in the Meadow" and it's GREAT! Rhyming books are my favorites because of their value in language and phonemic awareness development.

Over in the Hollow counts up to 13 with various Halloween characters and their offspring.

Over in the hollow,
in a coffin on the floor,
live a pale grandpa vampire
and his little vampires four.

Each character and little ones do some action unique to them. For example, the vampires "bite". You'll also find bats who flap, witches who zoom, Frankensteins who stomp, and werewolves who howl, among other things. Britt's illustrations are full spread, bold, fun, and bright (even though they're all set at night). This is a fabulous read aloud, bouncy with rhythm! Don't wait until next Halloween to read it, though. Get it now!

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