Halloween Good Night
Gliding through the moonlight
come the monsters big and small,
sliding up your stairway
and oozing down your hall.
They aren’t very scary,
in fact they’re rather sweet.
So snuggle into bed and let them whisper,
“Trick or treat!”
Ghastly ghouls count down to Halloween in this not-so-terrifying bedtime tale.
Illustrated by Ella Okstad.
Published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers
PRAISE FOR HALLOWEEN GOOD NIGHT
"Grabill makes an oft-adapted rhyme feel utterly fresh [...]. Okstad’s scraggily rendered monsters are pink cheeked and cuddle worthy—the book captures the mischievous fun of Halloween, without the accompanying terror."
SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL
"A fun storytime read-aloud that’s just right for the youngest Halloween revelers." –Luann Toth
Enjoy this FREE Halloween Unit Study. A full week of Halloween fun for PreK, Kindergarten, First Grade, all centered on the book Halloween Good Night by Rebecca Grabill.
Find six of the absolute cutest and easiest DIY Halloween costumes for kids. All no-sew and take less than an hour to make. Plus they’re literary, based on the picture book, Halloween Good Night.
How *I* promoted my first book, which may not be how you (or anyone else) will want to tackle book promotion, but just in case you're an author with a book releases looming and you're thinking, "What the heck do I do?" you can glean inspiration from me. I’ll share what I did, what I made, what I purchased and I’ll tell you what worked … and what didn’t!
My final two events are passed: Books & Mortar and Hopscotch Children's Store Halloween Party. Halloween is officially over!
Welcome to the Ten Nights of Halloween! Each day I'll introduce you to one of the characters in my picture book, Halloween Good Night.
Welcome to the Ten Nights of Halloween! Each day I'll introduce you to one of the characters in my picture book, Halloween Good Night.
Welcome to the Ten Nights of Halloween! Each day I'll introduce you to one of the characters in my picture book, Halloween Good Night.
Welcome to the Ten Nights of Halloween! Each day I'll introduce you to one of the characters in my picture book, Halloween Good Night. Unlike a heap of creatures we've already looked at that date back to the earliest human records, goblins can be traced to European folklore beginning in the middle ages
Welcome to the Ten Nights of Halloween! Each day I'll introduce you to one of the characters in my picture book, Halloween Good Night. Witches, like many Halloween creations, long predate Halloween itself. In fact, as long as there have been animistic cultures, there have likely been "witches" of one sort or another - women or men who have a deep connection with the spirit world. Witch myths abound across the globe, from Africa or China to Native Americans.
Welcome to the Ten Nights of Halloween! Each day I'll introduce you to one of the characters in my picture book, Halloween Good Night. The cultural origin of zombies may surprise you. While there's mention dead rising up to eat the living as far back as the Epic of Gilgamesh (c. 2100 bc), stories much closer to our modern zombie emerged in Haiti during the 200+ year enslavement of Africans on the then-French-controlled island.
Welcome to the Ten Nights of Halloween! Each day I'll introduce you to one of the characters in my picture book, Halloween Good Night. Snuggly mummies? Maybe not snuggly, but mummies are nothing new. They've been around for more than two thousand years. But while the mummy (ceremonially preserved body) isn't new, the Legend of the Mummy is.
Welcome to the Ten Nights of Halloween! Each day I'll introduce you to one of the characters in my picture book, Halloween Good Night. Night three features the werewolf. The werewolf legend is considered one of the oldest of all monster myths. Apparently tales of humans who shape shift into wolf form (called lycanthropes, which is a cool little tidbit) go all the way back to ancient Rome.
Welcome to the Ten Nights of Halloween! Each day I'll introduce you to one of the characters in my picture book, Halloween Good Night. Night two features the trick-playing Wood Imp! The wood imp is thought to be a small (less than two feet) human-like creature, once a part of the fairy people. But unlike fairies or pixies, imps are usually not very attractive. Wood imps particularly prefer woodlands and often hide in dank, rotting vegetation which as you might expect isn't so good for the complexion.
Welcome to the Ten Nights of Halloween! Each day I'll introduce you to one of the characters in my picture book, Halloween Good Night. Mythologically, the Globster is a creature imagined based on huge gelatinous masses that occasionally wash up on ocean shorelines across the globe. And here Globsters are like many other Halloween creatures: there's an element of history behind the myths.
Saturday marked another release event for my first book, Halloween Good Night, and once again, we had amazing fun. Schuler Books in Grand Rapids set up everything from tables with crafts to treat bags to a cup of water for the visiting author (what, for me?!?).
Yes, I managed to collect the corniest yet entirely appropriate jokes available. I added them to my book release goodie bags, but I'm sure they'd go over with a groan at any Halloween occasion. And here they are for you! Forty jokes in total on five printable pages. Enjoy!
Way back in July I was arranging events to welcome Halloween Good Night into the world, but it didn't occur to me then that all the great plans I made meant I'd actually have to do things and go places. At 32 weeks pregnant, as a homeschooling mama of five already, this doing and going get complicated.
My first book release included another first: the first piece of fan art I've received! After the reading and food and crafts, one sweet girl came to get her book signed, and to show me the ADORABLE picture she'd colored and decorated (one of the coloring pages available here). She agreed to allow me to share it (her mom, too), so here it is!
Just in time for Halloween crafting fun, here are ten FREE finger puppets, printer-ready, just waiting for little fingers and the accompanying book, Halloween Good Night by Rebecca Grabill (me). In fact, there's the link to purchase (affiliate), or check it out from your library!
The release party for my first book happened just over a week ago now, and it was crazy! Crazy busy, crazy fun, crazy full of awesome people. A week (and a bit) later, I'm still glowing.
What's more fun than dressing up on October 31st and filling a bag with treats? Slime! Piñatas! Crafts! Fun! From all around the web, I've curated my favorite Halloween crafts for preschoolers to early elementary, each to go along with the picture book, Halloween Good Night. Without further introduction, let's get some BOO! on!
For Immediate Release (This is my press release!)
Counting With Globsters: Halloween Good Night is A Sweet and Not-So-Scary Educational Picture Book
July 25, 2017 Atheneum Books releases Halloween Good Night by Rebecca Grabill of Ada, Michigan
I've shared a handful of coloring pages, so now for even more fun! Below find a Vampire Dot-to-Dot and a Draw Your Own Ghoul page! I would LOVE to see your finished Ghouls. Feel free to share them on Instagram with the hashtag #halloweengoodnight or on my Facebook page. A few may show up as featured images on my website! (With your permission, of course.)
I could almost die from the cuteness of these finger puppets! To think, an adorable zombie? A cute-as-a-button vampire? All the creatures in my book, Halloween Good Night, in finger-puppet form. Perfect craft and plaything for preschoolers!
What, you may ask, is a Globster? Well, one might say it's a mythical sea monster, a relative of the classic horror beast, The Blob. Or, if you're familiar with the amazing picture book Halloween Good Night, you'll learn that a Globster is: epically cute, squishably cuddly, not the slightest big frightening, and every preschooler's new must-have bedtime friend!
I was in a rush, running up north to pick up our farm share, running back to get dinner made before karate. And all day I'd been checking for updates on a delivery...
Welcome to the Ten Nights of Halloween! Each day I'll introduce you to one of the characters in my picture book, Halloween Good Night.
Welcome to the Ten Nights of Halloween! Each day I'll introduce you to one of the characters in my picture book, Halloween Good Night.
Welcome to the Ten Nights of Halloween! Each day I'll introduce you to one of the characters in my picture book, Halloween Good Night.
Welcome to the Ten Nights of Halloween! Each day I'll introduce you to one of the characters in my picture book, Halloween Good Night. Unlike a heap of creatures we've already looked at that date back to the earliest human records, goblins can be traced to European folklore beginning in the middle ages
Welcome to the Ten Nights of Halloween! Each day I'll introduce you to one of the characters in my picture book, Halloween Good Night. Witches, like many Halloween creations, long predate Halloween itself. In fact, as long as there have been animistic cultures, there have likely been "witches" of one sort or another - women or men who have a deep connection with the spirit world. Witch myths abound across the globe, from Africa or China to Native Americans.
Welcome to the Ten Nights of Halloween! Each day I'll introduce you to one of the characters in my picture book, Halloween Good Night. The cultural origin of zombies may surprise you. While there's mention dead rising up to eat the living as far back as the Epic of Gilgamesh (c. 2100 bc), stories much closer to our modern zombie emerged in Haiti during the 200+ year enslavement of Africans on the then-French-controlled island.
Welcome to the Ten Nights of Halloween! Each day I'll introduce you to one of the characters in my picture book, Halloween Good Night. Snuggly mummies? Maybe not snuggly, but mummies are nothing new. They've been around for more than two thousand years. But while the mummy (ceremonially preserved body) isn't new, the Legend of the Mummy is.
Welcome to the Ten Nights of Halloween! Each day I'll introduce you to one of the characters in my picture book, Halloween Good Night. Night three features the werewolf. The werewolf legend is considered one of the oldest of all monster myths. Apparently tales of humans who shape shift into wolf form (called lycanthropes, which is a cool little tidbit) go all the way back to ancient Rome.
Welcome to the Ten Nights of Halloween! Each day I'll introduce you to one of the characters in my picture book, Halloween Good Night. Night two features the trick-playing Wood Imp! The wood imp is thought to be a small (less than two feet) human-like creature, once a part of the fairy people. But unlike fairies or pixies, imps are usually not very attractive. Wood imps particularly prefer woodlands and often hide in dank, rotting vegetation which as you might expect isn't so good for the complexion.
Welcome to the Ten Nights of Halloween! Each day I'll introduce you to one of the characters in my picture book, Halloween Good Night. Mythologically, the Globster is a creature imagined based on huge gelatinous masses that occasionally wash up on ocean shorelines across the globe. And here Globsters are like many other Halloween creatures: there's an element of history behind the myths.
Rebecca Grabill
Rebecca has been writing since childhood, her first book about a kitten published between homemade cardboard covers in second grade. Although she studied religion and philosophy in university, she continued writing, earning an MFA from Hamline University and publishing multiple picture books (no longer with homemade covers) and a collection of poetry with a variety of New York and independent publishers. She has also published a wide array of fiction, essays, and poetry in magazines and journals and photographs for Getty Images. She balances writing with homeschooling the younger of her six children, launching her young adults, church activities, and overseeing a small flock of chickens in rural West Michigan.
Whether for cuteness or story, enjoy the free wallpapers I’ve created featuring some of Ella’s images. And while you’re at it, why not read the book!