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Summary
Summary
Halloween Motel. Look out! Beware of checking in! Oh, you'll SCREAM without a doubt And JUMP out of your skin!
Check in...if you DARE!
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 2-An amusing holiday read-aloud, told in rhyme, with illustrations that kids will pore over. On October 31st, a boy and his parents check into what they think is the Halloween Motel. They're given a "skeleton key" to Room 13, where the headboard is a tombstone, the claw-footed furniture kicks, and the telephone is dead. "The snack machine had BOTTLED SLIME and Bar-B-Que Bat Wings,/Bloody-flavored Bubble Gum and bags of Wiggly Things-." Dressed in costume, the family goes trick-or-treating from room to room, marveling at the other visitors' clever "disguises," including a witch, a vampire, a mummy, and a ghost. After receiving complaints about three "weirdos," Frankie Stein, the desk clerk, informs them that not only are they at the wrong motel, but also that they are bothering the other guests. Putrid purples, acid greens, bilious yellows, and bruise-toned blues dominate the detailed cartoons. Varied, eye-catching typefaces are utilized throughout.-Maryann H. Owen, Racine Public Library, WI (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
Cartoonishly spooky vampires, mummies, skulls, and fog set the mood for this cheerful rhyming book about a family's trip to Halloween Motel, an extremely well-costumed haunted house resort. Only they discover Halloween Motel is down the road--this motel is for real! The motel's horrific residents are described in verse and shown in Rocco's goofily macabre, purple- and green-highlighted cartoons. From HORN BOOK Spring 2001, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Creature feature fans are sure to find their favorite nightmares attending this Halloween soiree. Ready to party at the Halloween Motel, a family checks in, dons costumes (Dad's Elvis--the horror, the horror), and breezily heads off down the halls to meet the other guests--all of whom wear amazingly realistic ghost, ghoul, mummy, vampire, zombie, witch, and other outfits. The rhymed text trots merrily along, with occasional choruses, and frequent changes in typeface and size, for variety. Rocco's postmodern cartoon scenes, done in garish greens and purples, are chock-full of googlies, more caricatured than scary. When the irritated guests complain about "weirdos" coming to their doors, patchy green desk clerk Frankie Stein lurches up to inform the trick-or-treaters that they're at the wrong venue; the Halloween Motel is down the road a piece. More giggles and squiggles from the author and illustrator of Snow Inside the House (1998), this is guaranteed to be a big storytime hit. (Picture book. 6-8) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Ages 5^-8. It's Halloween, and a boy and his family have reservations at the Halloween Motel, a goofy and creepy place, with a bellhop named Frankie Stein, monsters as guests, and doors that open with a skeleton key. By the end of the rhyming tale, however, children discover that everything is not quite as it appears. Occasionally, the words are difficult to read, especially when black letters appear on top of dark illustrations, but the text is full of puns and good humor, and it's alive with adjectives (often printed in funky display type) that will increase the fun. The detailed, cartoonlike pictures reveal new jokes and joys with every reading. --Marta Segal
