Scary Scenes for Halloween

Review:

Interior designer Jill Williams Grover remembers that as a young girl, she chose her trick-or-treat visits not for what candy she'd receive but because of the front porch decorations. Obviously her fascination with Halloween continued into adulthood, and her marvelously inventive guide shows you how to turn your own home into a coveted trick-or-treating stop or the perfect place for a Halloween party. "Scary Nibbles" offers spooky snacks, like Ghost Sticks (white-chocolate-covered pretzel sticks) or Hand Full of Candy (a latex glove fitted with pointy black fingernails and filled with jawbreakers). "Enter at Your Own Risk" lets you startle your arriving visitors with blood-red footprints marching up the Poppin' Walkway (the secret is bubble wrap) and provides ideas for eerie decor, such as a witch hat luminary, masked and jeweled pumpkins, skeleton topiary, and of course, the Invisible Man. "Frightful Feast" sets forth a tablescape of ghoulish goodies, from spiderweb invitations, spider tablecloth, and bat napkins to dripping candles and Dracula's Bow Tie Pasta. "Goblin Gathering" rounds out the spooky selections with a Cyclops Mug, Frankenstein Cone Cake, and relevant place cards, place mats, and other tableware. Complete directions are given for all the projects, and there are recipes for the edibles (enough for a full-fledged Halloween dinner party). The great color photos make clear that these scary scenes are both fun and sophisticated--though kids will adore them, they'll also delight the grownups brave enough to venture into your house. --Amy Handy

From Library Journal:

Grade 5 Up-Knowledgeable craft makers will enjoy this collection of decorations and food ideas. The good news: the projects are not difficult and require commonly available materials. Engaging color photographs and eerie watercolor paintings clearly show the finished objects in appropriately atmospheric settings. Although they are relatively simple, the completed decorations are fun or spooky, and clever. Line drawings and diagrams help illustrate the procedures. The bad news: occasionally the instructions are incomplete or require previous knowledge. For example, there are frequent references to "using a transfer tool," but there is no explanation of what it is or how to use it. In several cases, a reduced-sized pattern is included, but the instructions do not explain that it should be enlarged. Resourceful, experienced handicraft makers will have no trouble figuring out how to get around these flaws, but some children may be stymied. Instructions to use matches and hot glue guns also suggest that this title is best suited for adults.
Darcy Schild, Schwegler Elementary School, Lawrence, KS
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

„Über diesen Titel“ kann sich auf eine andere Ausgabe dieses Titels beziehen.