Review Detail

Halloween in the Orchard (Countryside Holidays, 3)

Kids Indie 880

Plan a trip to a holiday orchard

October 08, 2023

Overall rating

4.0

Plot

4.0

Characters

4.0

Writing Style

4.0

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

4.0

A little boy and his parents prepare to go to a Halloween festival at an apple orchard. They ready their costumes and treat bags, and head out to the local orchard. There, they find a variety of scarecrows, including Amelia Scarehart and Mootilda. The little boy gets treats, learns about Johnny Appleseed, and has a scary moment when he almost gets lost in a corn maze. After a hayride pulled by a tractor, the tired family picks up an apple on their way out, and returns home. The end of the book has some holiday activities as well as pictures of scarecrows to find in the story.

Good Points

This would be a great book to read to a child who is going to a farm for the first time. I don't know that I have ever been in a corn maze, myself, but it's good to see these new activities discussed before heading out, especially with anxious children. I love that the parents are involved, and actively point out sights and experiences that the little boy can learn about.

The artwork has beautiful fall tones that support the autumnal feeling of the book, and I just really wanted to go right out to an orchard and pick some apples after reading this!

To get in a holiday mood, put this book up on display with some harvest decorations so it can be read frequently, along with Houts' Hopefully the Scarecrow, Quillen's Halloween on Sunshine Farm, and Sandra Boynton's board book Eek! Halloween.