The Scary Sleepover
Encyclopedia
The Scary Sleepover is a children's picture book
, written for children between three and six years of age. The story is written by Ulrich Karger
and illustrated
by Uli Waas.
sleepover
party at school
(Kindergarten
). The children prepare for it by making decorations and costumes. As night draws near, so do the children's fears. One student, Mary, shares a trick her father taught her with the other students. He gave her a special bright star - whenever she feels afraid to go to bed, she has only to think about her star. This sends the darkness and the evil ghosts from her heart. Jonas does not believe in that, but he also thinks he is not afraid of ghosts. In the end, all the children need another, older trick: keeping the hallway light on all night.
s for the English edition are consistently agree that the illustration
s by Uli Waas are well done. For example Sharon Salluzzo says: "The illustrations present happy-faced children as they create their costumes, carve pumpkins and prepare the room for their party. It is a warm and safe environment with a soothing ending for anyone afraid of the dark."
But in contrast to the German original, in the English translation by J. Alison James some passages of dialogue are absent. Perhaps this fits well to the statement by Hannah Hoppe: "The narrative doesn't flow well, and is flat in comparison to the active pictures that emphasize positive classroom dynamics. The illustrations of the classmates are appealing and well drawn. The art outperforms the text in every way."
Vicki Arkoff positively evaluates the text and the illustrations, but she sees another problem especially for American readers: "Right off the bat it's clear that this simple picture book is a translated work because of its "this would never happen in this country" premise. After all, how many parents do you know who let their pre-schoolers and kindergarteners have sleepovers at school? Sure enough it's a German tale about what happens during a Halloween sleepover party as nighttime falls and common fears begin to arise. (..) Putting the slightly awkward premise aside, this is a gently reassuring bedtime story sure to soothe bedtime jitters in homes everywhere."
But most reviews comment the book favorably without any ifs or buts. So Sharon Salluzzo says: "With its combination of imaginative and practical measures for dealing with fear of the dark, this book is certain to be popular with children." A similar view has a reviewer of a Canadian Library
: "A wonderful Halloween story about a classroom sleepover." Georgia Cartner says: "If you need more Halloween books in your collection, this would be a good addition. (..) Children will relate to this cute story." And finally Stan Steiner also sees in this picture book "a cute solution to help overcome those ghastly fears around Halloween."
In addition, this picture book with the illustration
s by Uli Waas is published and translated also in the following languages:
Picture book
A picture book combines visual and verbal narratives in a book format, most often aimed at young children. The images in picture books use a range of media such as oil paints, acrylics, watercolor and pencil.Two of the earliest books with something like the format picture books still retain now...
, written for children between three and six years of age. The story is written by Ulrich Karger
Ulrich Karger
Ulrich Karger is an author and teacher of religion at a school for speech disabled children in Berlin.His publications are aimed at children and adults...
and illustrated
Illustration
An illustration is a displayed visualization form presented as a drawing, painting, photograph or other work of art that is created to elucidate or dictate sensual information by providing a visual representation graphically.- Early history :The earliest forms of illustration were prehistoric...
by Uli Waas.
Plot summary
The book tells about a group of children having a HalloweenHalloween
Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
sleepover
Sleepover
A sleepover, also known as a pajama party or a slumber party, is a party most commonly held by children or teenagers, where a guest or guests are invited to stay overnight at the home of a friend, sometimes to celebrate birthdays or other special events...
party at school
Infant school
An Infant school is a term used primarily in the United Kingdom for school for children between the ages of four and seven years. It is usually a small school serving a particular locality....
(Kindergarten
Kindergarten
A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...
). The children prepare for it by making decorations and costumes. As night draws near, so do the children's fears. One student, Mary, shares a trick her father taught her with the other students. He gave her a special bright star - whenever she feels afraid to go to bed, she has only to think about her star. This sends the darkness and the evil ghosts from her heart. Jonas does not believe in that, but he also thinks he is not afraid of ghosts. In the end, all the children need another, older trick: keeping the hallway light on all night.
Themes
The Scary Sleepover focuses on children who learn to overcome their fears of the dark by the example of a Halloween sleepover at school. Incidentally is detected: "The most boastful of the children becomes the most afraid. The Halloween setting with masks and long shadows in the dark is the perfect backdrop for this discussion."Reception
All reviewReview
A review is an evaluation of a publication, a product or a service, such as a movie , video game, musical composition , book ; a piece of hardware like a car, home appliance, or computer; or an event or performance, such as a live music concert, a play, musical theater show or dance show...
s for the English edition are consistently agree that the illustration
Illustration
An illustration is a displayed visualization form presented as a drawing, painting, photograph or other work of art that is created to elucidate or dictate sensual information by providing a visual representation graphically.- Early history :The earliest forms of illustration were prehistoric...
s by Uli Waas are well done. For example Sharon Salluzzo says: "The illustrations present happy-faced children as they create their costumes, carve pumpkins and prepare the room for their party. It is a warm and safe environment with a soothing ending for anyone afraid of the dark."
But in contrast to the German original, in the English translation by J. Alison James some passages of dialogue are absent. Perhaps this fits well to the statement by Hannah Hoppe: "The narrative doesn't flow well, and is flat in comparison to the active pictures that emphasize positive classroom dynamics. The illustrations of the classmates are appealing and well drawn. The art outperforms the text in every way."
Vicki Arkoff positively evaluates the text and the illustrations, but she sees another problem especially for American readers: "Right off the bat it's clear that this simple picture book is a translated work because of its "this would never happen in this country" premise. After all, how many parents do you know who let their pre-schoolers and kindergarteners have sleepovers at school? Sure enough it's a German tale about what happens during a Halloween sleepover party as nighttime falls and common fears begin to arise. (..) Putting the slightly awkward premise aside, this is a gently reassuring bedtime story sure to soothe bedtime jitters in homes everywhere."
But most reviews comment the book favorably without any ifs or buts. So Sharon Salluzzo says: "With its combination of imaginative and practical measures for dealing with fear of the dark, this book is certain to be popular with children." A similar view has a reviewer of a Canadian Library
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
: "A wonderful Halloween story about a classroom sleepover." Georgia Cartner says: "If you need more Halloween books in your collection, this would be a good addition. (..) Children will relate to this cute story." And finally Stan Steiner also sees in this picture book "a cute solution to help overcome those ghastly fears around Halloween."
Book Information
- ISBN 0-7358-1712-X (Hard Cover / North South Books Inc., New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
) - ISBN 0-7358-1713-8 (Library Edition / North South Books Inc., New York)
- ISBN 0-439-44863-8 (Paperback for the school market / Scholastic Inc., New York)
In addition, this picture book with the illustration
Illustration
An illustration is a displayed visualization form presented as a drawing, painting, photograph or other work of art that is created to elucidate or dictate sensual information by providing a visual representation graphically.- Early history :The earliest forms of illustration were prehistoric...
s by Uli Waas is published and translated also in the following languages:
- GermanGerman languageGerman is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
original by Ulrich Karger: Geisterstunde im Kindergarten, 2002 ISBN 3-314-01151-2 - DutchDutch languageDutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
by Sander Hendriks: Spoken in de speelzaal, 2002 ISBN 90-5579-684-0 - FrenchFrench languageFrench is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
by Anne Ruck-Sultan: Halloween à l'école, 2002 ISBN 3-314-21536-3 - ItalianItalian languageItalian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
by Alessandra Valtieri: Halloween all'asilo, 2002 ISBN 88-8203-504-2 - Slovene by Andreja Sabati-Suster: Ples duhov v otroškem vrtcu, 2002 ISBN 86-7823-284-6
External links
- The Scary Sleepover - summary, text-sample and reviews
- worldcatlibraries.org - a site to find all libraries in Great Britain, Canada and the USA which lend the book.
- Ulrich Karger