Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
Gus and Grandpa and the Halloween Costume
Illustrator: Catherine Stock
Fiction Series
For ages 5 to 7
Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2002 ISBN: 978-0374328160
Gus doesn't have a Halloween costume yet and his parents don't believe in buying store bought ones. He tries to find something in his house that he can use but doesn't have any luck. There is only one thing to do and that is to go to Grandpa's house. Maybe there Gus can find the makings of a Halloween costume.
One thing Grandpa does have are pumpkins for he has five of them growing in the garden. Gus had helped him plant the pumpkin seeds the previous spring and now the pumpkins are big and round and perfect for picking. Does Grandpa have any costumes lying about as well? As it happens, Grandpa does have something in the bottom of an old trunk. Better still it is something with a story and a past.
This Gus and Grandpa story is a perfect Halloween tale for it shows us that we don't have to buy a costume to have something that looks good. More importantly we see how Gus is very much like his father, and how Grandpa with his stories, his photographs and by sharing his time, is able to make this a very special Halloween for his grandson.
