Publishers Weekly
08/01/2016
Wohl (The Eighth Menorah) and Cole (Spot, the Cat) team up for a lightly spooky story about a “teeny tiny woman who lives in a teeny tiny house in a very big forest.” When falling leaves bury the woman’s house, she tries to summon help by making noise and, eventually, baking “teeny tiny chocolate chip cookies” that attract the attention of three trick-or-treating kids. Working in an autumnal palette of reds, golds, oranges, and browns, Cole conjures up a cozy forest setting with just a hint of danger in the woman’s predicament. Wohl’s warm, repeating language (complete with “teeny tiny” adjustments in font size) is made to be read aloud, though the story’s logic falters toward the end. The house turns out to be more child-size than, say, mouse-size, so it’s unclear why the woman—who’s larger than the children that rescue her—couldn’t just dig herself out. Ages 3–7. (Sept.)
From the Publisher
"For all the reasons why Halloween is my favorite holiday of the year, in a lot of ways this was the only book that really did it for me in 2016. A great rendition of a classic."— SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL
“Big things always come in small packages in this teeny tiny halloween tale–both a teeny tiny bit scary and a whole lot of fun!
School Library Journal
09/01/2016
PreS-Gr 2—Every year the autumn leaves completely cover up the "teeny tiny woman's teeny tiny house." And so begins the familiar folktale that takes on a modern dimension designed by Wohl and Cole. With a palette of browns, reds, and yellows, the illustrations set the atmosphere with a multitude of leaves blanketing the landscape, while the three children dressed in their Halloween costumes (witch, cat, and ghost) add to the playfulness of the holiday season. As an aid to storytellers, the font size of the text is small for a tiny voice and increases in size for a louder voice. There is a twist on this tale: despite her dilemma, the homeowner decides to bake cookies. The children smell the delicious aroma and are resourceful enough to dig out her house. The reward is cookies for all. VERDICT This fun and engaging Halloween book is ripe for audience participation at the conclusion.—Blair Christolon, Prince William Public Library System, Manassas, VA
Kirkus Reviews
2016-07-20
A new “teeny tiny woman” tale joins the Halloween shelf.Nestled in a teeny tiny house in a big forest lives a teeny tiny woman. (You get the point—for youngsters learning to tell a tale aloud, the repetition—and the changing font that indicates volume—is valuable, but adults may need a teeny tiny bit more time to throw themselves into the fun.) Every fall the diminutive woman has a problem: the autumn leaves bury her cottage. She cries out, “Oh, who will save me?” but though each time she cries a little louder than the last, it’s still not enough to attract attention. Tapping the windows and banging pots and pans also fails. Her last idea is one that will seem odd: baking cookies. But who can ignore that delicious aroma? Not the children dressed as a cat, a witch, and a ghost who are walking through the forest. The three friends dig through the leaves to uncover the source. One “trick-or-treat!” later, they are enjoying gooey cookies at the table together. While the woman’s solution is a clever one, it will also likely have parents reminding their children not to enter people’s houses on Halloween. Cole’s illustrations are full of the colors of the season. The woman, the boy ghost, and the girl witch are white; the girl cat—an orange tabby—is black. In a nice change from more traditional “teeny tiny woman” tales, this book’s protagonist is no crone but a fashionably dressed woman of indeterminate age. Rates high in creative problem-solving and oral storytelling but low in Halloween safety. (Picture book. 4-7)
