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Rating: 
Summary: trick not a treat
Review: i was offended by how poorly researched this book was. i wonder if ms. barth did any research on halloween and it's ancient beginnings at all. she blunders through distinctions between fairytale witches and actual practicers of the craft. in these modern times i expect non-biased writing and the acknowledged differences between storybook witches and pagans or wiccans. the fact is hallowen did originate in the celtic samhain rituals. ms. barth does mention a few interesting halloween customs. but so much of what is written is completely unsupported. for example- she states druids worshipped the lord of the dead. really and who would that be? her knowledge of fairy folklore is terribly lacking and presented in a scattered manner. this book couldn't decide between showcasing a fun, spooky look at halloween and discussing the historical myths and practices of halloween. the results are bleak. the creepy, kiddy part is lacking in joy and the factual, symbolic part is wholly unsubstantiated. i really question whether ms. barth enjoys the holiday at all. at the end the ms. barth states the halloween really has no serious meaning anymore, it's just a holiday for children. i find this view saddening. the holiday means a lot to modern witches who celebrate samhain. this holiday also means a lot to many people of all ages who enjoy the darker side of things even if it's only one day a year. dressing up in morbid, fabulous costumes, consuming delicious foods, lighting jack o'lanterns, carving pumpkins and telling ghost stories are all important aspects of an older ritual celebration. the connection to the past is strong and one need not know all the details of the pagan samhain festivities to feel the spirit that is centuries old. if you are really interested in halloween's origin check out the chapter on samhain in the farrars 'the witches bible compleat'. want to revel in the spooky goodness of all hallow's eve- go watch 'hocus pocus'. until october 31st- happy halloween!
Rating:
Summary: A Sham
Review: The author of "trick not a treat" (review below) has it right. I am a major Halloween-ophile and have been for years. This book is a random survey that jams together entire centuries -- make that millenia! -- into the same paragraph, citing dates when the author feels like it and to convey a phony sense of "history" and then settling for the considerably more vague "in olden times" or "in the past" when the author doesn't feel like supporting her facts. I got a headache reading and trying to follow and make sense of this book from its very first chapter. It was impossible to tell when she made a transition from talking about the Druids to just talking about "the past" in some vague, generic sense. In the chapter on witches, she skipped at whim between the Stone Age, Middle Ages and the Salem Witch Trials of the late 17th century. Frequently, the reader doesn't even know WHERE the events she is describing took place.It would be folly for a teacher to give this book to a child who wants to learn about Halloween. The book is a model of bad scholarship, and if the book doesn't discourage the child's sense of the fun of Halloween -- there is no joy here, only pretension and misunderstanding -- it will surely give kids the wrong kind of example of what history and the study of myth and legend and folklore should be. The author also can't seem to decide (again, as the other reviewer noted) what kind of book she wants to write -- history or just a fun celebration of Halloween -- with the result that we don't know what we're reading, either. You'd get more of a sense of the spirit and fun of this quintessential American holiday (as it's evolved) by reading fiction or renting a movie than from this dry, errant account. Halloween isn't just for kids and it isn't just for witches(!) either! As a lover of this holiday, I'd have treasured either a factually accurate account of the Halloween symbols -- which this silly little book purports to be -- or, conversely, a celebration of the spirit of those symbols offered by someone who understands their allure and power. This book offers neither. It's junk, and you shouldn't clutter your (or God forbid, children's) minds with its mock scholarship and insipid, lazy generalizations. Halloween is too important and too much fun to be left in the hands of the Edna Barths of the world -- people who just don't get it and who think we're too dull to get it, too.
Rating:
Summary: A Sham
Review: The author of "trick not a treat" (review below) has it right. I am a major Halloween-ophile and have been for years. This book is a random survey that jams together entire centuries -- make that millenia! -- into the same paragraph, citing dates when the author feels like it and to convey a phony sense of "history" and then settling for the considerably more vague "in olden times" or "in the past" when the author doesn't feel like supporting her facts. I got a headache reading and trying to follow and make sense of this book from its very first chapter. It was impossible to tell when she made a transition from talking about the Druids to just talking about "the past" in some vague, generic sense. In the chapter on witches, she skipped at whim between the Stone Age, Middle Ages and the Salem Witch Trials of the late 17th century. Frequently, the reader doesn't even know WHERE the events she is describing took place. It would be folly for a teacher to give this book to a child who wants to learn about Halloween. The book is a model of bad scholarship, and if the book doesn't discourage the child's sense of the fun of Halloween -- there is no joy here, only pretension and misunderstanding -- it will surely give kids the wrong kind of example of what history and the study of myth and legend and folklore should be. The author also can't seem to decide (again, as the other reviewer noted) what kind of book she wants to write -- history or just a fun celebration of Halloween -- with the result that we don't know what we're reading, either. You'd get more of a sense of the spirit and fun of this quintessential American holiday (as it's evolved) by reading fiction or renting a movie than from this dry, errant account. Halloween isn't just for kids and it isn't just for witches(!) either! As a lover of this holiday, I'd have treasured either a factually accurate account of the Halloween symbols -- which this silly little book purports to be -- or, conversely, a celebration of the spirit of those symbols offered by someone who understands their allure and power. This book offers neither. It's junk, and you shouldn't clutter your (or God forbid, children's) minds with its mock scholarship and insipid, lazy generalizations. Halloween is too important and too much fun to be left in the hands of the Edna Barths of the world -- people who just don't get it and who think we're too dull to get it, too.
Rating: 
Summary: Witches get respect
Review: This 19-chapter, 95-page delight, written in 1972, covers a multitude of areas, from the history of Halloween, to the ways it is celebrated today. The book is intended for an audience of third and fourth graders. And it has something for everyone. Most children wonder about the origins of Halloween. This book offers them just enough of the history to fascinate them and whet their appetites for more, but not so much that they will never want to read history again. Did you know, for example, that the Celtic people, who lived more than 2,000 years ago in France and the British Isles, feared October 31, as the eve of their festival of Samhain, Lord of the Dead? Celtic priests, called Druids, held fire rites at these times, at which they sometimes burned prisoners alive, to punish them and to predict the future. But Samhain was also a joyful festival, marking the death of the old year and the start of a new one. There are also brief sections on the history of fairies, Goblins and Little People. The book relates how the stories of these creatures came into being, and leaves open the possibility that they were real. Barth also offers tasteful sections on the history of witches (whose sabbaths were joyful) and the Horned God, from Biblical times through the Middle Ages. She touches on the Christian war against the Devil and the witch-hunts of Germany, England and America. Finally, she relates that how the wicas of lore and yore became the respectable costumed revelers of modern-day Halloween. Barth clearly had no intention of writing an exhaustive history. On the contrary, she intended to explain briefly, providing a nice lead-in to chapters on ghosts, toads, broomsticks and owls. To that end--fun--she also explains the Halloween colors of orange and black and current-day masquerades. She offers several not-too-scary Halloween stories and a set of wonderful Halloween recipes. This book is great for kids who love Halloween--and want to know how it started. Alyssa A. Lappen
Rating:
Summary: Great Background Information
Review: THIS 96 PAGE BOOK DOES AN EXCELLENT JOB OF EXPLAINING MANY OF THE COMMON TRADITIONS AND SYMBOLS ASSOCIATED WITH MY FAVORITE HOLIDAY, HALLOWEEN. EDNA BARTH'S ENTERTAINING SERIES OF BOOKS (WONDERFULLY ILLUSTRADED BY URSULA ARNDT) DO A GREAT JOB OF DETAILING THE HISTORY BEHIND EACH HOLIDAY THAT SHE COVERS. THE BOOKS HAVE ENOUGH DETAIL TO HOLD THE ADULT READER'S ATTENTION WHILE BEING EASY ENOUGH FOR INQUISITIVE YOUNGER READERS. I PLAN TO PURCHASE ALL OF HER BOOKS (AND GIBLIN'S 4TH OF JULY, ALSO ILLUSTRATED BY ARNDT) TO READ AND SHARE WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILY THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. THIS PARTICULAR BOOK IS A GREAT COMPANION TO A&E'S HAUNTED HISTORY OF HALLOWEEN VIDEO. ENJOY YOUR HOLIDAY(S).
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