Comic: A NaNoWriMo Halloween

Don't forget to check out my friend Errol Elumir's daily NaNoToons during November!

Halloween Reads: BOO-LA-LA WITCH SPA and THE GHOSTS GO SPOOKING

Looking for some new Halloween books to share with young readers? Here are two recent releases that would make fun read-a-louds:

BOO-LA-LA Witch Spa, written by Samantha Berger and illustrated by Isabel Roxas (Penguin Random House):

 and THE GHOSTS GO SPOOKING, written by Chrissy Bozik and illustrated by Patricia Storms (Scholastic Canada):

Winning Halloween comic caption: Megan Maynor

Congrats to my Halloween comic caption winner, Megan Maynor. Megan's first picture book, ELLA AND PENGUIN STICK TOGETHER, comes out from HarperCollins in 2016. You can see Megan signing her contract in her "Wait, It Took HOW Long To Sell A Book?" post on Word Disco.

Here's Megan's winning caption:

Runners-up:

"Trick or tweet!" - Alecia Miller, on Twitter

"AND she doesn't even broompool." - Kevin Sylvester, on FB

"She spends far too much time on her newfangled iOfNewt." - Greg Pincus, on FB

"Young witches these days. Always flying and hex-ting..." - Arlene Graziano, on Twitter

"Does GPS even work up here?" - Joey Shoji, on FB

"The last witch that texted while flying, got hit by Dorothy's house." - Devin Melanson, on FB

You can see other caption entries on Twitter and on Facebook.

Megan wins my most recent #inktober doodle:

Last #inktober doodle, which is also a prize in my Halloween caption challenge (see my @inkyelbows Twitter acct).

A photo posted by Debbie Ridpath Ohi (@inkygirl) on Oct 10, 2014 at 11:32am PDT

A Halloween comic for fellow A WRINKLE IN TIME fans

From the Will Write For Chocolate archives...

Will Write For Chocolate archives: not the greatest Halloween idea

(click image for bigger version)

All Hallow's Read: Give A Scary Book This Halloween! #AllHallowsRead

I'll bet some of you hadn't heard about the time-honored tradition of All Hallow's Read, whose origins some scholars have traced back as far as this Neil Gaiman post. Basic idea: In the week of Halloween, give someone a scary book.

Here are just a few deliciously scary books for young people that I've mentioned in my blog in the past year:

DOLL BONES, a middle grade novel written by Holly Black and illustrated by my friend Eliza Wheeler, published by Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers. Read my interview with Eliza here.

THE MONSTORE, a picture book written by Tara Lazar and illustrated by James Burks, published by Aladdin. Read my interview with Tara and James here. (Pssst: Don't worry -- this picture book isn't REALLY scary, so it's safe for even the most timid young readers. :-))

GOBLIN SECRETS and GHOULISH SONG are middle grade books written by William Alexander, published by Margaret K. McElderry Books. Goblin Secrets won the National Book Award For Young People's Literature and its companion novel, GHOULISH SONG, came out earlier this year. Read my interview with William Alexander here.

Speaking of Halloween, feel free to download/print some new Halloween-themed activity sheets I recently uploaded to the I'M BORED Bonus Page.

Halloween Comic: Even Witches Have Deadlines

All Hallows Read: Give A Book This Halloween

What a wonderful idea. :-)

You can find more info about Hallows Read on their official website.

David LaRochelle: Children's Book Author/Illustrator AND Pro Pumpkin Carver

Wow, check out the amazing kidlit-focused pumpkin carved by children's book author/illustrator David LaRochelle:

From David:

"Chronicle Books held a promotion in conjuncture with my new book "It's a Tiger!" The winning bookstore won a custom designed pumpkin carved by me. Here is the pumpkin I carved today for Riverwalk Books in Chelan, Washington."

See a video of David carving pumpkins:

Pro-Pumpkiner from Ben Garvin on Vimeo.

Halloween Comic Caption Winner: Kelly Light

Congrats to Kelly Light on winning my Halloween Comic caption challenge (see the final comic below). I -love- Kelly's illustrations - you can find out more about her at: http://kellylight.com.

WWFC Archives: Wrinkle In Time Halloween Costume

Halloween Cartoon Caption Challenge

Any suggestions for a caption?

I'm also open to suggestions for the titles on the books being read.

Update on Wednesday, October 26, 2011 at 8:51 AM by Debbie Ridpath Ohi

Great responses so far! Here are some responses on Facebook and Twitter as well.

Comic: Witch Writer