Getting Spooky with Raincoast Books (Review & Giveaway)

 The spooky season is finally here! Those of you who have been readers of the blog know how much we love Fall, especially Halloween. Although this Halloween will be very different, we're still going to be celebrating with family while staying safe. Besides the decorations, food, and yummy delicious drinks, my family and I love to watch spooky movies together. Every year we start off with the same movie, Spooky Buddies. It's been years since we started this tradition and even with teenagers, my kids still love to sit down together with lots of treats and kick off the spooky season with the talking pups. From Spooky Buddies, we move on and watch a Halloween-themed movie once a day for thirty-one days. Sometimes, mostly on the weekends, we watch more than one movie and once the youngest kiddo is in bed, the hubby, teens and I watch some classic and new horror movies. Halloween is our favorite. 



If you follow us on Instagram, I posted earlier this week showing you how are awesome friends at Raincoast Books sent us a spooky package with six different books perfect for this Halloween season. We received three picture books, two middle-grade books, and one Young Adult Fiction/Thrillers & Suspense book to enjoy myself. Check it out below:




By: Amy Young
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Publication Date: July 14, 2020
ISBN: 9780374308506
Pages: 40

Lucy and our favorite unicorn are back in Sparkle the Unicorn and the Pumpkin Monster. Lucy and Sparkle love Halloween, especially at Frank's Pumpkin Farm. They get to run through corn mazes, play games, decorate pumpkins, and most importantly: eat a lot of cider donuts.

But Lucy and Sparkle discover one big difference between them -- Lucy loves to be scared every once in awhile. Sparkle? Not so much.

When Lucy takes the scary part of Halloween one step too far for Sparkle, she must comfort her frightened unicorn pal -- and win back his trust.






By: Doctorow, Cory; Rockefeller, Matt
Publisher: First Second
Publication Date: July 14, 2020
ISBN: 9781626723627
Pages: 40

Once her parents are off to bed, Poesy excitedly awaits the monsters that creep into her room. With the knowledge she’s gained from her trusty Monster Book and a few of her favorite toys, Poesy easily fends off a werewolf, a vampire, and much more.

But not even Poesy's bubblegum perfume can defeat her sleep-deprived parents!




By: Mitch Frost, Daron Parton 
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Publication Date: September 1, 2020
ISBN: 9781728210049
Pages: 32

A hilarious bedtime book that's perfect for anyone, big or small, who's afraid of what might be lurking under the bed.

Do you like awake at night worrying about monsters? Donut monsters? Blue monsters? DANCING ROBOT MONSTERS?! Then this is the book for you! This guide offers ten easy steps to ensure you'll never be bothered by monsters again. Not even carrot monsters.

This hysterically illustrated picture book offers actionable solutions to fears about monsters that will make kids feel confident and that parents will appreciate too, like Step 2: brush your teeth before bed, because monsters hate the smell of minty fresh breath.

And don't miss the cool free poster underneath the book jacket! Just take it off, hang it up, and never worry about monsters again.




By: Hannah Barnaby; Illustrated by Anoosha Syed 
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
Publication Date: July 28, 2020
ISBN: 9781250217837
Pages: 144

When Monster (who lives under the bed) meets Boy (who sleeps in the bed), Boy starts to scream - and Monster promptly swallows him. It's the beginning of a beautiful friendship!

Told with a warm, cozy voice, the story is brought to life with adorable two-color illustrations. Filled with adventure and humor, this chapter book is perfect for sharing with kids just aging out of picture books and for newly independent readers.




By: Lindsay Currie
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Publication Date: September 1, 2020
ISBN: 9781728209722
Pages: 256

Claire has absolutely no interest in the paranormal. She’s a scientist, which is why she can’t think of anything worse than having to help out her dad on one of his ghost-themed Chicago bus tours. She thinks she’s made it through when she sees a boy with a sad face and dark eyes at the back of the bus. There’s something off about his presence, especially because when she checks at the end of the tour…he’s gone.

Claire tries to brush it off, she must be imagining things, letting her dad’s ghost stories get the best of her. But then the scratching starts. Voices whisper to her in the dark. The number 396 appears everywhere she turns. And the boy with the dark eyes starts following her.

Claire is being haunted. The boy from the bus wants something...and Claire needs to find out what before it’s too late.




By: Natalie D. Richards
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Publication Date: October 6, 2020
ISBN: 9781492657217
Pages: 320

When Mira flies home to spend Christmas with her mother in Pittsburgh, a record-breaking blizzard results in a cancelled layover. Desperate to get to her grief-ridden mother in the wake of a family death, Mira hitches a ride with a group of friendly college kids who were on her initial flight.

As the drive progresses and weather conditions become more treacherous, Mira realizes that the four other passengers she's stuck in the car with don't actually know one another.

Soon, they're not just dealing with heavy snowfall and ice-slick roads, but the fact that somebody will stop at nothing to ensure their trip ends in a deadly disaster.


MY REVIEW
I had one happy six years old when she saw all the goodies for her to read and even more excited that the books were Halloween themed. She has a few Halloween books, and she was very happy to add the first four books to her bookshelf. She read  A Unicorn Named Sparkle and the Pumpkin Monster, Posey the Monster Slayer, and The Ultimate Survival Guide to Bedtime Monsters that day, with mom's help. Out of those three books, her favorite had to be  A Unicorn Named Sparkle and the Pumpkin Monster. She loved that Lucy got to take her pet unicorn to the pumpkin farm and all of the fall-themed activities they got to do together. Bailey mentioned taking our dog, Luna, with us when we go to the pumpkin patch this year and was pretty bummed when I told her we couldn't this year. I told her one day we'll get to take Luna, but until then we could bake Luna some fall-themed pup treats together and she was happy with that.



Her next favorite out of the books was Posey the Monster Slayer. She thought Posey was just the coolest kid ever and loved how she became a monster slayer after her parents said goodnight to her. Filled with beautifully illustrated pictures, this book is perfect for any young kid who wants to know how to kick some monster butt. Next up is The Ultimate Survival Guide to Bedtime Monsters. Filled with colorful pictures, we head to Goodnight Labs to figure out the 10 steps to bedtime monsters. This cute story had both Bailey and I giggling and definitely had her wanting to clean her room up so that it could be monster free. It was such a cute story and I'm looking forward to re-reading it with her again soon. 

As for Monster and Boy, Bailey and dad have been reading that before bedtime. It's a bit longer than the other books, but she is loving the story. They haven't finished yet, but she's been excited all week long when it comes to bedtime so he can read another chapter. 

Scritch Scratch and Five Total Strangers are also books that we are still reading. Scritch Scratch is being read by my thirteen-year-old and I'm reading Five Total Strangers. So far my son said he's loving reading Scritch Scratch, it's giving him the Goosebumps feel and we definitely love Goosebump books in this house. I'm excited to hear how the rest of the book goes for him. As for Five Total Strangers, I'm almost done and it is so good! It's definitely a page-turner and I'll be posting a separate review on that book within the next couple of weeks. For more information about the above-mentioned books, be sure to head to Raincoast Books.


GIVEAWAY!
A huge thank you to our friends at Raincoast Books for always sending us some awesome new books to read. I'm excited to share that we're teaming up with them to give one lucky reader (Canada only) a chance to win 3 of the books mentioned above. You get to choose! Comment below letting us know which three books you'd choose if you won. 

Disclosure: All opinions are my own. I received the above-mentioned books at no cost for the purpose of this review. No other compensation was received

45 comments:

  1. I would choose The Ultimate Survival Guide to Bedtime Monsters for my youngest, Scritch Scratch for my oldest, and Five Total Strangers for myself. :-)

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  2. I would choose Five Total Strangers, Scritch Scratch and Poesy the Monster Slayer.

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  3. Scritch Scratch, Five Total Strangers, and Monster and Boy.

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  4. Monster and boy, scritch scratch, and five total strangers

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  5. We would pick Monster & Boy,Sparkle & Scritch Scratch

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  6. the 3 picture books, but they all look great!

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  7. I would choose A Unicorn Named Sparkle and the Pumpkin Monster, The Ultimate Survival Guide to Bedtime Monsters and the Posey The Monster Slayer

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  8. Monster & Boy, A Unicorn Named Sparkle and Sparkle and the Pumpkin Monster. Florence Cochrane

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  9. We would choose Monster and Boy, Scritch Scratch and Five Total Strangers.

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  10. Sparkle and the Pumpkin Monster, Five Total Strangers and Scritch Scratch would be such fun.

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  11. Hard to choose as these seem like great books! I think my picks would be Bedtime Monsters, Monster and Boy, Scritch Scratch.

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  12. I'd love sparkle and the pumpkin, monster and boy, and bedtime monsters!

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  13. I would pick Scritch Scratch, Five Total Strangers, and Sparkle the Unicorn

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  14. I would pick The Ultimate Survival Guide to Bedtime Monsters, Posey The Monster Slayer and Scritch Scratch. Thanks!

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  15. I would pick-
    1. Posey The Monster Slayer
    2. Five Total Strangers
    3. Scritch Scratch

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  16. I would choose the following 3:
    - A Unicorn Named Sparkle and the Pumpkin Monster
    - Posey The Monster Slayer
    - The Ultimate Survival Guide to Bedtime Monsters

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  17. I would choose Scritch Scratch, A Unicorn Named Sparkle and the Pumpkin Monster and Five Total Strangers. Perfect for each of my nieces and the last one for their mamma (who I know will let me read it as well). Thanks for the chance at this giveaway!

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  18. i would pick Monster and Boy, Scritch Scratch, and Five Total Strangers

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  19. I would choose A Unicorn Named Sparkle and the Pumpkin Monster, Five Total Strangers and The Ultimate Survival Guide to Bedtime Monsters
    jan

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  20. A Unicorn Named Sparkle and the Pumpkin Monster - my girls are hooked on unicorns

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  21. I would pick A Unicorn Named Sparkle and the Pumpkin Monster, Monster and Boy, and The Ultimate Survival Guide to Bedtime Monsters.

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  22. I would choose The Ultimate Guide to Bedtime Monsters, Monster and Boy, and Scritch Scratch!

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  23. I'd choose: Monster and Boy, Scritch scratch, and Bedtime Monsters

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  24. I would choose:
    - A Unicorn Named Sparkle and the Pumpkin Monster
    - Posey The Monster Slayer
    - Five Perfect Strangers

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  25. Scritch Scratch, Sparkie, Monster would be my choices Very cute selection!!

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  26. I would choose A Unicorn Named Sparkle and the Pumpkin Monster, The Ultimate Survival Guide to Bedtime Monsters and Monster and Boy.

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  27. The ultimate survival guide to bedtime monsters looks awesome. I would also choose Scritch Scratch and Monster and boy.

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  28. I would pick A Unicorn named Sparkle and the Pumpkin Monster, Five Perfect Strangers and Monster and Boy

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  29. I would pick Five Perfect Strangers, The Ultimate Survival Guide to Bedtime Monsters, and Posey the Monster Slayer!

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  30. I would choose A Unicorn Named Sparkle and the Pumpkin Monster, Posey The Monster Slayer and The Ultimate Survival Guide to Bedtime Monsters

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  31. Five perfect strangers, scritch scratch and uh...I only want two....anyways I'm entering with the rafflecopter thing above! Thanks for the chance!

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  32. Five Total Strangers,Scritch Scratch and Monster and Boy:)Great review!

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  33. I would choose Monster and Boy; Posey the Monster Slayer; and A Unicorn Named Sparkle and the Pumpkin Monster.

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  34. I would choose the books: Five Total Strangers. Scritch Scratch. The Ultimate Survival Guide to Bedtime Monsters.

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  35. My kids would love Posey the Monster Slayer, A Unicorn named Sparkle and Monster and Boy.

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  36. I would choose "a unicorn named sparkle", "Monster Slayer" and "the ultimate survival guide to bedtime monsters"!

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  37. I would pick Scritch Scratch, 5 total strangers and the ultimate survival guide to bedtime monsters

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  38. I would pick A Unicorn Named Sparkle and the Pumpkin Monster, Monster and Boy, and Five Total Strangers!

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  39. Scritch Scratch, Five Total Strangers, and Monster and Boy would be my choice

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  40. a unicorn names sparkle, the pumpkin monster and posey the monster slayer

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  41. Five total strangers, pumpkin monster, and scritch scatch are the 3 id chose!

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  42. I would choose Five Total Strangers, Scritch Scratch, and A Unicorn Named Sparkle and the Pumpkin Monster.

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  43. Five Total Strangers, Scritch Scratch and Monster and boy

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