Christel Desmoinaux

When Marceline notices that all of the older witches in her community are busy one autumn day - too busy to pay any attention to her - she seeks out her grandmother, who explains that Halloween is coming. "Hallo-what?" asks Marceline, and so Grandma tells her about the history and customs of the holiday, from beliefs about evil spirits being abroad on this night, to the practice of dressing up in costumes. She explains about the carving of jack-o-lanterns - a tradition taken from Irish folklore - and about children going trick-or-treating. Marceline decides that she must experience this for herself, gathering her friends Eglantine, Bobine and Paraffine for a Halloween extravaganza...

Originally published in Frances as Dis-moi, qu'est-ce que c'est Halloween? - literally translated as "Tell me, what is Halloween?" - Hallo-What? is the first book I have encountered from author/illustrator Christel Desmoinaux, who is apparently quite prolific in her native country, and who has had a few other titles translated into English. I sought it out because of the witchy theme - witchy picture-books being a perennial pet project of mine - and was surprised to learn that it was translated from the French, as I had always understood that Halloween was not widely celebrated in France. Of course, that no doubt explains the rather informational aspect of part of the book, as Marceline learns about the holiday while sitting on her grandmother's lap. Most of the Halloween customs described evolved in the USA, although the story of the Jack-o-Lantern - see Katherine Tegen's The Story of the Jack O'Lantern for a picture-book retelling of the folktale - originally comes from Irish lore.

In any case, I did find the story here enjoyable, and I appreciated the bright, colorful artwork, with its vivid autumn hues. The adult in me couldn't help but wonder why Marceline, raised all her life in a witchy community, wouldn't already know about Halloween, described by her grandmother as a "witch's holiday," but leaving that aside, this makes for an entertaining (if slightly text-heavy) Halloween picture-book.… (meer)