Goodnight Goon by Michael Rex.

I’ve always been fond of parodies and nothing needs a silly send-up as much as the classic and very sweet Goodnight Moon.  The illustrations perfectly mirror those of the original, except this time there are spiders, bats, gravestones and skulls in the "cold gray tomb."  The tone is kept exactly the same as is the rhythm and rhyme.  The same flat style of sentence adds to the fun.

This book will appeal primarily to those who were read the original book as a bedtime story and are now much to old for that.  It is appropriate for younger ages, but early elementary children will enjoy the parody the most.  Recommended for a Halloween read aloud for ages 6-8.

Baron von Baddie and the Ice Ray Incident by George McClements.

Baron von Baddie was an evil genius who built huge robots to take over the world, or perhaps just to steal ice cream.  Thank goodness for Captain Kapow, who could always take care of Baron and keep him in check.  That is until one fateful day when Captain Kapow was frozen by Baron von Baddie’s ice ray.  No one could stop Baron von Baddie from doing what he wished.  He built robots, changed the days of the week around and ate lots and lots of doughnuts.  But eventually, even these pleasures lost their appeal.  So what is an evil genius to do if he misses his super counterpart?

Pure silly fun, this picture book will appeal to all sorts of children, but especially those who enjoy super heroes.  McClements’ paper art is eye-catching and comical.  The text of the book begs to be read aloud and the art will project well to even a large crowd. 

Anyone looking to practice their evil villain voices and super hero strut (and really, who isn’t?), will find plenty to enjoy here.  Highly recommended for rowdy classrooms of children or as a final read in a story time.  This is a book that will be asked for again and again.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.