Two mini reviews for Halloween Reads today- of Modern Classics that should be read by every kid! (Though I’d say Oyster Boy is for more of eleven plus. It’s a bit grim). I’ve loved both of these for years, and re-read them for this October…

Coraline is one of those beautiful children’s books that you’ll want to curl up with at any age. It’s engaging, funny, and imaginative- perfect for anyone! Coraline is a really relatable character, as a young teenage girl who’s a bit too lonely and often ignored or misheard. I loved reading (and re-reading) her rather scary story! It was, strangely, even eerier reading this as a thirteen-and-a-half year old, as opposed to a nine-year-old.The plot was dramatic and tense, full of scary thoughts on a parallel universe. It’s a quick read, Coraline- I think I would have loved it even more than I already do if it had been longer, more detailed, more explained.

Parts skipped ahead very, very quickly, and also, unless you’ve watched the movie, parts aren’t explained as well. OH, and I didn’t realise how different the book was to the story! Wybie, the male character in the movie, isn’t in the book, though I thought I remembered him being there. I loved Wybie! Apart from that, a great spooky story to curl up with! Plus, it’s full of Dave McKean’s awesome illustrations, so that is a bonus.

The Melancholy Death Of Oyster Boy And Other Stories is a ridiculously long title. Here on it’s referred to as Oyster Boy.

Anyway! Oyster Boy is a poetic oddity, by Tim Burton. Until Dad bought me this a few years ago, I had no idea my favourite director wrote poetry! All of these poems in this slim little book follow a theme, though it’s not so visible in some: all of the pieces follow children, or people, who are different from everyone else and so things mostly end badly. By different… I mean a boy who’s half microwave, a penguin boy, a matchstick boy, a girl with ten eyes, and an oyster boy, to name a few. Burton has created loveable yet freaky characters, who you can sympathize with despite their general freakiness. The poems are all brilliant, but very simple four-line stanzas. As a poetry fan, or a horror fan, you’ll love these! They’re great to curl up with on Halloween, as they’re eerie but also uplifting, sometimes.

My Ratings:

to Coraline

to Oyster Boy

both books were bought for me as Halloween presents, years ago, and were picked up for re-reads!