Welcome, Super Readers, to my most favorite month of the year: October! I’ve shopped the 50% off Halloween sale at Michaels, secured a bag of candy corn and have received the mission of my kiddo’s Halloween costume pick for this year—in other words, I’m ready to party October-style! And to help YOU get your party on I’ve got Chloe Zoe Halloween book/activities/craft, a NEW seasonal draw-along video AND a trick-or-treat themed Super Story Time recording + a NEW mini kidlit interview with story time guest, rockstar illustrator, Lauren Lowen! Woohoo!
PS In case you’re wondering—the kiddo wants to go as Claudia from the animated fantasy series, The Dragon Prince! What do your kiddos want to dress up as?
The Funnies
Kitty and Cat know that half the fun is just deciding which Halloween costume to wear! ;D FUN FACT: I’d never ever go as Catsup. I’m famous in my family for a deep dislike of condiments! Weird, I know! Ha!
Halloween Favorites
October means HALLOWEEN! And Halloween means another super fun holiday to celebrate with Chloe Zoe and friends! Here’s some great ways to get the artsy crafty Halloween book party going:
• READ It’s Halloween, Chloe Zoe at home or at your local library!
• MAKE a Haunted House craft with me in the video here!
• ENJOY the free printable Chloe Zoe Halloween activity kit here!
• DRAW Pumpkin Faces with me in the new Super Crafty video below:
Super Story Time LIVE
• WATCH a new Halloween-themed Super Story Time here!
NOTE: the newest Super Story Time LIVE aired last Wednesday, a week earlier than usual, to accommodate our awesome guest reader, rock star illustrator Lauren Lowen’s schedule because we just HAD to have her!! And I’m happy to share that the recording is now up on the Super Jane YouTube channel for a bit of trick-or-treat fun anytime, anywhere! I read my picture book, It’s Halloween, Chloe Zoe! and Lauren reads her super fun board book, The Wheels on the Costume! Woot, woot!
Super Star Interview Mini with Lauren Lowen
Q: The artwork in The Wheels on the Costume is so energetic and fun! Which spread did you enjoy illustrating the most?
LAUREN: My favorite spread is what the designer and I called "Submarine Boy". We were kicking around different costume ideas and he just sort of happened during a doodling session. For a minute, we were worried that he'd be cut after final art was turned in because it wasn't reading "Halloween-y" enough. Luckily, changing the theme to be more Creature From The Black Lagoon worked perfectly! I turned the water green and added some spookier details like the Creature himself and some fish skeleton. Voilá!
Q: What is your most memorable Halloween costume?
LAUREN: Looking back at my childhood, it was probably when I grabbed a friend and we went as a two-headed monster by sticking our heads out of the neck of an oversized Halloween shirt my mom had. We rang the doorbell of one house and a dog ran out. He was friendly and just wanted to say hi (and maybe grab some of our candy). Since he was enthusiastically chasing and jumping on us, we started running around in circles because it was hard to have two kids coordinate that when joined at the neck!
Q: What children’s book was your favorite when you were a kiddo?
LAUREN: My favorite book from childhood is Chloe and Maude by Sandra Boynton, who deserves to go down in history as one of the GOATs of children's books. Her illustrations are iconic and what I can only describe as "humble" (aka deceivingly simple and accessible to everyone). It's an anthology of 3 mini stories involving two cat best friends with different personalities. The reason it's my favorite is mostly because I have fond memories of reading it with my mom (I can still hear her voice reading certain lines). How appropriate considering we just had fun reading our books live! Stories are extra powerful when shared with someone else.
• Visit Lauren & all her awesome artwork HERE!
New Chloe Zoe Available for Pre-Order!
Psst! Treat your springtime self by PRE-ORDERing today!
Available in hardback, paperback and e-book everywhere books are sold!
(Doesn’t it feel like you just found a 4-leaf clover?! Lucky duckie! :)
See You Later, Alligator
I hope y’all have a super fun, super happy Halloween! If you and your kiddos give any of the activities or crafts a try (and I hope you do!), share em’ the comments—I’d love to check it out!
As ever, thanks so much for being here! Y’all are the BEST! Keeping reading, writing and making art—it’s what makes life so darn fun! See ya next month when I emerge from a Halloween sugar haze…