Publisher Description

Katie Woo is dressing up like a monster for Halloween. She plans on scaring everyone in the neighborhood. But she is disappointed when everyone knows it is her. Katie can't seem to trick anyone, and that is the only treat she is interested in.

Author Biography

Fran Manushkin is the author of many popular picture books, including How Mama Brought the Spring; Baby, Come Out!; Latkes and Applesauce: A Hanukkah Story; and The Tushy Book. There is a real Katie Woo -- she's Fran's great-niece -- but she never gets in half the trouble of the Katie Woo in the books. Fran writes on her beloved MacBook in New York City. Tammie Lyon, the illustrator of the Katie Woo and Pedro series, says that these characters are two of her favorites. Tammie has illustrated work for Disney, Scholastic, Simon and Schuster, Penguin, HarperCollins, and Amazon Publishing, to name a few. She is also an author/illustrator of her own stories. Her first picture book, Olive and Snowflake, was released to starred reviews from Kirkus and School Library Journal. Tammie lives in Cincinnati, Ohio, with her husband Lee and two dogs, Amos and Artie. She spends her days working in her home studio in the woods, surrounded by wildlife and, of course, two mostly-always-sleeping dogs Tammie Lyon, the illustrator of the Katie Woo and Pedro series, says that these characters are two of her favorites. Tammie has illustrated work for Disney, Scholastic, Simon and Schuster, Penguin, HarperCollins, and Amazon Publishing, to name a few. She is also an author/illustrator of her own stories. Her first picture book, Olive and Snowflake, was released to starred reviews from Kirkus and School Library Journal. Tammie lives in Cincinnati, Ohio, with her husband Lee and two dogs, Amos and Artie. She spends her days working in her home studio in the woods, surrounded by wildlife and, of course, two mostly-always-sleeping dogs.

Table of Contents

Halloween plans -- The big night -- Spooks and screams.

Review

Early readers -- short chapter books with a limited vocabulary -- are hard to write, and Fran Manushkin just clears the bar in this series about Katie Woo, a 6-year-old Chinese-American first-grader and her friends Pedro and JoJo. Tammie Lyon's upbeat watercolors lack subtlety, and they get little help from the mundane plots and serviceable prose of these three books, which find the trio debating which season is best, celebrating the Fourth of July, and trying to scare people on Halloween. Each book has a glossary and other material at the end, and in Boo, Katie Woo! the back matter includes a recipe for a Halloween punch made from grape and orange juice, which apparently turn black when mixed. "Witch's Brew might look pretty gross," Manushkin writes, "but it will taste terrific." Best line: A party idea in the supplemental material for Boo, Katie Woo!: Make an "Icy Hand" for a Halloween punch by filling a non-powdered latex glove with water, freezing it, and removing the glove before floating it in the bowl. Worst line: No. 1: A picture of Pedro heading a soccer ball and the words, "He backed up to hit the ball with his head" in Red, White, and Blue and Katie Woo!. Katie is 6 years old, and her friends are about the same age. American Youth Soccer discourages children under the age of 10 from heading, and U.S. leagues generally don't teach it before then. No. 2: A picture of Katie standing outdoors in a sleeveless dress in a snowstorm on the cover of Best Season Ever. This seems to be a fantasy when the other pictures are realistic, and it sends a confusing sign about what the book contains. No. 3: These books don't explain why they phoneticize the Chinese surname "Wu" to "Woo." Would a two-letter word have been harder for children to grasp than a 3-letter one? "One-Minute Book Reviews blog"
When I was growing up, it was quite a task to find a book series featuring a female protagonist who was not white. Ramona Quimby, Nancy Drew, the Sweet Valley Twins, 95% of the Babysitter's Club, etc. were all white. They are wonderful books and children from any race can read and enjoy stories about these characters, but I wondered what young black, Hispanic, Asian, and other races lost when they got few chances to read books about characters that look like them. If any race can read and love Ramona, shouldn't they all be given the chance to read and relate to a black character, or an Asian one? Why don't publishers make more of these books? Tough we are aware of the reasons why it's important for students to read books like this, there is still a paucity of books available that spotlight racially diverse characters. Nevertheless, there are now a lot more options for young readers. I love seeing girls with their noses in books, and I was struck when I saw girls of all races reading two series starring diverse female protagonists: Katie Woo and Dyamonde Daniel . Katie Woo is an award-winning series for young readers. Katie's series contains short sentences and nice illustrations for students just beginning chapter books. Her covers are as vivid and inviting as her stories! Katie is in first grade and she's had to deal with the loss of a beloved pet, a bully and lying . I love that likeable series features an Asian protagonist, though it is sadly one of the few I've ever seen that does so. html-- "Substitutes, FTW! blog"

Review Quote

When I was growing up, it was quite a task to find a book series featuring a female protagonist who was not white. Ramona Quimby, Nancy Drew, the Sweet Valley Twins, 95% of the Babysitter's Club, etc. were all white. They are wonderful books and children from any race can read and enjoy stories about these characters, but I wondered what young black, Hispanic, Asian, and other races lost when they got few chances to read books about characters that look like them. If any race can read and love Ramona, shouldn't they all be given the chance to read and relate to a black character, or an Asian one? Why don't publishers make more of these books? Tough we are aware of the reasons why it's important for students to read books like this, there is still a paucity of books available that spotlight racially diverse characters. Nevertheless, there are now a lot more options for young readers. I love seeing girls with their noses in books, and I was struck when I saw girls of all races reading two series starring diverse female protagonists: Katie Woo and Dyamonde Daniel . Katie Woo is an award-winning series for young readers. Katie's series contains short sentences and nice illustrations for students just beginning chapter books. Her covers are as vivid and inviting as her stories! Katie is in first grade and she's had to deal with the loss of a beloved pet , a bully and lying . I love that likeable series features an Asian protagonist, though it is sadly one of the few I've ever seen that does so. html

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