Halloween books for kids tend to split into two camps, the ones that go for the scare and the ones that go for the feeling, and this one sits firmly in the second camp. It is a storybook edition of It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown from Simon & Schuster, which means Linus out in the pumpkin patch, the rest of the Peanuts gang off trick-or-treating, and the particular ache of waiting all night for something that may never show up. Parents already know the special by heart, so reading it aloud turns into a two-generation event rather than a bedtime chore. It earns a spot on the October shelf beside the pumpkins and then stays there year after year, which is more than most seasonal decor manages. Set it out at the start of the month, read it on the night itself, and pack it away with the costumes. Peanuts books have a long shelf life.
