A group of field mice plan their harvest feast, hoping all the while that the scary cat - whom they have NOT invited! - will stay away. When that feline comes calling however, our little murine heroes are prepared, saying Boo! to the very creature which frightens them, and scaring her away. Now they can enjoy their autumn plenty...

Although neither Halloween nor Thanksgiving are ever mentioned explicitly in author/illustrator Lois Ehlert's Boo to You!, I think it would make a fun picture-book for either holiday. The visual and textual elements - jack-o-lanterns and saying "boo!," the gathering of autumn plenty for a feast - definitely reference this time of year. The rhyming text is simple and engaging, while the collage artwork, made with a number of found autumn objects, as well as cut paper, is fun and appealing. Recommended to Lois Ehlert fans, and to anyone looking for picture-books that can be used at both Halloween and Thanksgiving. ( )

This book has great graphics. The depictions of the cat and other characters in this book are created from other objects, like string, and food products. At the end there is a pictorial list of the items used in the book to create the characters. This seems like it would be a good book to get craft ideas from. ( )

We've enjoyed many of [a:Lois Ehlert's|10950|Lois Ehlert|http://www.goodreads.com/assets/nophoto/nophoto-U-50x66-251a730d696018971ef4a443cdeaae05.jpg] books (and we LOVE [b:Chicka Chicka Boom Boom|293595|Chicka Chicka Boom Boom|Bill Martin Jr.|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348384871s/293595.jpg|680304]), but I didn't think too much of this story. The collage illustrations are interesting though. My son liked the pumpkin masks. ( )

Boo to You! by Lois Ehlert is about a group of mice trying to scare away the big bad cat who is terrorizing their pumpkin patch. The mice work through out the story to build the perfect thing to scare away the big bad cat. Their project has the desired results.

Ehlert wrote and illustrated the book. She used photos of fall time crops: gourds, pumpkins, summer squash, corn and so forth, as well as cut paper. The cat's teeth, for example, are pumpkin seeds. It's whiskers are twine.

The final pages of the book include all the items used to make the collages. This visual appendix is frankly better than the book. There's not enough contrast in color between the different collage items to make the illustrations pop.

The kids liked the story for a first time read but it didn't make it to the re-read pile. They agreed that the details were hard to make out in the illustrations. They also found the mice's attitude unsavory. ( )

The mice begin to prepare for harvest. They collect friuts and vegetables while the cat watches. As the mice continue to work, they plan to scare the old cat. Elhert uses creative collages to create the artwork for the book. I was drawn to this interesting style of artwork. This would be a good book to read for fall or Halloween grades K - 2. It could be used in art class to discuss the collage technique. ( )