When Cranberryport's dock is destroyed in a storm, the townspeople all work together to raise the funds to replace it, with Mr. Whiskers serving as treasurer, and the collected funds to be presented at the town's upcoming Halloween party. But on the fateful night itself, Mr. Whiskers and Maggie - dressed as a ghost and a clown - find themselves pursued by two rough characters in pirate garb, and must hide in a reputed haunted house. Managing to evade the pirates, the two friends make their way to town, where they discover that being waylaid was no accident, and that town miser Mr. Grape took a hand in the affair...

Originally published in 1982, Cranberry Halloween was Wende and Harry Devlin's fourth picture-book set in the fictional New England town of Cranberryport, located somewhere along the rocky coastline, next to a cranberry bog. Although it is normally my habit to read series (yes, even picture-book series) in order, I have not done so with these books, reading them as they came to hand, and I was able to track them down. This is my eighth book in the series - there are fifteen altogether: nine full-sized hardcover picture-books, and six smaller paperback titles - and I enjoyed it quite a bit. It has all of the charm of the others, with a quirky cast of small town characters, a fun story, and appealing, old-fashioned illustrations. The Halloween elements - the costumes, the haunted house, the seasonal party - were quite charming. As always with these books, there is a cranberry recipe at the rear, this time for Cranberry Dessert. All in all, an enjoyable entry in the series, one I would recommend to fans of the Cranberryport books, to picture-book readers looking for fun Halloween stories, and to those who enjoy vintage picture-book art. ( )

It's Halloween in the charming seaside village of Cranberryport in New England. Author/Illustrator team Wende and Harry Devlin bring us another mystery adventure to add to their other popular titles, Cranberry Thanksgiving, Cranberry Easter, Cranberry Christmas, Cranberry Birthday, Cranberry Valentine and Cranberry Mystery. The holidays change in the Devlin's books but the characters and the plots stay pretty much the same. I'd be tempted to rate this book lower except for one thing...my kids loved it! My kids requested it again and again.

Cranberry Halloween was first published in 1982 the year my fourth and youngest son was born. I read the Devlins' Cranberryport series to my children, starting with Cranberry Thanksgiving all through the 70s and this title came just in time to keep the tradition going.

Each book in the series can stand alone and this one is no different in that respect. We meet the characters Maggie, a perky young girl about 7 or 8 years old and her Grandmother who is a perfect New England grandma that bakes pies and cakes and makes apple cider and lots of yummy cranberry recipes. Their neighbor, called Mr. Whiskers, is a short, stocky old salt, a former sea captain with a long, bushy black beard. He spends his time digging clams and spinning yarns for Maggie and the three are the best of friends. They all live near a large cranberry bog that contributes to the town's economy.

All of the Cranberryport books involve some kind of mystery about a theft or some other simple "crime" and usually Mr. Whiskers is the one who is erroneously blamed for it until he and Maggie get to the bottom of it and solve the mystery. They all involve some stuffed-shirt type of character in the community who doesn't trust Mr. Whiskers or who is jealous of him or something along those lines. Usually, the person who is making the accusations appears to be a solid, upright citizen who looks down his nose at the likes of Mr. Whiskers. Usually, this same upright citizen turns out to be behind the wrong doing. Usually the wrong-doer mends his ways and is forgiven by the good characters. Cranberry Halloween fits the typical Devlin plot perfectly.

This time the people of Cranberryport are all pulling together to raise money to replace the town's dock that was destroyed in a recent wild storm. They must raise enough money by Halloween or the dock will not be able to be completed before winter. The townspeople decide to hold bake sales, sell old books, make chowder and sundry other things to help out. The mayor appoints Mr. Whiskers to be the treasurer who will collect the money. Stodgy, mean ol' Mr. Grape sternly objects! "I object," said Mr. Grape. He banged his cane on the floor. "I double object. Mr. Whiskers doesn't pull his weeds, doesn't paint his house, and doesn't wash his windows. He'll lose your money." The townspeople back up their old friend, Mr. Whiskers, and he becomes the treasurer. Mr. Grape is so miffed he refuses to contribute a dime.

All goes swimmingly until Halloween night. Everyone dresses up in costumes and heads over to the town hall for a big Halloween party where they will count up their money and find out if they have raised enough for the new dock. Excitement is in the air! Maggie, dressed as a clown and Mr. Whiskers, dressed as a ghost and carrying his grandfather's big black money box full of the town's money are just passing an abandoned and spooky looking old house on their way to the party when they are beset upon by two shady characters dressed as pirates who demand the cash box. Maggie and Mr. Whiskers have no choice but to run for it and dash into the dark old house. The pirates trap them inside but Mr. Whiskers remembers a secret underground passageway out of the house from back in the days of his youth. "The dim light showed a rough, mossy door. Mr. Whiskers put his shoulder to the door and heaved mightily. An ancient bolt snapped and the door swung away as mice scuttled and spiders scattered into the darkness." A typical Cranberryport plot ensues.

This book is still in print and is still on the shelves of most public libraries. Lots of inexpensive used copies are available online. We used to get these Devlin books in the mail from the Weekly Reader Book Club. Every month we would get three new cheaply bound books with cute stories and average illustrations by various authors and illustrators of the day. Some went on to become big family favorites. The kids always looked forward to their new book package coming in the mail. The simple books did a lot to promote reading enjoyment. The kids loved Mr. Whiskers and the adventures of Cranberryport. I never fully understood why.

The intended readership for this book is the 4-8 year old group. There is quite a bit of text for the low end of that group in my opinion, but my kids never seemed to have a problem with sitting still for the story. There is illustration on every page, consisting of colorful watercolor and ink against a watercolor wash. The illustrations are simple but lively and mostly feature the people of Cranberryport and the appropriate festive accoutrement of the subject holiday. Some are single page illustrations while others are double page spreads. Text ranges from one paragraph to nearly a full page. All the Cranberryport books close with a cranberry recipe of some sort that is simple and can be made with your child. This book ends with Cranberry Dessert. We tried it and it was good and easy to make...and fun!

There is nothing spectacular about these books or about Cranberry Halloween in particular but I still have a nostalgic soft-spot in my heart for them because my kids really loved them so much. They especially loved the character of Mr. Whiskers. I think it was the way he spoke like an old sea dog with his funny curmudgeonly colloquialisms. "Well, suffering codfish!" (But you have to try to sound like a New Englander and a curmudgeonly one at that to get the full compliment of merriment from your kids.) The books all contain abundant atmosphere pertaining to the various holidays which I know the kids enjoyed. This one has costumes, bobbing for apples, hot fried sugar donuts, apple cider, dark shadowy trees, a bright moon and a spooky old house. It made my kids smile and look forward to snuggling up at story time. That's good enough for me! ( )