Eagerly anticipating the Halloween parade his class is holding at the end of the day, Arnold imagines how his pirate costume will win him the prize for being the "scariest of all." When he discovers that he left the bag with the costume on the school bus that morning, he is convinced that Halloween is ruined. Hiding himself away under a sheet when the other students dress up in their costumes, he ends up getting exactly what he wished for...

The Perfectly Horrible Halloween is the first picture-book I have read from author/illustrator Nancy Poydar, who appears to have worked on close to forty titles, some of which she also wrote, and some written by others. I found the story engaging, and the artwork appealing, and although I don't know that there was anything earth-shattering here, I do think a great many young people will be able to identify with Arnold's outsized sense of disappointment, when things don't go according to plan. It is often a challenge, especially when young, to understand that things aren't necessarily ruined, just because they turn out differently than expected. Recommended to picture-book readers looking for fun, school-centered Halloween stories. ( )