Spoops: The Little Spirits of Halloween
The town of Maple Hollow holds a special fondness for Halloween. Every October is marked with a lengthy celebration of the spooky season. There are nightly haunted hayrides, pumpkin carving contests and all manner of amusements! Indeed, there are only two people in Maple Hollow who don’t celebrate Halloween—the town’s dentists, Dr. and Dr. Hollowell. They see Halloween as the night all their hard work safeguarding the town’s smiles is ruined, thanks to all the trick-or-treating and the candy that comes with it.
To make matters worse, their daughter Holly Hollowell was born with a natural attraction to the Halloween holiday. She rejected plush toys in favor of a rubber spider and always dressed in orange and black. However, despite Holly’s well-researched arguments that there is more to Halloween than candy, her parents refuse to let her trick-or-treat or dress up. Indeed, they make her stay home on Halloween night while they go out to a dentist convention!
Thankfully, Holly’s wish that she might finally have the Halloween of her dreams is heard by the Spoops – the little spirits of Halloween who make the world a little bit more magical every autumn. With their help, Holly will make up for lost time. And, with a little bit of pumpkin spice, the Spoops just might help Holly’s parents see the magic of Halloween.
I will admit to some bias in my enjoyment of Spoops: The Little Spirits of Halloween. All Hallow’s Eve has always been my favorite holiday. I made it a point to dress up every year as a kid and I spent more than few Halloween’s during my misspent youth dressing up at The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Even now, I’m a cosplayer who dresses up enough that, while maybe not every day is Halloween, I certainly keep to the spirit of the season all year around. Spoops: The Little Spirits of Halloween will appeal to those of a similar bend.
This is the first graphic novel of voice actor A.J. Locascio. Hopefully it will not be his last, as he shows a tremendous talent for writing for children. His rhyme scheme evokes memories of Dr. Seuss and Clement Clarke Moore, though he avoids the silly words of the former. At first, I thought some of Locascio’s word usage might be a bit too advanced for the intended audience. Then again, since the point of children’s poetry is often to expand vocabulary along with horizons, I don’t think this is a huge problem.
The artwork by Laurie Conley is born of the same spirit. It calls back to classic Easy Reader books, with colorful pictures interspersed amid the text. In this case, however, the colors are all black, white, and orange. There are many subtle touches in the art, like Holly’s parents being dully monochrome amidst the colorful world around them. Holly in particular stands out from her dull home, thanks to her bright orange clothing. The Spoops themselves, it should be noted, are suitably designed, splitting the difference between eldritch and adorable.
Spoops: The Little Spirits of Halloween contains no adult content or cursing. The only thing I think might draw objections is the belief that Holly’s Halloween wish might equate to summoning demons or performing witchcraft. Then again, anyone who would make that argument is unlikely to read a book about Halloween spirits in the first place. Most, I think, will find this appropriate for its intended audience of 5–9-year-olds, though some young readers may need help with some of the words.
Spoops: The Little Spirits of Halloween
By A.J. Locascio
Art by Laurie Conley
Top Shelf, 2025
ISBN: 9781603095617
Company Age Rating:Â 5-8 years
NFNT Age Recommendation: Easy Readers (5-9), Picture Books (3-8)
