Publisher's Weekly Review
Thomas (There Was a Tall Texan Who Swallowed a Flea) resurrects the spirits of famous figures connected to the city of New Orleans, picturing Louis Armstrong, Mahalia Jackson, Andrew Jackson, and others as skeletons convening in a cemetery on Halloween. It's a motley crew, to say the least: voodoo practitioner Marie Laveau, pirate Jean Lafitte, and former governor Huey P. Long also make appearances. Unfortunately, Thomas's herky-jerky rhymes ("Huey P. Long arrives in style,/ gathers a crowd, and stumps for a while./ He fills those spirits with promises grand:/ 'Every man a king,' he tells this loyal band") and cut-paper artwork do little to conjure a festive affair-as more and more of the folk-naive skeletons crowd the pages, they mostly appear to be standing around. Young readers will need input from adults to learn anything substantial about these cultural and historical figures. Up to age 5. (Sept.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
Some historical figures spirits gather for a Halloween gala.In New Orleans on Halloween night, / the dearly departed sway in the moonlight. / They gather their bones and they set em just right. / The cemetery jamboree starts tonight! This refrain appears between each newcomer to the party, though its odd scansion and wordiness may mean that listeners still wont be able to chime in even after the seventh iteration. Louis Armstrong is the first to arrive, trumpet in hand. Next comes singer Mahalia Jackson. The verse highlights her angel wings, but these arent recognizable in the artwork until subsequent spreads. Marie Laveau, with a book of spells, is followed by Andrew Jackson, ordering his troops to search for the souls of lost men. Jean Lafitte and Huey P. Long round out the participants. Thomas cut-papercollage artwork is full of textures and patterns but not detail, and her skeletons lack any real spark of personality, distinguished mainly by their props. But the greatest weakness of the book is its failure to bring history to life for its audiencethere are no notes explaining who these six figures were or how they are connected to New Orleans. The authors note tells where they are buriedmost not in New Orleansbut not how or why New Orleans is a city that beckons to the core of their existence. Even New Orleanians will want to let this rest in peace. (Picture book. 4-7) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
