Boris and Bella

I bought a couple of Halloween books the other day and thought it would be fun to blog about them between now and October 31st. The first one is called Boris and Bella and is written by Carolyn Crimi and illustrated by Gris Grimly. Do you think those are their real names? What attracted me to this book were the creepy illustrations. If you like Tim Burton or Neil Gaiman, this book is along the same sort. It's for kids ages 4-8 years and published by Voyager Books, a division of Harcourt, Inc. I'm planning on reading it to the boys today during school. Here's what this book is about ...

Bella Legrossi is the messiest monster in all of Booville.
Her slime is the slimiest and her grime is the grimiest.
Boris Kleanitoff is the tidiest.
He vacuums his vampire bats and dusts his cobwebs.
Boris and Bella are neighbors.
They do not get along.
What could ever bring these two together?

I love the play of names -- Bella Legrossi is obviously named after Bela Lugosi, who played the original Dracula. Boris Keanitoff is obviously named after Boris Karloff, of Frankenstein fame. There are other cute names in the book, such as Frank Stein, Harry Beasty, Cy Clops, and Baggo Bones. Despite it's creepy look and mention of maggot muffins, it's a fun book for this time of year. I can't wait to read it to the boys this afternoon.