About this book

On Halloween, Lance decides that he is going to paint his face instead of dressing up. He tries three times until he gets it just right — scary enough that his father falls over when he sees it. Then he goes out trick-or-treating. He goes to two houses, where the adults fall over and Lance takes all the candy in the house. Then he gets a cop to take him home. The cop dares him to show his face, and when Lance does, he does not fall over — but he runs away, terrified!

Then a teenager comes to Lance’s house, with an even bigger bag of candy than Lance’s. He has painted a scary face, too — but Lance’s is still scarier, and the teenager runs off, leaving Lance with enough candy to last until . . . next Halloween!

This seasonal favourite is now reissued with a bright new cover design!

Behind the scenes

In June of 1991, Robert Munsch got a letter inviting him to visit the Grade 1/2 class at Lloyd George Public School in Hamilton, Ontario. He decided to drop in without telling anyone he was coming. The teacher freaked out when he walked in, but the kids thought it was neat. While he was telling stories, a boy named Lance asked for a story about Halloween. He said that Halloween was his favourite day of the year. Munsch made up a story for Lance that was sort of like the book, except for the part with the teenager. ART ALERT! Lloyd George School was right across the street from an enormous steel mill. If you look closely, you’ll see the mill is the backdrop in some of the pictures.

Extras

Check out The World of Munsch for more books, a checklist and fun stuff!
Boo: Drawing Activity
Boo: Writing Activity