Happy Halloween

One of my favorite books to read to children when I was a librarian is the story of Sifty Sifty Sam written by Angela Shelf Medearis. (See her biography.) Medearis is a wonderful writer of children's books as well as writer of cookbooks. She lives in Austin, Texas.

Below is an excerpt especially for Halloween. Of course when one reads this story one has to use a folksy, Texas (or some kind of Southern) voice. That comes naturally for me as I grew up in the deep south. Oh what fun!

The Ghost of Sifty Sifty Sam
by Angela Shelf Medearis

Deep down in the East Texas woods,
where the wind wails through the tall pine trees,
there stands a beautiful old house.
That old house sits by a lake that's so clear,
the moon uses it for a mirror.
Now folks in those parts say
that the house is haunted
by the ghost of Sifty Sifty Sam.

When everything is still and dark,
old Sam appears.
That's when all the mischief starts.
He wails and he howls and he rattles his chains.
Then he screeches so loud it shakes the windowpanes.
Old Sam roams around the house every night,
scaring scaring anyone who comes into sight.