Art and Monster Soup
Happy Halloween, one and all.
Today I am going to be talking about one of my favorite holiday books from my youth: Monster Soup and Other Spooky Poems.
I had several of these Halloween-themed books as a kid and most have survived into adulthood. I don't look at them every October, but the one I crack open the most is this one. Monster Soup and Other Spooky Poems (Monster Soup from now on) is an anthology of poems from various poets around the theme of spooky whimsy. Dilys Evans compiled the poems while working with the illustrator (at least, according to the inside jacket).
I don't always read the poems themselves, but I take some time to admire the absolutely gorgeous illustrations by Jacqueline Rogers.
Not all of the poems are great, and some of them fit the theme better than others. I quite like the whimsy of this one. But more importantly look at that art. I'm a sucker for the pasture, and even when I was a city-hungry child, this image was like pure ambrosia. The Golden Hour, the open land, purple clouds, the shafts of light. It's an innocent picture, while also being a eerie and mischievous - my favorite Halloween aesthetic.
I expected my scans of this 34-year old book to look worse, but the colors were decently maintained, if low resolution.
This is probably my favorite of the illustrations - and honestly, possibly my favorite of the poems. The full moon over the expansive pine forest captures the feeling of being a small child alone in the woods just as it starts to go dark. Look closely at the trees for a few extra little monsters.
Those woods look like they should have werewolves, don't they?
Dancing cats!
The full picture reveals that it's a bunch of kids in costume having a party. The poem is middling, but this picture is just pure whimsy. Plus, I've always loved cats, so that no doubt made me adore this picture. I'm a sucker for playing with light and shadow, and jack-o-lanterns are one of my favorite symbols of the season.
I can't find too much about this book out there. A few physical copies being sold online, and I couldn't find a digital copy. It seems quite obscure. Does anyone else have this book? Does anyone else know it?
If not, I hope this amuse-bouche from an obscure poetry book for kids gives you a bit of joy.