Let's Find Out About Halloween (1972, Paulette Cooper)

Perhaps one of the most delightfully '70s Halloween books out there, Paulette Cooper and Errol le Cain's 1972 Let's Find Out About Halloween is certainly of of my personal favorites. I mean, who can look at these adorable little illustrations and say they can't smell rotting leaves and those cinnamon pinecone bundles that they sold outside of every grocery store from September to November?

This image below in particular makes me yearn for October. And look, not an adult or a safety measure in sight!

 True, the text of the book isn't anything too special (the standard mini history lesson, party games, and all that jazz), but it's all packaged up in a fun, clever way that utilizes its minal color palette extremely well. In fact, I think there's only 3 colors used in the entire book: orange, blue, and black. Less really is more sometimes... especially in the ink-strapped '70s, apparently.

Speaking of which, there's one less color in the paperback edition than there is in the hardcover (I have one of each, naturellement). The blue is conspicuous in its absence, and though it works fine with just the orange, the blue is sorely missed in a few spots.

At any rate, it's a great little addition to anyone's Halloween book collection, and I heartily recommend getting one (that is, if you can ever find one for a halfway decent price... I paid about $30 for my ex-library hardcover and $7 for my paperback, so sometimes you can get lucky!)

And if you're so inclined, I've got a little RedBubble page where I sell some notebooks/pins of some of the vintage things I talk about. You can find a pin of the witch on the broomstick (which is only in the hardcover edition, by the way) here:

And a notebook with the hardcover book cover on it here:

Till next time,

Shawn