Tell Me Another Scary Story…But Not TOO Scary!
By Carl Reiner, Illustrated by James Bennett
Published September 1, 2009 (Hardcover) Dove
When I was a kid, I watched Carl Reiner on The Dick Van Dyke Show, wishing that Dick was my father, and that I would grow up to be like Mary Tyler Moore. Now that I’ve grown up, some have said I do look like Mary Tyler Moore, and here I am, reading a kids’ book by Carl Reiner. There’s an odd symmetry to this, but it makes sense to me.
The book — thank you for asking — is Tell Me Another Scary Story…But Not TOO Scary! A CD accompanies the book, and Carl Reiner himself reads the story about something that happened to him as a kid. His kind old neighbor — whose last name spells Halloween backwards — calls young Carl on the phone, and invites him over for hamburgers to see a scary costume Mr Neewollah was creating just for Carl. But when Carl arrives at his neighbor’s house, something more frightening than he can ever imagine happens. Ketchup is involved. And blood. Real blood.
I love Halloween, even though I only wear one type of costume. Witch. It’s a black costume, although I imagine myself to have good powers. I can wear Lycra, I’m happy.
When I was a kid, my stepfather – who was very creative — made our Halloween costumes. We did boxes a lot. We were cereal boxes a few times. Not particularly easy to see out of, although we were protected somewhat from the typical Halloween weather, which, in Jersey, was either very cold or rainy. I was Minnie Mouse one year, with an amazing head he had crafted out of chicken-coop wire. I guess my brother would have been Mickey, but I don’t remember. I just recall that I loved wearing a short skirt, black tights, and little white gloves. I haven’t changed a lot over the years.
I had a friend, Luanne, whose parents hired people to create her costumes every year, expensive, lavish costumes, like a coffee pot that looked completely real. She won the contest at the high school one year, when we were all in grade school. My stepfather flipped out. He was furious that the money beat him. It was a bloody night, when we got home.
That kind of thing is scary. Carl Reiner is just sweet, and a bit cranky, but not scary. So go ahead and read the book to your kids, or pop the CD in and listen and turn the pages. Sound effects are really cool.
But not too scary!
