Three Literary Themed Halloween Parties for 'tweens and teens (try thaying THAT 3 times!!)

1- Quothe the Raven Party
For a sophisticated party for teens, try this "Creative Raven" theme, using lines from Edgar Allen Poe's poem as your inspiration: you can find faux blackbirds and crows at most craft stores around this time of year. Better Homes and Gardens Halloween Issue 2012 has some great inspiration for an Edgar Allen Poe "Raven" themed party...

Dress up a large mirror with a feathery wreath and verses
from EDGAR ALLEN POE'S The Raven for a spooky dining room decoration.
Source  HERE

"But the Raven still beguiling all my fancy into smiling, 

Straight I wheeled a cushioned seat in front of bird, and bust and door; 

Then upon the velvet sinking, 

I betook myself to linking 

Fancy unto fancy, thinking what this ominous bird of yore- 

What this grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt and ominous bird of yore 

Meant in croaking 'Nevermore'."

Birdcage pumpkin [source]

2- A Victorian Steampunk Party, Sherlock Holmes Style...

Get out your monocles, pipes, and capes...

Instead of using a magic wand, make a Cinderella Pumpkin using gears for the wheels,
a soap dish for the driver's seat, a drawer pull for the door, and a sink drain
for the window.  The little mice are mini white pumpkins with upholstery-tack
noses, wire whiskers, and nail feet. [source]

Easy to find Steampunk accessories (gears
and goggles), and costumes on Amazon.

I found a whole list of ideas on Squidoo, including using metallic paper goods, clocks, a fog machine, lanterns, and..."Mustache on a Stick"!

More free silhouette printables from bhg

3- Oz Pumpkinhead Party (with a little bit of Washington Irving's Sleepy Hollow, and The Nightmare Before Christmas thrown in.)

Before Jack Skellington - the main character in Tim Burton's animated film,The Nightmare Before Christmas - there was L. Frank Baum's storybook character, Jack Pumpkinhead.

"...in his first scene in The Nightmare Before Christmas, Jack Skellington does have a pumpkin on his head, and looks very much like Jack Pumpkinhead. Also, the director of Nightmare was Henry Sellick who, eight years earlier, had been a storyboard artist on Return to Oz, and therefore had several opportunities to draw Jack Pumpkinhead. From another perspective, similarities can also be seen between Scraps, the Patchwork Girl of the OZ books, and Sally in The Nightmare Before Christmas, so there may be another connection there, but it's also not terribly likely."(source: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz website).

Scarecrow Crunch 

4 cups crunchy oatmeal cereal squares or Chex cereal
4 cups tiny twist pretzels
1 can salted peanuts
1 bag of autumn mix honey candy
1 bag of candy corn
2 cups peaunut butter M&M’s
2 (6-ounce) boxes caramel popcorn with nuts

1 (6.6) bag chocolate graham Teddy bears

source

Jack Skellington Cupcakes [source: spoonful disney blog]

A hat tip to Washington Irving, at the Magic Kingdom. [source]

Listen to The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow Audio Book.  Or the radio archive on iTunes here.

Easy Decor/Activity/Party Favor

Miniature pumpkins can be colored in minutes with acrylic paints or permanent markers. The secret to their jewel-like sparkle is a finishing (polyurethane) glaze applied after the paint or ink has thoroughly dried.

source

A BEAUTIFUL SHORT FILM, INSPIRED BY BOOKS - AND A HURRICANE

Morris and Humpty Dumpty [source]

Have you seen the Oscar nominated short film, "The Fantastic Flying Books of Morris Lessmore"?  The animation is riveting, but so is the story. The first scene opens, with "Pop Goes the Weasel" playing in the background, and the camera shot panning down to Morris. He is sitting on his (New-Orleans-French-Quarter-looking) balcony, humming to himself and writing in his journal when, suddenly a strong wind kicks up, blowing his words right off the page.  Ultimately - in true Wizard of Oz style - he and all his books are swept away as well.  This occurrence, like the song accompanying it, seems nonsensical.

"Why" and "Where" are the questions that make you want to watch until the end.  And the engaging little Humpty Dumpty flip-book character, stylized animation, and Buster Keaton dance numbers (albeit with stick-leg books!), won't let you look away.

In doing some quick investigating, I discovered that the impetus for this film, all about Book Love, was born in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.  These words of author/creator/director William Joyce brought tears to my eyes:
"The main thing I guess," Joyce said, "was going into the shelters and seeing the displaced people and seeing the kids in these, usually a sports arena, with no privacy or any of the stuff they knew as home. But they had been given books -- there were different organizations to make sure kids had books to read while they were in the shelter. Seeing these kids reading these books and being able to shut out all the sadness and the uncertainty and lose themselves in a book..." [source]

I don't know how long the film will be available to view on YouTube, but I've embedded the link - enjoy! [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Adzywe9xeIU] (And if you would like to give a book to a child in need, or support groups doing this, visit one of these sites: BookEnds, Better World Books, Reading Is Fundamental [RIF], or Save The Children.)