Halloween is one of our favorite times of the year! Our houses are always decked out with one creepy theme or another – like when the witches invaded and left clues about their identities everywhere or when our mad scientist relative took over the office. While we don’t get into the dark, morbid side of the holiday, we do take the opportunity to make October memorable by decorating the house, dressing up, throwing parties, and telling a ghost story or two. We’re always looking for ways to get our kids excited about this fun season without creeping them out too much.

This week’s Picture Book Blast is aimed at helping you and your little ones get into that cooky, spooky mood. Halloween Hats is a great, lighthearted book for kick-starting that fun Halloween spirit. It is sure to get your kids thinking about what they want to be when they go trick-or-treating. The Pumpkin and Chili Party at Schnepf Farms has become a family tradition for many residents of the Valley. A wide variety of family activities helped the farm earn awards as one of the Top Five Pumpkin Farms in the Southwest (Sunset Magazine) and Arizona’s Best Fall Festival in 2006 and 2007 (Phoenix Magazine). There’s no better place to pick out your family pumpkins than at a real, working farm! Use this Book Blast to get an early start on Halloween and get the creepy creative juices flowing.

Open a Book . . .

Buy the book, hats, and more in out Amazon store!

Title: Halloween Hats
 Author: Elizabeth Winthrop
 Illustrator: Sue Truesdell
Recommended Age: 4-8

 Book Brief: It’s Halloween night! Bats and witches, ghosts and goblins march down the street to a great big Halloween party. They make a circle, and suddenly, Halloween hats are everywhere! The bouncy rhythm and exuberant pictures will make the reader want to pick up a hat and join the parade.
About the Author:  Elizabeth Winthrop is the author of more than fifty books for readers of all ages, including the popular Dumpy La Rue, illustrated by Betsy Lewin, and Shoes, illustrated by William Joyce. Ms. Winthrop lives in New York City and loves to wear hats of all sizes and shapes. You can visit the author at www.elizabethwinthrop.com.

About the Illustrator: Sue Truesdell is the illustrator of the Golly Sisters series by Betsy Byars, How to Talk to Your Dog by Jean Craighead George, and many other well-received books for children. Ms. Truesdell hangs her hat in Tenafly, New Jersey.

 Extras: Author Elisabeth Winthrop is the great niece of Theodore Roosevelt, who was a President of the United States and the author of 38 books.

Have a Blast!

Pumpkin and Chili Party at Schnepf Farms
Shchnepf Farms
24810 S. Rittenhouse Road
Queen Creek, AZ 85242

www.schnepffarms.com

 When:

 Every Thursday thru Sunday in October
Thursdays: 10 AM to 9 PM
Fridays and Saturdays: 10 AM to 10 PM
Sundays: 10 AM to 9 PM

 Cost:

 $14 per person
Children 2 and under are free

Seniors and Queen Creek residents are half price on Thursdays

It’s a Blast: Take your family for day of Fall and Halloween fun – with a fireworks show to end the evening! This is a great way to escape the hustle and bustle of your typical day and to get the family excited about Halloween. We’ve learned that kids love the holidays even more when Mom and Dad participate in building the anticipation.
Parking is free, and admission includes a variety of fun activities for kids of all ages:

• Hay Rides
• Roller Coaster
• 10 Acre “Celebrity” Maze, designed in the likeness of Steve Nash
• Country Road Rally
• Honeybee Adventure
• Carousel Rides
• Petting Barn
• Hillbilly Bob’s Pig Races
• 3-d Scary Weather Walk Thru
• Swinging Lady Bugz
• Flying Farmers Ride
• Pumpkin Launch
• Witch Mountain
• SRP Earthwise Energy Maze
• Rock Climbing Wall
• Golden Goat Bridge
• Bon Fires & Marshmallow Roasting (6:30 PM)
• Juggling Show
• Lil’ Farmers Play Yard
• Inflatable Bounce About
• Karaoke (5-9 PM)
• Pumpkin Pie Eating Contest (5:30 PM)
• Schnepf Family Museum
• My Sister’s Sweet Shop
• Country Store
• Gift Shops
• Fireworks

 For a few extra bucks, there’s even more to do:

• Train Rides ($2 per person, ages 2 and under free)
• Candle Making and Crafts ($1 to $15)
• Scarecrow Making ($10 for full-size clothes, a head, and straw)

Extra Tips for a Good Time:

-Discount tickets for $12 per person available at Fry’s Food and Drug Stores (and they come with a coupon for a free burger from Sonic).
-Avoid the ticket booth lines by buying your discount tickets in advance.
-Be prepared to pay for food. No food or picnic lunches are allowed at the farm, so either eat before you go and make it home in time for dinner or plan to pay for food at the farm.
-For older kids, the scary Halloween attraction, The Nest, is located right next door. It has been rated as one of the best Halloween attractions in the country, but it’s not for the faint of heart! Send your teenagers over while the younger kids keep playing at the farm. Visit www.frightened.com for more information.
-Check the traffic before you head to Queen Creek. It can be quite a drive, and you’ll want to make sure that you pick the best route. Nothing’s worse than unanticipated delays in family fun!

 Extras: About the farm – Ray and Thora Schnepf moved to Queen Creek in 1941. Ray and his son, Mark, were large commercial potato farmers. In fact, Queen Creek was once known as the Potato Capital of the World! Mark and his family lived on the farm until just recently, when they moved away to make room for “The Farmhouse at Schnepf Farms,” a new reception center. Almost a quarter of a million people visit Schnepf Farms every year.

Mark and his friends helped Queen Creek become its own town in 1989 in order to avoid being swallowed up by the bigger, expanding municipalities. Mark served as the first Mayor of Queen Creek for 11 years.

If your kids really get into the spirit of the farm, you might want to look into the Lease a Peach Tree program at Schnepf Farms. For a fee, you will have a dedicated peach tree from which you can enjoy all of the fruit. For an additional fee, the farmers will even harvest your peaches and have them delivered right to your doorstep. But that just takes all of the fun out of it, right?