Lila and the Jack-o'-Lantern

July 31, 2023
Churnin introduces readers to a Halloween tradition’s beginnings in this fictionalized 1850 account of an Irish family emigrating to America. The story opens with red-haired, pale-skinned Lila and her siblings voyaging to the States to escape the Potato Famine. Upon arrival, homesickness sets in, but Ma reassures: “Soon it will be Halloween. I’ll bake colcannon and barmbrack.” Fortuitously, the child encounters a new friend at the market, as well as pumpkins, and a gourd proves to be an ideal replacement for the turnips carved back home to scare off spirit Jack on Halloween. Bray’s flatly realistic drawings center Lila in accessible domestic and metropolitan scenes, and educational prose unfolds slowly to describe the family’s holiday customs, such as finding treasures in Ma’s traditional fare. The result is an informational historical portrait of tradition and transition. An author’s note and recipe conclude. Ages 4–8.

October 1, 2023
A young Irish immigrant to the United States adapts her traditions to a new land. In mid-19th-century Ireland, Jack is a "sly spirit," a prankster, deterred from entering a house by a carved turnip face lit by a glowing coal placed in the window. Lila and her two younger siblings journey with their Ma to join their Da in an unnamed American city, ca. 1850. The urban landscape is very different from their green fields, and the younger children are anxious about maintaining traditions around Halloween (an Irish festival import). Ma assures Lila that she'll still "bake colcannon and barmbrack" (though as the recipe at the end confirms, colcannon is not baked). But, alas, there are no turnips to be had. At an open-air market, Lila quickly finds a friend, olive-skinned Julia--and an idea for a turnip substitute. She explains Irish Halloween to Julia, inviting her to participate. Julia explains the edibility of pumpkin seeds (and says that the stringy pumpkin "guts" can be turned into pie, though actually, they can't). The younger children dress in sheets to scare Jack away (trick-or-treating will develop later). There is no recipe for barmbrack, a sweet Irish tea bread, more complicated than colcannon. The appealingly simple but realistic illustrations, featuring light-skinned, redheaded Lila and her family, are alight with autumnal color and replete with details of tenement life. A warm story of heritage, and the anxieties and rewards around change. (history, recipe) (Picture book. 4-8)

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Starred review from September 22, 2023

PreS-Gr 3-A delightfully written story based on how the Irish brought their Halloween traditions to America. Lila and her family leave Ireland in 1850 due to the potato famine, but Lila is worried about leaving behind her Halloween traditions. In Ireland, a sly spirit named Jack walked the streets on Halloween, playing pranks. So, the children carved turnips into jack-o'-lanterns and put them in their windows so he wouldn't visit their house. They also wore sheets and knocked on doors for treats, thinking Jack would believe them to be spirits. When Lila cannot find any turnips in America, she thinks a pumpkin at the market might work. She and her new friend Julia make a jack-o'-lantern from the pumpkin, eat her mother's colcannon (mashed potatoes, kale, and onions) and barmbrack (fruit bread), and roast the pumpkin seeds. They start a new friendship and a new American Halloween tradition. Illustrations are done in warm autumn hues, capturing the time period perfectly, with whimsical artwork. Back matter includes an author's note and information on the traditional Irish foods of barmbrack and colcannon, including a recipe for the latter. VERDICT A lovely story time book that lends itself to great discussions on Halloween traditions. This delightful picture book is a must-have for elementary libraries.-Nancy Hawkins

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