I will forever love this book, even if the story of Jenny with the green ribbon still freaks me out as an adult lol.

The 2017 reillustrations are fine: cartoony and gothic, they lean Burton-esque and are at their best in the title story, where background details take precedence and the colors are darker. The original illustrations are better, even given their now-dated color palette. The shapes are dynamic, deceptively staid for the memorable "The Green Ribbon," cartoony when it benefits; there's a willingness not to show the gotcha, which sparks the imagination (see: "The Pirate").

I've been browsing a bit of Schwartz lately and it amazes me how brief the stories are, how densely packed they can be. It doesn't make for great reading as an adult, honestly. But as a kid, the invitation to extrapolate from the brevity and what's omitted from (or present only in) illustrations, plus the smorgasbord of potential nightmare fuel, must have worked remarkably well because there are stories I still remember--and rereading them is fine, but remembering them intrigues and frightens me. So while this was interesting to revisit, I won't do an exhaustive reread; Schwartz isn't meant for me anymore. But if fresh illustrations means he can brainworm a new generation, then I'm all for it.

Oh the deja vu! Or should I say deja boo! The other day a friend and I were discussing scary books we read as children and whatever happened to them (think Scary Stories to Read in the Dark and Goosebumps). I remembered this story about a girl with a green ribbon around her neck. On a whim I took my girls (2 and 5) by the library today and let them each choose 2 books. My eldest handed me this one! The stories, the artwork, the ambiance, all brought me back to such great memories from my childhood of hiding in closet with a flashlight and friends.

Five stars for the simple nostalgia and reminding me just how much I’ve always loved Halloween.

Classic. The Green Ribbon is still what nightmares are made of.

A cute children's book. Loved it as a child and it was given to my 10 year old niece who also loved it!

the green ribbon charged me in a subatomic way