Common Sense Media Review
By Andrea Beach
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Darker Halloween movie spin-off adds more creeps, chills.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 12+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
What's the Story?
LONG LIVE THE PUMPKIN QUEEN picks up the story of Halloween Town begun in The Nightmare Before Christmas. Sally and Jack just got married, which makes Sally the Pumpkin Queen. The only trouble is, she's not sure she's cut out to be a queen, or at least certainly not the kind of queen Halloween Town's residents expect her to be. In a panic in the woods, she opens a hidden door to a long-forgotten realm, Dream Town, and accidentally leaves the door to Dream Town open over night. What climbs through the door and into Halloween Town eventually spreads to all the holiday towns, and even into the human world. Can Sally put an end to the nightmare?
Is It Any Good?
For those who like things a little on the dark side, this movie to-book spin-off could be a delightfully spooky reading experience. But it's definitely darker than the movie, so it may be too much for sensitive kids. Fans of Tim Burton's classic movie The Nightmare Before Christmas will enjoy the chance this book brings to revisit Halloween Town, and to experience it through Sally's eyes this time.
Author Shea Ernshaw chooses morbid, macabre, and creepy words that create a mood steeped in dread, decay, the dead, and the undead. And she relies pretty heavily on readers being familiar with the world and most of the characters in it, so seeing the movie first is recommended to better understand what's going on.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the scariness in Long Live the Pumpkin Queen. Is it too scary? What do you do to feel better when you get scared?
Why do we sometimes like feeling a little scared, especially around Halloween time?
Did you see the movie before you read the book? Which do you like better? If you haven't seen the movie, would you like to now?
Book Details
- Author :
- Genre : Fantasy
- Topics : Fantasy ( Magic ) , Adventures , Holidays
- Character Strengths : Courage , Empathy , Perseverance
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Disney Press
- Publication date : August 2, 2022
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 12 - 18
- Number of pages : 320
- Available on : Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : September 29, 2025
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