Murray’s Howl-o-ween, E. G. Keller’s 2025 picture book, takes advantage of the similarity of sounds between “howl” like a dog and the first part of “Halloween.” I though that would be the only connection until the end of the book, because even though Murray is a dog, this book is quite gentle in spirit, a quiet sort of book.
We start in the city (New York by the looks of things). That’s Murray’s home, and he’s happy there until his family forces him to go on a road trip to…the country! The hook is that everything is different here, and the fun comes from seeing this city dog so out of place. A lot of what Murray does is dog-specific (like eating the skeleton because it’s made of dog treats), but some of the time he is more of a stand-in for kids who find themselves out of place.
Though the images of the pumpkin patch and the maze are visually pleasing, they were alien enough to overwhelm Murray, who runs away to hide, back at Nana and Grandpa’s house, where he’s visiting. Fortunately, Wynona, a cat who lives there, appoints herself Murray’s local guide, showing him around, helping him find things to enjoy, and, taking him out to howl at the moon. By the time he heads home, Murray likes the country.
This is an easy story, which both makes it gentle and non-threatening for kids (good things), easy to sympathize with (always a good thing), and relatively low-stakes. That last bit is less good. Since they aren’t moving there, we know Murray is going home eventually, so there’s not much real threat here in the end, and Murray is pretty passive about it all.
