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Halloween Parade is the ninth book in The Kids in Ms. Colman's Class series. It focuses on student Hannie Papadakis.

Back Cover Summary[]

Hannie is having problems with Karen and Nancy. But Hannie thinks she can fix things. She is going to get cool Halloween costumes for all the kids in Ms. Colman's class. Then their class will win prizes. And Karen and Nancy will make up with Hannie.

But the costumes never come! Has Hannie ruined Halloween for everyone?

Summary[]

Main Plot[]

Hannie Papadakis, Nancy Dawes, and Karen Brewer all sit in the fourth row of their classroom. Karen is best friends with Hannie, and Nancy is best friends with Karen, but Nancy is still shy around Hannie, although Hannie hopes they can one day be best friends too.

When Karen comes over to Hannie's house to talk about Halloween costumes, Hannie remembers her father talking on the phone last night about costumes that were ordered, with "plenty for everyone" and "Yes, it is all free." Hannie interprets this to mean that her father will be surprising her and her class with free costumes for Halloween. Hannie is excited at what she concludes, and proceeds to tell the rest of her class about it. Hannie's classmates praise and thank her, except for Nancy who is not excited, but doesn't say anything.

Every year Stoneybrook Academy has a Halloween Parade, where students change into their costumes after lunch and go to the gym, and march around so everyone can see them. Then, the teachers give out prizes for funniest costumes, silliest face, etc. The kids in Ms. Colman's class are sure they'll win because of Hannie's costumes. Classmates do favors for Hannie, like letting her cut in the lunch line and have the best hopscotch court.

When Karen invites Hannie and Nancy to her house one afternoon, Nancy finally says why she isn't excited about Hannie's costumes - she already has her costume, a cowgirl, and she doesn't want a costume she has never seen before. Hannie feels bad again about her prospects of friendship with Nancy.

A few days later when her father comes home from work, Hannie asks him about the costumes, and he explains to her that he is not getting costumes for her class; the phone call he took was about a Halloween party in his office, and he can't just get costumes for Hannie easily and quickly. Hannie is devastated to know she's let down her classmates.

When she lets her classmates know, they tell her she's ruined Halloween. Leslie Morris says she's wrecked Halloween because she is so stupid. Karen defends Hannie, saying she just made a mistake. To Hannie's surprise, Nancy defends her, saying that Nancy does not want to march in the parade by herself, and it is not nice to call people names. Nancy suggests funny glasses with a nose and mustache would make good costumes for the parade, and it would look funny if everyone wore them. Ms. Colman, when asked, agrees to get 17 pairs of glasses and pay for them with the class account. At the parade, Ms. Colman's class wins a prize of silliest costumes. Hannie is pleased she has not ruined Halloween after all.

Hannie knows she let her classmates down and wants to do something to make it up to them. It turns out that her father has several cartons of costume parts in the garage leftover from work. Hannie decides to have a costume-making party for her entire class so they can make costumes for Halloween, since it is too late for the parade. Every guest shows up, and the kids have a great time making costumes. Hannie makes herself a mouse costume, and Karen makes herself a Mother Goose costume. After all the guests have left, Karen and Nancy stay after to help Hannie clean up. Hannie invites both of them to go trick-or-treating with her. Kristy Thomas supervises them and they have a great time. Hannie is pleased that Nancy is now a better friend to her, not just a friend she and Karen have in common.

Subplot[]

Ms. Colman announces that soon everyone will go to the nurse's office to get their vision tested. The kids all take the test with the eye doctor, and all pass except for a few. Karen already knows that she'll need glasses, and Natalie Springer already has glasses. The only student who needs to go see his own eye doctor is Ricky Torres.

When Karen first comes to school in her pink glasses, most students tell her they like them, except for Ricky, who calls her 'Four-eyes' or 'Bat-woman'. Later, Ms. Colman asks Karen to move from the fourth row to the front row, to sit with the other glasses so they can see better. Nancy is very upset by this, but Hannie thinks she is overreacting, since she is just moving to the front row, not to a different town. Karen says Hannie should be Nancy's other best friend, she she is friends with both. Hannie realizes Nancy doesn't think of her as her best friend.

When Ricky comes to class a few days later wearing glasses, Hank, Omar, and Hannie call him 'Four-eyes', 'Batman' and 'Square-eyes', echoing the way he mocked Karen for her glasses before he got his. Ms. Colman subsequently moves him up to the front row to sit with Karen and Natalie, the other glasses-wearers.

At the costume party, Bobby mocks Ricky's costume because he is a goblin with glasses. Ricky tells him that since he's never seen a goblin, he can't know they don't wear glasses. Chris, Hank, and Omar mention that they have relatives who wear glasses, and they really are just not that interesting. Hannie is glad to see that the teasing about glasses is over.

Characters In This book[]

Students

Family

Teenagers

Adults

Places In This Book[]

Continuity and Inconsistencies[]

Continuity

Inconsistencies

  • The first book in The Kids in Ms. Colman's Class series Teacher's Pet starts on the first day of school, and book #8 Summer School, occurs right after school gets out, so books #1-8 represent one year of continuity, and book #9 resets the continuity, since it happens in October. This echoes the publishing dates of Karen's Witch, published August 1988, and Karen's School Picture (meant to happen at the same time as this book), published a year later in September 1989. Therefore, even though this is the ninth book in the series, Hannie and Nancy can say that they don't know each other well.
  • In Kristy’s Worst Idea, Hannie’s father builds houses. In this book, he works at a company that sells Halloween costumes. However, Mr. Papadakis could’ve changed jobs.
  • When Karen gets glasses in Karen's School Picture she's hates the idea of getting glasses and here she sounds very excited. They knew about Ricky needing to see his eye doctor, when nobody knew about it before hand.
  • Hannie doesn't know where Illinois is in this book when she learns about about the state in Second Grade Baby.
  • Chris Lamar mentions that his mother wears glasses, when it's made clear in Karen's Twin that he's raised by his aunt and uncle.

Trivia[]

  • On the dedication page it says: "This book is in honor of the birth of Rachel Godwin Allen."
  • This books working title was Halloween Trouble[1]
  • Pop culture and real life references: Paddington Bear,
  • Nancy and Hannie do not want glasses and Nancy is scared at the idea of getting them.
  • Halloween celebrated on Friday at school, because the actual holiday is on a Sunday.
  • Costumes this year includes:
    • Nancy - Cowgirl
    • Karen - Mother Goose
    • Hannie - mouse
    • Sara - parrot
    • Terri - bee
    • Ricky - goblin
    • Bobby - pirate
  • At the beginning of the book, Hannie and Karen consider themselves best friends, and Karen and Nancy consider themselves best friends, but Hannie and Nancy do not yet, and Nancy is still shy around Hannie. This books shows the start of their friendship after Nancy stands up for Hannie.
  • Tammy sits in the second row and Terri sits in the third row at school. In the fourth row Karen sits next to Nancy and Hannie sits next to Nancy. When Karen gets glasses she switches places with Hank. Then Ricky switches places with Jannie when he gets glasses.
  • Hannie thinks Natalie is messy, Leslie and Jannie are her enemies, and Ricky is a pest.
  • Hank mentions a lot of his cousins and grandparents wear glasses.

Gallery[]

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