Before I started the online copy of Beep, Beep, Beep, Trunk-or-Treat!: A Lift-the-Flap Book I thought my first lines of the review would be: “I hate everything about Beep, Beep, Beep, Trunk-or-Treat!: A Lift-the-Flap Book. Or I should say, I hate the concept of Beep, Beep, Beep, Trunk-or-Treat!: A Lift-the-Flap Book.” Because, honestly, (and I am sorry Tracie Schneider), but I do hate the concept of Trunk Or Treat as I am old school! I liked going door to door, showing off my costume, and since we only went to a few friends and families houses, I got to see people I knew, like my great-aunt (not because she was my favorite, but her style used to fascinate me: she was a woman of the 50s and had drawn on eyebrows! It was so bizarre to my kid brain) so it was the experience of it.
With that said, Trunk or Treat tends to be the thing of the times. And to have a modern book, a book that represents what most kids probably think of when they think of Trick-or-Treating, is good. To have representation does not just mean representing different races, or abilities, or genders; but it is about representing what we experience as well. And until this flip-board book, it never occurred to me that we need books on Trunk and Treating. I was happy with the old school, classic way.
When it comes to Sarah Rebar illustrations, they give us representation in those illustrations by showing diverse people and concepts. They are bright, easy and simple. They are colorful but are not overwhelming the reader. The rhyming text is reinforced by some pretty darn bold images. The online format made the “flip part” odd (the page couldn’t show the flap, so it had a repeated page, with the flap “lifted” on the second page, otherwise repeated), but when you get the finished copy in later August 2026 it is going to be a blast for your listening toddler to probably up to five or six who can start solo reading.
