Peko Pal
The Night the Scarecrow Walked
Three mornings in a row, the old scarecrow at Hollis Hill Pumpkin Farm has moved to a new spot. Josie and Ben turn detective and follow the clues through a dusky corn maze and a foggy field to find out who is walking Mister Hollis.
- Ages
- 6–9
- Length
- 37 min, 6 chapters
- Feel
- Some suspense
- Wi-Fi to play
- Not needed
Why parents pick it
A six-chapter mystery for listeners who like to guess along. The clues are planted in plain sight, so children can solve it before the detectives do.
Good fit if your child…
- enjoys mysteries and likes to spot the clues before the reveal
- wants a spooky Halloween story that ends kindly and makes sense
- likes farms, pumpkins and stories about siblings working together
Listen to a preview
From Chapter 1
Josie Archer was the first one up on Monday morning, and the first one to see it.
She pressed her nose to her bedroom window. The sun was just pushing over Hollis Hill, and the pumpkin field glowed orange in the early light. Hundreds of pumpkins. Fat ones, tall ones, lumpy ones. And one empty wooden post right in the middle.
The post where Mister Hollis was supposed to be.
Mister Hollis was the farm's scarecrow. He was older than Dad and older than Grandpa too. He wore a droopy brown hat, a patched blue coat, and a burlap face with a crooked stitched smile. Every day of Josie's whole life, he had stood on that post with his arms stretched wide, guarding the pumpkins.
What happens
A week before Halloween, Josie and Ben Archer wake to find the old scarecrow gone from his post at their family's pumpkin farm. Each morning he turns up somewhere new: by the barn, at the corn maze, holding a lantern. The neighbors whisper that he walks on Halloween, but Josie keeps a detective's notebook and trusts her clues.
The mystery is solved with real-world reasons that listeners can work out alongside the children, and it ends at the farm's Halloween night festival. It has foggy fields, hooting owls and a few good shivers, with no one in danger and a warm, funny reveal.
For the grown-up
What they get from it. Children practice noticing small details and putting them together, and hear a brother and sister manage their fear by staying together. The scary parts all have ordinary explanations.
Before you play it. There are real shivers in the corn maze at dusk and the foggy field at night, but the children are never in danger and a parent is always close by. The story winks at the idea of a ghost once at the very end.
Ask your child afterwards:
- Which clue did you notice first, and what did you think it meant?
- What helped Ben feel brave in the corn maze?
- Have you ever kept a surprise secret for someone, and how hard was it?
Chapters
- The Scarecrow by the BarnThe old scarecrow leaves his post overnight and turns up against the barn.
- The Corn Maze at DuskHe has moved again, and at dusk in the corn maze, something squeaks in the dark.
- The Lantern and the HayrideNow he is holding a lantern, and the hayride passes a field with a secret in it.
- Fog in the FieldJosie and Ben keep watch from the hayloft as fog rolls over the pumpkins.
- Who Was Walking Mister HollisThe children follow the squeak and finally learn who has been walking him.
- Halloween NightThe whole town gathers for Halloween night at the farm.
Themes
Common questions
- What age is The Night the Scarecrow Walked for?
- It is written for ages 6–9.
- How long is The Night the Scarecrow Walked?
- 6 chapters, about 37 min in all.
- Is The Night the Scarecrow Walked scary?
- There are real shivers in the corn maze at dusk and the foggy field at night, but the children are never in danger and a parent is always close by. The story winks at the idea of a ghost once at the very end.
- Does it need Wi-Fi?
- No. Once it is on the Pal, it plays without Wi-Fi.
Playing it on the Pal
Press the button to play or pause. Tap left or right to skip back or ahead 15 seconds, double-tap for the previous or next chapter, or triple-tap left to start the book over. Up and down switch to another book. It picks up where you left off.