cover image Pennsylvania Dutch Halloween Scherenschnitte

Pennsylvania Dutch Halloween Scherenschnitte

Peter V. Fritsch. Pelican, $19.95 (80p) ISBN 978-1-58980-956-7

In the tradition of Pennsylvania Dutch folk art, Fritsch arranges scherenschnitte (scissor-cut) silhouettes against flaming orange backgrounds. Short poems, which appear both in the Pennsylvania Dutch dialect and in English, mine folklore with rascally and sometimes frightening results, and are set against often symmetrical scenes of angular cats, ghosts, witches, and other devilish creatures. An elegant treat harkens back to early American celebrations of Halloween. All ages. (July)