Happy Halloween!

This story originally appeared in Children's Bookshelf on November 2, 2006 Sign up now!

by Diane Roback, Children's Bookshelf -- Publishers Weekly, 11/2/2006

As Halloween was celebrated throughout the land on Tuesday, a few children’s publishers did their share of celebrating as well. In what has become a tradition, various departments within the Random House and Simon & Schuster children’s divisions dressed up thematically, competing for various Best Costume prizes. Here, Random House Children’s Books' Chip Gibson, who m.c.’ed the Oktoberfest event in his best lederhosen, poses with Marcia Brady, aka Tracy Bloom.

The publicity department nabbed the prize for best overall costume, appearing as assorted characters from the Golden Children’s Bible. Below, Dominique Cimina and Judith Haut, who dressed as Adam and Eve. Eagle-eyed viewers will spot a copy of People magazine in Haut/Adam’s hand—according to the long-lost “Random House Gospel,” the publicity department was tempted in the garden of editorial by the fruit of the celebrity tree.

Moses and the burning bush, acted out by Allison Hathaway and Melanie Chang. Hathaway even adorned her costume with flashing red Christmas lights, to signify burning.

Jesus made a special guest appearance, courtesy of Rich Romano. Other biblical figures and scenes included David and Goliath, Noah and the Ark, the Three Wise Men, and Mary Magdalene.

Knopf editorial, as the HazMat Editorial Squad, shared the most entertaining costume prize. Here, Nancy Siscoe, Jack Lienke and Cecile Goyette keep the room safe from poisonous beer.

Co-winners for most entertaining costume: the school and library and new media marketing departments, which came as the Brady Bunch.

Creative services staged a Children’s Bestseller Death Match, where characters from various bestselling books duked it out in a boxing ring. They won for best book-related costume. Here, Ranse Ransone poses as Olivia.

Best individual costume went to Cynthia Gordon, who cantered in as Happy Howdy the Horseman, accompanied by Stephanie Sumulong.

The marketing department was the undisputed winner for scariest costume, as Kimberly Langus, John Adamo and Bill Adams appeared as Prom Dates from Hell (from a book due out next spring).

Below, that's Jim Thomas in drag, and pregnant, as part of Random House editorial’s Don’t Drink the Water theme, in which it was assumed that there must be something in the water that is making so many RH staffers pregnant right now.

And appropriately enough, two judges for the contest, Mark Kermode and Angel Negron, both from the mailroom, came dressed as lost packages.

But Random House didn’t have a lock on the day’s festivities. A few blocks south at Simon and Schuster, another contest was being held and judged. Here again, the publicity department walked off with top honors—best group costume, for its Dooby Dooby Moo theme.

Richard Ackoon, aka Peter Pan, won best individual costume.

The “best group sycophant” prize was a tie. It was jointly awarded to the marketing department, which dressed as the Billings Girls from Kate Brian’s Private series...

…and to managing editorial, which came as the characters from the new Peter Pan in Scarlet.

S&S Young Readers editorial dressed up as the cast from Project Runway, and here, Elizabeth Law displays the show’s famous coffee-filter dress.

And not to be outdone, over at Scholastic, the corporate librarians also got into the holiday spirit. Karen Van Rossem came as Cruella De Vil, complete with puppies, and Kerry Prendergast scared library visitors all day as a witch.
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