[BOOK REVIEW] The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving

Title:  The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

Author:  Washington Irving

Artist:  Robert Van Nutt

Genre:  Halloween / Horror / Romance


Year Published: 1988


Year Read: 2009


Series:  Storybook Classics

Publisher: Rabbit Ears Books

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 6+ (Some Scary Moments)

Buy or Add on:  Amazon  //  Goodreads

“The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” is another fantastic story from Rabbit Ears’  “Storybook Classic” series.  Everyone knows the famous story of Icabod Crane and his encounter with the Headless Horseman.  “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” is one of the greatest stories ever created by Washington Irving and with Glenn Close’s haunting narration along with Tim Story’s eerie music and Robert Van Nutt’s beautiful yet haunting illustrations makes this one classic that no one will ever miss!

Glenn Close’s narration is haunting and tender at the same time throughout this video.  Glenn Close  is extremely tender in her tone of voice when she narrates the peaceful life of Icabod Crane and when the Headless Horseman is mentioned, Glenn Close’ s voice suddenly gets dark and frightening, especially during the scene where the Headless Horseman starts chasing Icabod.  Tim Story’s music is tranquil yet haunting at the same time especially during the scenes of the Headless Horseman where his music gets a spooky tone and intensifies when the Headless Horseman starts chasing Icabod.  Robert Van Nutt’s illustrations are beautiful, especially of the illustration of Katrina Van Tassel herself with her golden and curly hair and beautiful blue eyes.  Robert Van Nutt’s illustrations are also haunting especially of the image of the Headless Horseman being shown as a silhouette and spouting a scary looking pumpkin head which he carries in his arms. 

Parents should know that there are some genuinely scary scenes in this video that makes "The Fisherman and His Wife" look like a friendly family video.  The scenes with the Headless Horseman are extremely intense especially towards the end of the video where it chases Icabod around the town.  Also, parents might be concern about the use of “hell” in this video as this video is aimed towards children.  Parents might want to see this video first before they show it to their children just to see of their children can handle the scary scenes in this story and also teach their children about how the word “hell” is used in this video as it is use in context to the underworld.

“The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” is probably Rabbit Ears’ scariest tale ever created and is also a very moving video for children who love romance and horror combined into one story.  Children will certainly fall in love with this video for its tranquil beginning about Icabod’s life and the horror that the Headless Horseman brings into the story.  I would recommend this video to children ages seven and up due to many scenes that can be frightening to smaller children and because of the use of the word “hell” mentioned two times in the video.