Spooktactular Reads for Children

Categories: Children's Books

With Halloween just around the corner, it’s the perfect time to stock up on these spooky (and not so spooky) titles for the little trick-or-treaters in your life!

New Titles

One of my favorite new seasonal books has to be How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin (2007) Author Margaret McNamara provides a lot of fun pumpkin science and even pumpkin math in this delightful story that reminds us that, "Small things can have a lot going on inside!" 

Owl is back in Jonathan Allen’s I’m Not Scared (2007), the sweet and not so scary sequel to I’m Not Cute. Baby Owl, clutching his plush lovey, sets out for a walk in the woods declaring, “I am NOT scared!” Still, the woods are dark and deep and spooky. Can Owl conquer his fears?

Happy Halloween Stinky Face (2007)- It’s almost time for trick-or-treating, but first Stinky Face has a few questions for Mama. A reassuring tale from the author of Merry Christmas Stinky Face.

Baby Bear is trick-or-treating  with Mama and Papa Bear in The Three Bears’ Halloween (2007). As they come up to a very spooky house, they notice the door is open… Are they in for a Halloween trick? Or treat? And has anyone seen Goldilocks lately?

A Field Guide to Monsters (2007)- Join noted Monsterologist Johan Olander as he profiles more than twenty-five previously undocumented monsters including Googly-Eyed Wart Floppers, Shadow-Casters, Toe-Eaters, and a collection of other Creatures too gruesome to mention.

Mouse's First Halloween (2000)- One spooky night, Mouse creeps out and hears bats flying, "Flit! Flit! Flit! and apples droppin, "Plop! Plop! Plop!" and children singing "Trick or Treat!" What could it be? 

Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich (2006)- Relish every hilarious offering in this monstrous menu of misadventure. Frankenstein, Count Dracula, Godzilla, and the Creature from the Black Lagoon take you behind the scenes in the daily life of a monster. There’s more to being a monster than hiding under beds and scaring children, and things don’t always go as planned. Fresh, creative, and funny, this title has just enough gory detail to cause a few gasps. 

Everyone’s favorite Halloween ghouls and goblins are minding their own business in Sendak’s Mommy? (2006) when a plucky youngster wanders into their haunted abode. “Mommy?” he asks calmly as the cast of characters gets less and less maternal. It’s a pop-up trifecta with lovable characters, vibrant artwork, and meticulous pop-ups. No matter how scary these monsters may seem, there’s no stopping someone in search of their mommy! 

BOOM! CLACKA-CLACK! The skeletons dance And rattle their bones.  In Rattlebone Rock! (1995) Ghosts join in With musical moans. Mice squeak by And bats swoop down. The BOOMA beat echoes All through the town. Witches and goblins Make the tombstones Knock. It's time to dance To the Rattlebone Rock! 

Based on the popular finger play, Five Little Pumpkins (1995) is perfect for the smallest ghouls and goblins. 

Linda Williams’ classic The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything (1986) remains the gold standard for fun, participatory Halloween read alouds. A little old lady aptly handles a pumpkin head, black hat, and other spooky objects that follow her through the woods. Pumpkins - stewed, baked, steamed, mashed, boiled roasted, and rotten.

No more pumpkins! Or so says Rebecca Estelle in Too Many Pumpkins (1996) And so it was that she never allowed a pumpkin into her home until... the day an enormous pumpkin falls off a truck and smashes into her yard. In a few months those "slimy pumpkin smithereens sprout up into a sea of pumpkins." Her solution of what to do with them is sure to bring on the giggles. 

There Was an Old Lady who Swallowed a Bat (2002) is a lively Halloween version of the traditional "There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Fly." In this case, the old lady swallows all kinds of things associated with Halloween, including a bat, owl, cat, ghost, goblin, bones, and, finally, "a wizard to cast a spell." 

Shake dem Halloween Bones (1997)- It’s Halloween night and the city is quiet. But, as the lights go down, the music comes up- and the guest begin to arrive at the hip-hop Halloween Ball! L’il Red Riding Hood, Goldilocks, Tom Thumb, and all their fairy-tale friends come together for a rapping, stomping, shaking Halloween romp.  Who hasn’t had the aggravation of a whole day’s worth of bone-rattling hiccups?

In Skeleton Hiccups (2005), poor Skeleton wakes up with a deadly case that he can’t shake and it’s up to his friend Ghost to think of something. With the reassuring chorus of “hic, hic, hic,” this simple story begs to be read aloud.