Today we feature some of the most popular Halloween picture books, to delight your youngest little ghosts and goblins!
By the Light of the Halloween Moon (5/5 stars, currently priced at $3.99) – From Amazon:
PreSchool-Grade 3 – A cumulative tale in which a series of beasties and ghoulies threaten to nibble at a child’s toes. These scary creatures run the gamut from the familiar bat and witch to the lesser-known ghoul and sprite. They emerge from tomb and darkness to pinch, grab, or bite the legs that are pictured dangling over the edge of the bridge. The pileup of menacing monsters and the close calls build tension until the complete picture of a self-assured little girl appears. Her fully capitalized expression of proprietary rights will assure readers that she knows how to take care of herself. The final scene, in which she fiddles a Halloween tune for the dancing monsters, creates a comic resolution, making the night a time of fun as well as near-terror. While the edges of the illustrations are sometimes fuzzy, the opaque jewel tones and the details of costume and expression make the ghosts anything but remote. A great nighttime party for all year round.
– Ruth K. MacDonald, Quinnipiac College, Hamden, CT – For School Library Journal, Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Pick A Pumpkin, Mrs. Millie! (4.5/5 stars, ages 3 and up, currently priced at $3.99) – From Amazon:
Silly Mrs. Millie is at it again! In the fall, she takes her kindergarteners on a class trip to pick pumpkins for their harvest party. The class has fun guessing the meanings of their favorite teacher’s nonsense words. They go on a dragon (wagon) ride, pet the boats (goats), and drink apple spider (cider). Coupled with hilarious artwork in pen, pencil, and colored dyes by Joe Mathieu, the lighthearted text sets a class trip on its ear, even as it teaches a subtle lesson in wordplay.
Shake Dem Halloween Bones (5/5 stars, ages 5 and up, currently priced at $5.35) – From Amazon:
It’s Halloween night. The city is quiet. The city is still. But as the lights go down, the music comes up – and the guests start to arrive at the hip-hop Halloween ball! And oh, what a party it is. Told in hip-hop rhyming text, L’il Red Riding Hood, Goldilocks, Tom Thumb, and all of their fairy-tale friends come together for a rapping, stomping, shaking Halloween romp. Scoo-bee-doo-bee-doo-wah. Yeah!
The Berenstain Bears Trick or Treat (4.5/5 stars, ages 5 and up, currently priced at $4.99) – From Amazon:
As Brother and Sister Bear don their costumes to go trick-or-treating by themselves for the first time, they plan to avoid Miz McGrizz’s spooky home. But during their Halloween outing, the cubs discover that appearances can be deceiving.
Little Owl’s Night (5/5 stars, ages 3 and up, currently priced at $12.99) – From Amazon:
“This is the most visually and verbally gorgeous picture book of the year… Simple, dazzling – and simply dazzling.” -The Boston Globe
Scaredy-Cat, Splat! (Splat the Cat) – (4.5/5 stars, ages 3 and up, currently priced at $10.97) – From Amazon:
It’s Halloween and Splat is determined to be the scariest cat in the class. Unfortunately he’s just too much of a scaredy-cat. He’s afraid of a little spider, and everyone says his costume looks more silly than scary. And when the teacher tells a ghost story in the dark, Splat gets so frightened that he tips over his jack-o-lantern. But when the lights go back on, the entire class is scared silly by a small, black furry creature with a big pumpkin head. Whoooo could it be?
The 13 Nights of Halloween (5/5 stars, ages 4 and up, currently priced at $11.55) – From Amazon:
On the first night of Halloween, what does your mummy give you? A bright, shiny Skeleton Key, of course!
In fact, for each of the thirteen nights leading up to the big night, your mummy is ready with gifts that include everything from singing skulls to demons dancing to icky eyeballs. The spookier and slimier, the better!
From debut author-illustrator Guy Vasilovich comes a picture book that is sure to inspire even the youngest readers to start the creepy countdown to Halloween. Sing along to the tune of “The Twelve Days of Christmas” as you get ready for the scariest—and silliest—night of the year.