Kids Books for Halloween
Happy Halloween!
Room on the Broom
Room on the Broom
Amazon Price: $2.67 (as of 06/01/2012)
In this lightweight, witty story, helpful animals find "room on the broom" of a generous witch. At first, a striped cat accompanies the cheerful sorceress: "How the cat purred/ and how the witch grinned,/ As they sat on their broomstick/ and flew through the wind." Next, a spotted dog retrieves the witch's flyaway black hat and asks to come aboard. The three riders soon welcome a green parrot (who finds the witch's lost hair ribbon) and a frog (who rescues her wand from the bottom of a pond). When threatened by a dragon, the loyal animals form a "Brementown Musicians" chimera whose "terrible voice,/ when it started to speak,/ was a yowl and a growl/ and a croak and a shriek." The witch repays them by conjuring a cushier vehicle. Donaldson and Scheffler, previously paired for The Gruffalo, emphasize the airborne animals' contentment and evoke sympathy for the broom's driver. In Scheffler's comical panels and insets, the witch has a warty nose and lace-up boots, but wears a pleasant smile; Donaldson puts a spooky/silly spin on the folktale format. The metrical rhyme and goofy suspense aren't groundbreaking, but readers will likely find it refreshing to see a witch playing against type. Ages 4-8.
The Ghost Who Was Afraid of Halloween
The Ghost Who Was Afraid of Halloween
Pumpkin Moonshine
Pumpkin Moonshine
Amazon Price: $7.13 (as of 06/01/2012)
Halloween is coming, and Sylvie Ann wants to make a pumpkin moonshine (or jack-o'-lantern), so she sets out across her Grandmummy and Grandpawp's cornfields to find "the very finest and largest pumpkin." Once she finds it, the problem is how to get it home. This fine, large pumpkin is so big, Sylvie Ann can't carry it. So she rolls it across the field, like a snowball in winter, until she reaches the edge of the field where the ground slopes down. And suddenly, the pumpkin begins running away down the hill! Can Sylvie catch it before it frightens the goats, terrifies the hens, enrages the geese, and bumps into Mr. Hemmelskamp who is carrying a pail full of whitewash?
Those who don't know the denouement to this more than 60-year-old classic by two-time Caldecott Honor artist Tasha Tudor will not be surprised to find a happy ending to this exquisite, gentle story. Tudor's delicate orange-framed watercolors of a rural autumn and a bonneted little girl speak to a softer side of Halloween--one that is not overtaken by werewolves, blood, and gore, but is a reminder of the season in all its fresh abundance. Tasha Tudor has over 90 books to her credit, including The Dolls' Christmas and Caldecott Honor book, 1 Is One. (Ages 4 to 8)
Zen Ghosts
Zen Ghosts
Amazon Price: $6.39 (as of 06/01/2012)
It's Halloween.
The trees are ablaze in fiery reds. Excited children don colorful costumes. And there's mystery and fun around every corner!
When Addy, Michael, and Karl finish trick-or-treating, their bags are brimming with treats. But the fun isn't over yet. Their good friend Stillwater the panda has one more special surprise in store for them. A mysterious visitor is about to tell them a spine-tingling story -- one that will fill each and every reader with wonder.
Bats at the Library
Bats at the Library
Amazon Price: $5.94 (as of 06/01/2012)
An open library window is an invitation for a colony of bats in this sequel to Bats at the Beach (2006). Once inside, older bats look for favorite books, while younger ones explore and play. Storytime settles everyone down and transports them into the tales, filled with bat characters playing new roles. The bat homage to classic children's books includes titles like Goodnight Sun, while images such as Little Red Riding Bat will amuse children who are familiar with the originals. The rhymed narrative serves primarily as the vehicle for the appealing acrylic illustrations that teem with bats so charming they will even win over chiroptophobes. Preschool-Grade 3.
Big Pumpkin
The Hallo-wiener
The Hallo-wiener
Amazon Price: $0.79 (as of 06/01/2012)
Kindergarten-Grade 3-Oscar is a dachshund who is "...half-a-dog tall and one-and-a-half dogs long." All the other neighborhood dogs-a motley crew of meanies-make fun of him. His mother doesn't help matters any, showering him publicly with endearments that refer invariably to sausage. What Oscar wants more than anything is to be something scary for Halloween, but when he rushes home from obedience school his mother surprises him with a costume that's exactly the opposite of what he had in mind-"...a giant hot-dog bun, complete with mustard." He gives his mom a kiss, but the look on his face is pure pain. Poor Oscar! Slowed down by his silly costume, he trails behind his pack of greedy peers, who snarf up all the treats at each house before he has a chance to grab any. But Oscar is truly a good dog-when two cats disguised as a monster chase his pals into the lake, he swims to their rescue and finally earns their appreciation. Pilkey's vibrant, cartoonstyle illustrations include tons of hilarious touches-Oscar's mother has crazy human lipstick lips painted on her muzzle; his teacher has a milkbone on his desk instead of an apple (and the lesson of the day is SIT-STAY); and the two ornery felines can often be seen laughing at the canines from their unique vantage point. This may be the funniest Halloween story ever written, and it's definitely got the most lovable hero.
My Monster Mama Loves Me So
My Monster Mama Loves Me So
Amazon Price: $2.00 (as of 06/01/2012)
PreSchool-This amusing love poem will delight preschoolers and their mothers as they enjoy the rhyming story and pore over the detailed illustrations. Little monster tells readers the many ways his mama shows that she loves him: she attends all of his "beastball games"; sings him lullabies and tucks him into bed; and "She gives me great big hairy hugs,/bakes me cookies filled with bugs,/and when I'm sick she's twice as nice-/she gives me lizard juice with ice." The story is humorous, though slight, and works well, despite a few moments of awkward rhythm, but it is the illustrations that shine. Buehner's three-eyed monsters live in a haunted house that includes a one-eyed dog, spiders over the bed, and cobwebs everywhere, yet they manage to look both friendly and monstrous at the same time. Details such as bug earrings and a blue, hairy beastball with eyes and fangs, as well as ordinary children as the "scary things" that frighten little monster, are sure to tickle young funny bones. Ending with the line, "Oops-one other thing is true:/Your monster mama loves you too!" Leuck delivers a reassuring message in a funny, mildly scary story. Perfect for storytimes.
Halloween Books in the News
Do you have a favorite kids Halloween book?
-
-
vermontmom
Sep 13, 2011 @ 5:11 pm | delete
- There are definitely some books here we haven't read. Maybe it's far enough before Halloween that we can get them out of the library!
-
-
-
Yourshowman
Dec 8, 2010 @ 9:38 am | delete
- Nice lens.
-
-
-
Sylvestermouse
Sep 20, 2010 @ 8:14 pm | delete
- I have never actually seen any of these books, but what fun they would be to children. I would have to choose the "Bats at the Library" to read first :)
-
More Halloween Ideas
This Halloween Magazine page written by
hlkljgk
Welcome,
and thank you for visiting my page.
My Newest Pages
more »
The creepiest, kookiest, altogether ookiest...
Connect with Halloween Magazine
This author recommends...
-
Judi Barrett
Judi Barrett is the author of many well-loved books for children, including Clou... -
Leo Lionni
Leo Lionni wrote and illustrated more than 40 highly acclaimed children's books.... -
Edgar Allan Poe Poetry
Although critics have different views on Poe's writing style, Harold Bloom summe... -
Zoobooks for Toddlers
If you'd like something for the child in your life that makes learning fun while... -
Classic Childrens Books Online
I have a brother who is two years older than I am. During his first years in sch... -
Halloween Books For Preschoolers
This Halloween, delight your little ones with these top ten Halloween books for...
Halloween Learn-to-Read
The Big Halloween Scare (Spongebob Squarepants Ready-to-Read)
Amazon Price: $0.01 (as of 06/01/2012)
Scholastic Reader Level 1: Noodles: I'm Not Scared!
Amazon Price: $0.01 (as of 06/01/2012)
The Bear Detectives: The Case of the Missing Pumpkin (I Can Read It All by Myself Beginner Books)
Amazon Price: $6.74 (as of 06/01/2012)
