Halloween is just around the corner. That means it’s time to start reading books all about this fall holiday.
Discover the best choices in Halloween books– just right for kids of all ages to enjoy. Find board books, picture books, and chapter books. Even better, these books aren’t scary — they’re kid-friendly and mom-approved.
Don’t miss this printable Halloween treasure hunt.
Find 80 book character costumes ideas here.
Board Books for Ages 1 – 4
B is for Boo: A Halloween Alphabet (Babylit) by Greg Paprocki
The retro artwork and style of this Halloween alphabet book fill the pages with kid-friendly treats, costumes, and other Halloween topics. It’s absolutely lovely.
Spookie Pookie by Sandra Boynton
Don’t you just love Sandra Boynton board books? This cute Halloween book shows how Pookie makes a decision about what to wear as a Halloween costume. Talk about relatable and cute!
Eek! Halloween! by Sandra Boynton
The chickens feel nervous at all the strange things they see like a pumpkin, a wizard, and a robot. So what do they do? Hide their eyes. Until someone explains what’s going on. . . Can you guess?
The I’m Not Scared Book by Todd Parr
This book talks about times what things are scary and times when those same things are not — “Sometimes I’m scared of dogs // I’m not scared when they give me kisses.” Parr shows how it’s okay to feel scared as well as shifting the perspective to see things in a new way.
Peep and Egg I’m Not Trick-or-Treating by Laura Gehl, illustrated by Joyce Wan
If you love these two friends, you’ll like this new, funny story about Halloween. Peep does an admirable job trying to entice Egg into being brave for trick-or-treating by sharing jokes, planning out the night, and talking about costumes. But Egg just won’t. (Yet.)
Halloween Picture Books for Ages 4 – 8
Ten Creepy Monsters by Carey F. Armstrong-Ellis
One blew away,
And then there were nine.
Count down from 10 creepy monsters to none in this creepy rhyming book with ghoulish illustrations. Kids will love this clever and entertaining story.
AlphaOops: H is for Halloween by Alethea Kontis, illustrated by Bob Kolar
One of our favorite, totally hilarious not-your-average-alphabet Halloween stories! After A isn’t ready, the letters decide that this book will start with H for Halloween. But then, who will go? These letters with big personalities will crack you up.
Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson, illustrated by Axel Scheffler
A classic Halloween story of friendship! While flying on her broom, the wind blows away the witch’s hat, bow, and wand! Fortunately, three animals find her things and ask for a ride on her broom. Will there be room? What will happen when a hungry dragon shows up?
Boo Who? by Ben Clanton
Who can’t relate to being new and feeling invisible? Boo is new and literally invisible. Not only that, he has trouble playing most games. For example, Tag doesn’t work. Neither does basketball. But he’s happy to learn that Hide-and-Seek works perfectly! Muted colors show expressive characters pairing perfectly with this sweet story about fitting in. A great story for any time of year, not just Halloween season.
Bonaparte Falls Apart by Margery Cuyler, illustrations by Will Terry
Bonaparte is losing all his bones. His friends, Franky Stein, Blacky Widow, and Mummicula try to help him but their glue, webs, and bandages don’t help. Luckily, they see a dog with a bone and realize that the bone loving dog is just what Bonaparte needs. Now he can go to school with confidence!
I Want to Be in a Scary Story by Sean Taylor, illustrated by Jean Jullien
Bad Kitty Scaredy Cat by Nick Bruel
Bad Kitty didn’t use to be such a scaredy kitty but frightening creatures appear one night (An Awful Alien, A Bizarre Bigfoot, A Creepy Clown, . . . ) and she becomes very, very scared. But when Kitty sees the candy: Apples, Bubblegum, Candy Corn, Dried Fruit, . . ., her fears go away. Now she’s motivated to Attack the Alien, Batter Bigfoot, Clobber the Clown, and get all the candy for herself. This Halloween book for kids is hilarious alphabetic fun!
The Night Before Halloween by Natasha Wing, illustrated by Cynthia Fisher
Kids love this fun remake of the Night Before Christmas poem. In this Halloween story, the monsters prepare for the big day…mummies put on new wraps, Count Dracula does his hair, the witches brew potions, and they all decorate the house. What will they do when humans come trick or treating? Cute, not scary!
Grimelda The Very Messy Witch by Diana Murray, illustrated by Heather Ross
She needs pickle root but must clean her entire house before she can find it. Silly and fun — no scary stuff here.
Monster Trucks by Anika Denise, illustrated by Nate Wragg
“Monster Trucks moan! Monster Trucks grumble! Monster Trucks groan!” Loud, frightening monster trucks clang, boom, bang before the big race with a fun, surprise ending.
This Book is Full of Monsters by Guido Van Genechten
A Teeny Tiny Halloween by Lauren L. Wohl, illustrated by Henry Cole
I love this story that is meant to be read aloud with lyrical text in different sizes to show loud or softness… Fall is coming. The wind is howling, the leaves are covering everything and the teeny tiny woman feels scared. “Oh, who will save me?” she cries. When no one comes, the teeny tiny woman bakes chocolate chip cookies to help. Meanwhile outside her house, three costumed children play in the leaves. When discover the house, they eat cookies inside the warm, cozy house with the teeny tiny woman.
It’s Raining Bats and Frogsby Rebecca Colby
Oh, dear. It’s raining on the Witch Parade. Delia wants to help! She changes the rain to cats and dogs. But that’s too crazy so Delia tries again with hats and clogs instead. Oh, my. Then the witches fight over the shoes so Delia tries bats and frogs instead. Disaster after silly disaster make the actual rain look better and better. After all, a little rain never hurt anyone. An adorable Halloween book.
Ghosts In the House a Lift-the-Flap Book by Ammi-Joan Paquette, illustrated by Adam Record
Kids love this clever, funny Halloween counting book starts with one ghost. The ghost discovers (lift-the-flap) a skeleton in the closet and now there are two. Soon there are a total of five monsters prowling through the house. That is until they see a little boy. Yikes! Of course, the frightened monsters run for their lives. 🙂
Creepy Pair of Underwear! by Aaron Reynolds, illustrated by Peter Brown
Jasper’s mom to buy him a pair of big boy underwear. But the underwear is CREEPY. They glow in the dark. So Jasper (who isn’t scared at all!) tries and tries to get rid of them. But no matter what he does, they come right back! Finally, he’s successful after burying them on a hill. That’s when he realizes he misses his creepy underwear and wants them back. Ultimately, this popular kid-favorite is a clever combination of silly and creepy.
The Pomegranate Witch by Denise Doyen, illustrated by Eliza Wheeler
Just Say Boo! By Susan Hood
This is a GREAT book to read aloud because everyone can shout “Boo!” as you read. Kids will say boo after each question. For example, “If a yip and a yowl make you shiver and scowl, what do you say?“
One Spooky Night by Kate Stone
Cut-out pages overlaid with vellum tell the story of a little monster walking through the woods. There he sees Halloween-related sights such as hooting owls, grinning pumpkins, and floating ghosts. The effect of the vellum plus dark and yellow colors creates incredible images.
There Was an Old Mummy Who Swallowed a Spider by Jennifer Ward, illustrated by Steve Gray
You know the drill. There was an old ____ who swallowed a _____. This updated monster version leads up to a knock on the door and trick or treating. Kids will crack up at this Halloween story!
Halloween Night by Marjorie Dennis Murray, illustrations by Brandon Dorman
Using the familiar Night Before Christmas rhyme, this Halloween version describes zombies, ghosts and witches scaring trick-or-treaters.
Big Pumpkin by Erica Silverman, illustrated by S.D. Schindler
How can the witch get the biggest, heaviest pumpkin off the vine? You’ll be surprised who can help! (Hint: It’s not the vampire or the ghost.)
Halloween Early Chapter Books for Ages 6 – 9
Never Kick a Ghost and Other Silly Chillers (I Can Read Book) by Judy Sierra, illustrated by Pascale Constantin
A not-too-scary, silly. spooky stories perfect for early readers! My daughter’s first-grade teacher read this to the whole class and they LOVED it!
Ghoulia: Making New Friends Can Be Scary by Barbara Cantini
Ghoulia wants to make friends. But, she’s a zombie so she’s forbidden to befriend village children or else their family will be cast out of the village. When she overhears the children talking about Halloween, Ghoulia realizes she can join in with the celebrations, too. The children are impressed by her costume until Ghoulia pulls off her head. Shocked, all they can do is stare. And stare. Until they shot with joy — they love it and promise to keep her family’s secret. Full-color, charming illustrations give this story tons of personality.
Invisible Inkling Dangerous Pumpkins by Emily Jenkins
Invisible Inkling is an invisible bandapat that lives with 4th grader Hank and who LOVES to eat pumpkins. Unfortunately, Inkling destroys the pumpkins that Hank’s sister is entering in the Dangerous Pumpkins contest. Of course, Hank gets blamed. Will things work out for Hank and Inkling? We sure hope so!
Mr. Pants: Trick or Feet! by Scott Mccormick, illustrated by R. H. Lazzell
We’re huge fans of the hilarious Mr. Pants graphic novels for beginning readers — this is the third book in the series. In this story, Mr. Pants and his sisters are stuck at the airport on Halloween. Boring, right? It’s up to Mr. Pants to figure out how to make the holiday fun happen no matter where they are.
Want the Best Scary Chapter Books for Ages 8 – 12?
See all my scary, spooky, creepy chapter book recommendations here.
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