If your kids are like mine, they are counting off the days ’til Halloween and can hardly wait for the big night to arrive. Here are some great Halloween-themed picture books for the 4-8 year-old crowd to help you get in the Halloween mood. This list includes mildly spooky tales, familiar classics, and some new-found treasures, but none are too scary. Enjoy! And of course, if you have a favorite you’d like to share, please comment and let us know!
The Halloween Kittens
The Halloween Kittens
Written & illustrated by Maggie Kneen
Lift the flaps and discover all sorts of sneaky fun with the mischievous kitten brothers Trick and Treat as they prepare for Halloween.
- from the Publisher
For more information, see Chronicle Books
Ivy + Bean
Ivy and Bean and the Ghost That Had to Go
By Annie Barrows
This book for beginning readers is another entertaining installment of the popular Ivy and Bean series, with a spooky twist.
For more information, see Chronicle Books
Ghosts In The House
Ghosts in the House
By Kazuno Kohara
This relatively new book (published just last year) is masterful in design. The optical illusion of the effervescient ghosts on black and electric orange pages will have you reaching out to touch them to check if they are actually textured.
It is also a great story, with a no-nonsense approach, and not scary at all. I mean if you had ghosts in your house you’d catch them and put them in the washing machine, right?
For more information, see Amazon.com
The Very Busy Spider
The Very Busy Spider
By Eric Carle
A simple, yet delightful story by classic author and illustrator Eric Carle. This books describes the day of an industious spider as she spins her web. The embossed details combined with Carle’s trademark collages make for an engaging tactile experience.
For more information, see Amazon.com.
Where The Wild Things Are
Where the Wild Things Are
By Maurice Sendak
Be sure to revisit this popular, classic picture book this Halloween. Get in the mood and roar your terrible roar, roll your terrible eyes, gnash your terrible teeth and show your terrible claws.
For more information, see Amazon.com
Too Many Pumpkins
Too Many Pumpkins
By Linda White
Pumpkins remind Rebecca, the elderly woman in this book of the Great Depression, when she and her family had nothing to eat but pumpkins. When a pumpkin smashes in her front yard, Rebecca covers it up and forgets it. However, the seeds from that forgotten pumpkin turn her yard into a pumpkin patch, and Rebecca is once again surrounded by pumpkins.
For more information, see Amazon.com
Child Of Faerie
Child of Faerie
By Jane Yolen
According to certain tales, faeries leave the underworld once a year to join in a faerie ring beneath the moonlight. On this magical night, a faerie boy meets a child of the earth and the two become friends forever. Luminous full-color paintings by award-winning artist Jane Dyer add to the magic.
Age Range: 5 to 8 years old
For more information, see Amazon.com
Moonlight
Moonlight: The Halloween Cat
By Cynthia Rylant
Softly padding through the darkness, Moonlight explores the world on her favorite night, Halloween. The town and countryside glow with shining stars. The wide yellow moon lights pumpkins, racoons, and children out having fun. . . . Told in eloquently simple, lyrical words, with dazzling, luminous paintings, Moonlight evokes not just the excitement of Halloween, but something more — the reassuring warmth and friendliness that is a special part of this special night.
For more information, see Amazon.com
I don’t see PicPocket Books as replacements for print books or the valuable time parents can spend reading to their children, but as educational and culturally valuable alternatives to video games or movies, especially for families on-the-go.
