It feels too early to write about Halloween books, but October is here. The kids have decided on their costumes, and we’ve even bought some. Halloween will be here before you know it so even if it doesn’t feel like, we thought it was time to get into the spirit with some Halloween books.

In no particular order, here are our ten favorite Halloween books—half from the girls and half from the boys, though many are favorites of all of ours.

 

EEK! Halloween!
Ages 2-7
Sandra Boynton’s EEK! Halloween! is a new and seriously silly addition to our Halloween library. While we read, the girls like to try to reassure its nervous chickens that all the strange things they’re seeing are just signs of Halloween. Appropriately, some of the same signs are popping up in our neighborhood now!

 

Two Little Witches
Ages 2-7
This Halloween counting story was Cam’s favorite last year. It is perfect for learning to count with a seasonal twist. When one little witch and another little witch meet, there are two trick-or-treaters. Then others join the group…enough to make ten. But what happens if a monster opens the door of a house? How many trick-or-treaters will be left? A little spooky and a lot fun, you’ll find yourself reading this one again and again.

 

Spider on the Floor
Ages 2-7
We love pulling out Spider on the Floor during Halloween. It’s an illustration, by True Kelley, of the Raffi song, “There’s a spider on the floor….on the floor….” With the help of this book, we sing and pretend our hands are creepy crawly spiders slinking around us! The book is perfectly spooky for the very young at this time of year.

 

Pete the Cat: Five Little Pumpkins
Ages 3-8
Can you believe that Christine was only introduced to the Five Little Pumpkins song last year in a Mommy and Me class with Cam? He loved it! And what better than an adaption of the classic song by James Dean and his groovy Pete the Cat character and friends?! And as always, you can find songs, videos, and activities at PeteTheCatBooks.com.

 

Room on the Broom
Ages 3-7
We love Julia Donaldson’s Room on the Broom because it’s humorous, just a teeny bit scary, and has a nice message about welcome and friendship. An endearing witch and her friendly animal buddies are the heroes. After buying this book last year, Allie’s then three-year-old became obsessed with riding her toy broom around the house. She even tried to create a little broom car inspired by the illustrations.


The Berenstain Bears Trick or Treat
Ages 3-7
The dependable Berenstain Bears offer a nice Halloween story and some mom-approved holiday takeaways in Trick or Treat. Sister and Brother Bear dress up, trick or treat, and learn the age-old lesson of “appearances can be deceiving” all on Halloween night.

 

The Spooky Smells of Halloween
Ages 3-7
The boys are big fans of scratch and sniff books. We featured one of favorites in the Follow Your Nose to Spring post. And another makes our favorite Halloween books. The boys can’t get enough of it as you’ll see in the video below. In Spooky Smells of Halloween by Mary Man-Kong, illustrated by Viviana Garofoli, Sammy is having a Halloween party. We smell our way through the party. Most are sweet, but there’s one devilish surprise at the end. Watch out!

Zombelina
Ages 4-8
Now that Allie’s four-year-old is an avid dancer, she really enjoys
Zombelina by Kristyn Crow. Zombelina is a cute, dance-loving zombie who registers for dance class with human girls. The consequences are interesting! As Moms, we love that this story explores the theme of being accepted for your unique self. It offers the perfect combination of creepy and cute for the spookiest season.

 

The Hallo-wiener
Ages 4-8
Christine’s family has a thing for dachshunds. And the boys love Dav Pilkey’s Dog Breath. So there’s no surprise that Hallo-weiner by Dav Pilkey made our list. Because of his stature, Oscar, the dachshund, is called Wiener Dog by all the other dogs. His Mom only makes it worse by calling him her little Vienne sausage and buying him a hot-dog costume. But he loves Halloween and is determine to make the best of it. Can he do it?

 

Click, Clack, Boo: A Tricky Treat
Ages 4-8
This book should come as no surprise considering Christine and the boys’ love of Click, Clack, Moo (see our very first post). In this book, we find the animals throwing a Halloween party and Farmer Brown hiding in his house because he doesn’t like Halloween. Of course, Duck disturbs Farmer Brown’s peace, but there’s a nice surprise waiting for him. Cam says the book is creepy, but loves reading it each year.

 


BONUS: You can celebrate every holiday with Natsha Wing’s The Night Before… books. We love and have them all. Read The Night Before Halloween to prepare for the big day.

 

 

What are your little ones’ favorite Halloween books?