20 Halloween Books for Kids We Love
These are in no particular order except the last one is one of Grace’s favorites! We own all of these and they’re all great Halloween books for children. Our children range in age from 3 to 7 and really enjoy these!
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It’s Pumpkin Day, Mouse!
by Laura Numeroff (Author), Felicia Bond (Illustrator)
Mouse is excited for fall because it means it’s time to decorate pumpkins! But one pumpkin has gone missing. Read together with your littles to find it!
This is such a sweet Halloween book for the littlest readers. It’s simple and fun and would be a cute one to read before getting out the Halloween crafts and decorating your own pumpkins!
There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bat!
by Lucille Colandro (Author), Jared Lee (Illustrator)
One of those fun “There was an old lady” books that every kid needs to grow up with! My copy is a board book which I appreciate.
She swallowed the owl to shush the bat.
I don’t know why she swallowed a bat.
Imagine that!
Where Do Diggers Trick-or-Treat?
by Brianna Caplan Sayres (Author)
My 3 year old boy loves everything Halloween and everything about “exabators” (excavators), so this book was a total win for us!
Disney Mickey & Friends: Scaredy-Mouse (Push-Pull-Spin Stories)
by Inc. Loter (Illustrator), Courtney Acampora (Author)
We all need a Disney Halloween book, right? Haha
This one is fun because it is interactive with push-pull-spin.
You’re My Little Baby Boo
by Natalie Marshall (Illustrator), Nicola Edwards (Author)
This board book is best for babies and toddlers (0-2 years old) and is filled with darling illustrations of ghosts, owls, pumpkins, and other Halloween characters.
You’re my little baby boo, You never need to fear.
Whatever fright comes in the night, I’ll always be right here.
Fright Night Flight
by Laura Krauss Melmed (Author), Henry Cole (Author)
The moon sails high, the wind moans low, the Fright Night Flight is set to go!
Our family really likes this one!
Rattlebone Rock
by Sylvia Andrews (Author), Jennifer Plecas (Illustrator)
BOOM! CLACKA-CLACK!
The skeletons dance
And rattle their bones.
Ghosts join in
With musical moans.
Mice squeak by
And bats swoop down.
The BOOMA beat echoes
All through the town.
Witches and goblins
Make the tombstones knock.
It’s time to dance
To the Rattlebone Rock!
Another cute one my kids love!
Room on the Broom
by Julia Donaldson (Author), Axel Scheffler (Author)
Room on the Broom is a staple we all need in our Halloween book collection!
Zip! Zoom! On a Broom
by Teri Sloat (Author), Rosalinde Bonnet (Illustrator)
One goes zip,
two go zoom.
Three witches glide from room to room.
This is a fun counting story and I really enjoy reading this one with my kiddos and enjoy the illustrations as well!
The Witch Has an Itch
by Donna Guthrie (Author), Katy Keck Arnsteen (Illustrator)
Every time Gromelda the witch tries to work her evil magic, she gets an itch. My 4 year old really loves this one.
Bonaparte Falls Apart: A Funny Skeleton Book for Kids and Toddlers
by Margery Cuyler (Author), Will Terry (Author)
Bonaparte is having a tough time. It’s hard for this young skeleton to just hang loose when he can’t keep hold of himself. However! All of his spooky friends work together to come up with a solution to help Bonaparte be put together for school. This is a cute read!
I Spy Spooky Night: A Book of Picture Riddles
by Jean Marzollo (Author), Walter Wick (Illustrator)
If you need to calm things down a bit, my kids love to cuddle up next to me as we search for all the many hidden things in this classic “I Spy” book.
Halloween in the Orchard (Countryside Holidays, 3)
by Phyllis Alsdurf (Author), Lisa Hunt (Illustrator)
A boy and his family enjoy everything the orchard has to offer, including searching for scarecrows, getting lost in a corn maze, and going on a hayride. This is a cute, happy read with a fun “search-and-find” scarecrow hunt.
Frankenstein: A Monstrous Parody
by Rick Walton (Author), Nathan Hale (Illustrator)
This is a parody of Ludwig Bemelmans’s Madeline. If you enjoy Madeline, I think you’ll enjoy this version. My kids love it.
Big Pumpkin
by Erica Silverman (Author), S.D. Schindler (Illustrator)
This book was introduced to me by my in-laws because it is one of their childhood favorites and I fell in love too. It’s just a cute one. There’s also a really fun song that someone created using this book. Here is the YouTube link – https://youtu.be/QpLK8AWsVMA
The YouTube comments say it best:
This book is literally my childhood
dude I remember listening to this exact cassette, back in kindergarten. good memories.
I’m 24 and still love this book.
A staple memory from my childhood. Having this read to me each year in elementary school and the playfulness of it kept me going. This book is one of my favorites
We sing this song as a family and all of my kids know it!
Find Spot at the Halloween Party
by Eric Hill (Author, Illustrator)
Spot has been a bedtime staple in our houses for two generations now, and the Halloween one is just as sweet as the rest. Little flaps to lift, friendly costumes, nothing remotely scary. If you have a toddler who wants to be part of the Halloween excitement but isn’t ready for anything spooky, start here.
Eek! Halloween!
by Sandra Boynton (Author, Illustrator)
Sandra Boynton never misses, and this one is pure silly. A flock of very confused chickens spend the whole book panicking about the strange goings-on around them, right up until they figure out what Halloween actually is. The rhythm is so bouncy you’ll have it memorized by the third read, which is good, because there will be a third read.
Mr. Pumpkin’s Tea Party
by Erin Barker (Author, Illustrator)
This one is a counting book dressed up in the coziest Halloween clothes. Mr. Pumpkin invites one guest, then two, then more, until his little party is packed with friendly monsters. The illustrations are gorgeous and it sneaks in some counting practice without your kid noticing.
The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything
by Linda Williams (Author), Megan Lloyd (Illustrator)
If you only add one book to this list, make it this one. It’s a read-aloud classic for a reason: the clomping shoes, the wiggling pants, and the nodding pumpkin head all pile up until the whole room is chanting along with you. Just spooky enough to be thrilling, and it ends soft enough that nobody’s asking to sleep in your bed.
Gustavo, the Shy Ghost
by Flavia Z. Drago (Author, Illustrator)
Gustavo is a ghost who desperately wants friends but is too shy to say hello, and it will absolutely get you if you have a quiet kid at home. The Day of the Dead artwork is stunning, all deep purples and marigolds, and the ending is the kind that makes everyone want to be a little braver.
Bonus: The Little Ghost Who Was a Quilt
by Riel Nason (Author), Byron Eggenschwiler (Illustrator)
We had to sneak one more in, because this one is a favorite in our houses. Every other ghost is a plain white sheet, but our little ghost is a quilt, and being different makes everything harder. He can’t float as high, he gets too warm, and he just wants to blend in. Then one cold night his quilt turns out to be exactly what somebody needs. It’s the sweetest possible reminder that the thing that makes you different is usually the thing that makes you needed, and the illustrations are so cozy you’ll want to frame them. Not spooky at all, and honestly more for the grown-ups than the kids.
Which Halloween books does your family read every October? Tell us in the comments, we’re always looking to add to our stack!
Looking for more book lists? Check out 17 Back to School Books for Kids We Love.
