By Bianca Schulze, The Children’s Book Review
Published: September 21, 2011
It’s time to start prepping for the holiday season. First stop: Halloween. No tricks here—only treats!
When witches go riding,
and black cats are seen,
the moon laughs and whispers,
‘tis near Halloween.
~Author Unknown
Our 2011 Halloween book list spotlights everything from growing pumpkins; overcoming fears (a great topic for youngsters that tend to get a little surprised when they no longer recognize their family and friends due to colorful costumes and scary masks); witches; skeletons; cats and bats; and plain-old, creepy stories that beg to be read on a dark night with a flashlight. From babies to beginning readers to middle graders to young adults, TCBR has you covered.
Board Books
by Lily Karr (Author), Kyle Poling (Illustrator)
Reading level: Baby-Preschool
Board book: 12 pages
Publisher: Cartwheel Books; Brdbk edition (July 1, 2011)
Source: Publisher
Publisher’s synopsis: What’s Halloween without a haunted house? Come inside SPOOKY BOO! A HALLOWEEN ADVENTURE – it’s filled with tons of Halloween fun! With spooky lift-the-flaps, icky touch-and-feels, and outrageous mirrors throughout, this is one haunted house that trick-or-treaters will want to visit again and again!
Add this book to your collection: Spooky Boo! A Halloween Adventure
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by Renee Khatami
Reading level: Baby-Preschool
Board book: 14 pages
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers (July 26, 2011)
Source: Publisher
Publisher’s synopsis: Black is the new black in this darkly tantalizing touch-and-feel extravaganza for the senses! Now babies can enjoy this daring color in a novelty board book chock-full of gorgeous, full-color photographs. There are textures to touch, a flap surprise, and the scratch ‘n’ sniff scent of sweet licorice that you can almost taste!
Add this book to your collection: Little Black Book
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by Lisa Mccourt (Author), Cyd Moore (Illustrator)
Reading level: Baby-Preschool
Boardbook: 32 pages
Publisher: Cartwheel Books (July 1, 2011)
Source: Publisher
Publisher’s synopsis: It’s almost time to go trick-or-treating, but first Stinky Face has just a few questions for Mama. As always, Mama lovingly addresses each and every one of her child’s concerns. A sweet and reassuring Halloween tale from Lisa McCourt and Cyd Moore!
Add this book to your collection: Happy Halloween, Stinky Face
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Picture Books
by Pamela Jane (Author), Jane Manning (Illustrator)
Reading level: Ages 3-7
Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: HarperCollins (July 26, 2011)
Source: Publisher
Publisher’s synopsis: From monsters to ghosties to goblins, everyone’s favorite beasties haunt and howl and rattle their way through their forest home in this silly, spooky twist on the beloved nursery rhyme “Over in the Meadow.”
Author Pamela Jane and New York Times bestselling illustrator Jane Manning have created a delicious Halloween treat for readers to enjoy.
Add this book to your collection: Little Goblins Ten
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by Steve Metzger (Author), Aaron Zenz (Illustrator)
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Paperback: 32 pages
Publisher: Cartwheel Books; Original edition (August 1, 2011)
Source: Publisher
Publisher’s synopsis: This spooky new read-aloud story is perfect for Halloween!
On Halloween night, Sammy has to make a quick trip through the dark woods before he can go trick-or-treating. But someone–or something–is following him. Scritch! Scratch! What could it be?
Bold, vibrant illustations make this spooky story a perfect Halloween tale that kids will want to read again and again.
Add this book to your collection: Skeleton Meets the Mummy‘
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by Anne Mortimer
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 24 pages
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books (July 26, 2011)
Source: Publisher
Publisher’s synopsis: Through the seasons, Cat and Mouse work together in the garden.
Together, they watch seeds that turn into plants in the spring,
and plants that turn into flowers in the summer,
and flowers that turn into pumpkins in the fall!
And when their pumpkins are finally ready, Mouse gives the best surprise of all to his friend, Cat!
Anne Mortimer’s charming story about friendship and discovery is perfect for any season.
Add this book to your collection: Pumpkin Cat
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by Jan Thomas
Reading level: Ages 2-5
Hardcover: 40 pages
Publisher: HarperCollins (July 26, 2011)
Source: Publisher
Publisher’s synopsis: Did that pumpkin just quack?
Add this book to your collection: Pumpkin Trouble
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by Lieve Baeten
Reading level: Ages 3-8
Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: NorthSouth (August 1, 2011)
Source: Publisher
Publisher’s synopsis: It’s Lizzy the Little Witch’s birthday, but Cat has gone missing. She’s not at the Witch Village Market, and she’s not in the Witch This-‘n’-That Shop, and she’s not in the Witch Pet Store. Can Lizzy find her in time for birthday cake?
You can search for Cat with Lizzy. Just carefully punch open the doors to the Village Market, the Witch This-‘n’-That Shop, the Witch Pet Store, and finally Lizzy’s own house and take a peek inside.
Add this book to your collection: Happy Birthday, Little Witch!
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by Cheryl Christian (Author), Wish Williams (Illustrator)
Reading level: Ages 2-5
Paperback: 24 pages
Publisher: Star Bright Books (August 15, 2011)
Source: Publisher
Publisher’s synopsis: Little witches abound in this rollicking, rhyming adventure that features all of the fun, fantasy, and treats–but none of the tricks– of a Halloween night to remember! Whimsical, colorful illustrations overflow with charming details that will engage young readers to read the book again and again to discover all its charms!
Add this book to your collection: Witches
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by Todd Parr
Reading level: Ages 3-6
Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (August 3, 2011)
Source: Bookstore
Publisher’s synopsis: With his signature blend of playfulness and sensitivity, Todd Parr explores the subject of all things scary and assures readers that all of us are afraid sometimes.
Add this book to your collection: The I’M NOT SCARED Book
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Early Readers
by Alyssa Satin Capucilli (Author), Tedd Arnold (Illustrator)
Reading level: Ages 4-7
Paperback: 32 pages
Publisher: Cartwheel Books; Reprint edition (July 1, 2011)
Source: Publisher
Publisher’s synopsis: Bestselling author, Alyssa Satin Capucilli, and two-time Geisel Honor winner, Tedd Arnold, team up for this hilarious halloween tale that is just as much trick as it is a treat. Previously published as a paperback, this classic is now available as a Scholastic Reader. With illustrations that make the scariest creature look extremely funny and romping repetitive text, readers will never expect what happens when this haunted house has a trick-or-treater knock on its door. Ghosts, spiders, owls, skeletons and monsters take turns accidentally scaring each other in this silly, slapstick story.
Add this book to your collection: Inside a House That is Haunted
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by Judy Sierra (Author), Pascale Constantin (Illustrator)
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Paperback: 32 pages
Publisher: HarperCollins (July 26, 2011)
Source: Publisher
Publisher’s synopsis: Yikes! This collection of easy-to-read, silly, spooky tales features a pirate bride, a ghost that grows and grows, and a big slobbery monster.
Add this book to your collection: Never Kick a Ghost and Other Silly Chillers
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Alcadia Snc (Illustrator)
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Paperback: 32 pages
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.; Original edition (July 1, 2011)
Source: Publisher
Publisher’s synopsis: Zoinks! Someone in Banning Junction is burning creepy patterns in the cornfields. Seems like a ghost is out to ruin the annual Halloween party! Can Scooby and the gang solve the case and save the celebration?
Add this book to your collection: Scooby-Doo Comic Storybook #1: A Haunted Halloween
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Chapter Books
by Francesca Simon (Author), Tony Ross (Illustrator)
Reading level: Ages 7-10
Paperback: 112 pages
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky; Reprint edition (August 1, 2011)
Source: Publisher
Publisher’s synopsis: Henry will do anything to win the grand prize at this year’s talent show…even wake the dead! Plus three other stories that will leave you screaming for more.
Add this book to your collection: Horrid Henry Wakes the Dead
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by Derek The Ghost
Reading level: Ages 9-12
Hardcover: 256 pages
Publisher: HarperCollins (June 21, 2011)
Source: Publisher
Publisher’s synopsis: Join Charles “New Kid” Nukid as he makes some very Scary friends—including Petunia, Johnny, and Peter the Wolf—and figures out that Scary School can be just as funny as it is spooky!
Add this book to your collection: Scary School
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by N. D. Wilson
Reading level: Ages 8-12
Hardcover: 496 pages
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers (August 23, 2011)
Source: Publisher
Publisher’s synopsis: For two years, Cyrus and Antigone Smith have run a sagging roadside motel with their older brother, Daniel. Nothing ever seems to happen. Then a strange old man with bone tattoos arrives, demanding a specific room.
Less than 24 hours later, the old man is dead. The motel has burned, and Daniel is missing. And Cyrus and Antigone are kneeling in a crowded hall, swearing an oath to an order of explorers who have long served as caretakers of the world’s secrets, keepers of powerful relics from lost civilizations, and jailers to unkillable criminals who have terrorized the world for millennia.
N. D. Wilson, author of Leepike Ridge and 100 Cupboards, returns with an imagination-capturing adventure that inventively combines the contemporary and the legendary.
Add this book to your collection: The Dragon’s Tooth: Ashtown Burials #1
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by Patrick Carman
Reading level: Ages 9-12
Hardcover: 176 pages
Publisher: Scholastic Inc. (September 1, 2011)
Source: Publisher
Publisher’s synopsis: Read, watch, and listen to each chilling story in 15 minutes or less! 3:15 means several things. It’s a time when things go bump in the night. A place where spooky stories find a home. A feeling . . . that chill running down your spine.
Add this book to your collection: 3:15 Season One: Things That Go Bump in the Night
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by Matt Blackstone
Reading level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 256 pages
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) (July 5, 2011)
Source: Publisher
Publisher’s synopsis: Rene, an obsessive-compulsive fourteen year old, smells his hands and wears a Batman cape when he’s nervous. If he picks up a face-down coin, moves a muscle when the time adds up to thirteen (7:42 is bad luck because 7 + 4 + 2 = 13), or washes his body parts in the wrong order, Rene or someone close to him will break a bone, contract a deadly virus, and/or die a slow and painful death like someone in a scary scene in scary movie. Rene’s new and only friend tutors him in the art of playing it cool, but that’s not as easy as Gio makes it sound.
Add this book to your collection: A Scary Scene in a Scary Movie
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by Katy Towell
Reading level: Ages 8-12
Hardcover: 272 pages
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers (August 23, 2011)
Source: Publisher
Publisher’s synopsis: Twelve years ago, for 12 days straight, the town of Widowsbury suffered a terrible storm, which tore open a gate through which escaped all sorts of foul, rotten things. Strange things and strange people were no longer welcomed in Widowsbury, for one could never be sure of what secrets waited under the surface . . .
Adelaide Foss, Maggie Borland, and Beatrice Alfred are known by their classmates at Widowsbury’s Madame Gertrude’s School for Girls as “scary children.” Unfairly targeted because of their peculiarities—Adelaide has an uncanny resemblance to a werewolf, Maggie is abnormally strong, and Beatrice claims to be able to see ghosts—the girls spend a good deal of time isolated in the school’s inhospitable library facing detention. But when a number of people mysteriously begin to disappear in Widowsbury, the girls work together, along with Steffen Weller, son of the cook at Rudyard School for Boys, to find out who is behind the abductions. Will they be able to save Widowsbury from a 12-year-old curse?
Add this book to your collection: Skary Childrin and the Carousel of Sorrow
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Want to see our picks from last year? Best Halloween Books for Kids: Scary, Spooky, and Silly