Halloween (not so) Spooky Stories for Kids

Halloween (not so) Spooky Stories for Kids
Options for Different Ages

            Between carving pumpkins, running around in their costumes, and eating all. the. candy. our kids start going crazy on Halloween!  And, admittedly, it is a very exciting time. 

Let ‘em go for it!  Go crazy! 

But when you need a break, a book is a great option.  Sit them down and read it to them.  Let your toddler peruse it themselves lifting all the Halloween flaps (it can distract them for a while!).  Give your third grader a hilarious picture book to laugh over.

And give yourself a tiny break.  Sip a late.

Here are just a few of my favorite Halloween books for kids.  I’ve separated them by ages, but you can read the higher-level books to your younger kids.  Honestly, my toddler loves them all even if he doesn’t quite understand everything.

Babies, Toddlers, Pre-K

Halloween Is Here! A Fisher Price Little People book

Learn about fall and Halloween from little preschoolers with engaging flaps. Your little ones will love lifting up part of the book to reveal a different picture underneath!  Join the preschoolers at a pumpkin patch, while they carve pumpkins, have Halloween party, and go trick-or-treating.

Pre-K, Kinder, 1^st grade

The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid ofAnything by Linda Williams

You might remember this classic when you were in elementary school.

A little old lady goes for a walk in the woods and various articles of clothing follow her down the dark path.  But she isn’t afraid!  And she finds a great use for the creepy clothes at the end of the book.

This book is great for pre-reading strategies.  It has repetitive lines that build on each other.  Your child will jump in and say the lines with you!

Little Boo by Stephen Wunderli

A tiny seed wants to scare everyone in the garden, but he has to wait until he grows into a pumpkin.  Then he turns in to a jack-o-lantern and gets to “boo!”

Cute illustrations teach kids about patience and about the life cycle of a pumpkin. 

2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th grades

Creepy Carrots! by Aaron Reynolds

If you haven’t heard of Creepy Carrots! go buy it right now!  It does have a scarier look to it with black and white illustrations except for the orange carrots, but it is funny and cute.  Your elementary age kiddos will love it!

Jasper Rabbit loved eating carrots from Crackenhopper Field… except when they started following him.  He starts seeing carrots everywhere!  He eventually builds a fence (complete with a moat and alligators) around Crackenhopper Field to keep the carrots away.  But there is a twist right at the end!

The Monstore by Tara Lazar

Zack buys a monster to keep his sister Gracie out of his room, but his monster doesn’t work.  When the store clerk refuses a refund, Zack keeps buying monsters to solve the problem, but they just keep creating more!  Eventually, Zach and Gracie work together to figure out what to do with all the monsters that are now crowding their house.

Written partly in a normal picture book format and partly in a comic-style, your kids will love it!  And they won’t realize that it is teaching them some great lessons about economics: buying, selling, refunds, and exchanges.

And for you!

And of course, after you send your sugared-up child to bed on Halloween night, curl up with a good (slightly spookier) adult read.  This year I’m looking forward to TheWitch Elm by Tana French.

Look here my favorite fall reads for adults.

And check out some fall releases I’m excited to read soon!

Happy Halloween!

Hannah