Our Favorite Halloween Books

Monster Needs a Costume by Paul Czajak, illustrated by Wendy Grieb — This one had us laughing hard during many parts of the story! It’s not easy to help your monster friend decide what costume to wear for Halloween. My girls loved the illustrations of Monster imagining himself in each costume, as well as the final solution. This is a perfectly funny and not-at-all-scary Halloween story! Ages 3-6.

Ten Orange Pumpkins: A Counting Book by Stephen Savage— Savage gives us a fun counting story from 10 to 1, written in rolling rhyme. We start with 10 pumpkins and then meet Halloween characters (like a mummy, a black cat, and skeletons) who come to take a pumpkin for their own Halloween decor. Savage also has an abridged board book version of this story called Seven Orange Pumpkins. Ages 3-7.

Boo! Haiku by Deanna Caswell, illustrated by Bob Shea — Caswell’s story is told through haiku riddles, making it one of the more unique Halloween books out there. This would be a great exposure to this form of poetry or a wonderful mentor text for some Halloween haiku. Ages 3-7 (or read with older children as a mentor text).

The Good, the Bad, and the Spooky by Jory John, illustrated by Pete Oswald — Fans of John’s and Oswald’s Food Group books need this one for a Halloween booksheld! Seed is in a baaaaaaad mood, because he doesn’t have a costume for Halloween, and it’s Halloween day! Fortunately, a friendly pumpkin seed steps up to save the day not just for Seed, but for everyone in the field. Ages 4-6.

Stumpkin by Lucy Ruth Cummins — New in 2018, and definitely at the top of my all-time Halloween favorites! Stumpkin is a stunningly illustrated and tenderly written story of fitting in, feeling different, and accepting diversity of otheres. The last part of the book is a must-look, starting with the double spread of solid black that leads to an eye-opening new perspective (you’ll understand when you read it for yourself!). Ages 4-8.

Too Many Pumpkins by Linda White, illustrated by Megan Lloyd — Published in 1996, this is another Halloween gem that I somehow missed until this year! Growing up eating just about only pumpkins left Rebecca Estelle with a bad taste in her mouth for the seasonal fruit, so she wants nothing to do with Halloween as an adult… Until she finds herself with too many pumpkins and doesn’t know what to do! Ages 4-8.

Boo Who? and Other Wicked Halloween Knock-Knock Jokes by Haty Hall and Lisa Eisenberg, illustrated by Stephen Carpenter — My girls are absolutely obsessed with telling knock-knock jokes these days, but they often try to make them up themselves… And given that they don’t totally understand the abstract humor that makes them funny, their original jokes usually fall flat. So, I figured this would be the perfect addition to our Halloween bookshelf and maybe raise the bar for jokes in our house! Ages 4-8.

A Tiger Called Tomás by Charlotte Zolotow, illustrated by Marta Álvarez Miguéns — First written in 1963 and reissued in 2018, this is the story of Tomás, who just moved to a new neighborhood and is convinced “the new people might not like him.” He finally finds courage to venture past his front stoop when he dons his Halloween costume, when he’s met with an incredibly friendly surprise up and down his street. Ages 4-8.

Pumpkin Jack by Will Hubbell — A more serious Halloween book than most on this list, Pumpkin Jack is a wonderful introduction to seasons and life cycles. When Tim’s first jack-‘o’-lantern starts to rot, he tosses it in the yard… Only to be surprised by what he starts to notice as the weather warms again! Ages 4-8.

How to Haunt a House by Carolyn Crimi, illustrated by Edward Miller — Groana, Moana (pronounced Moan-a, not like the Disney character), and Shrieky are doing their best to learn to be scary in time for Halloween. They pass their first two classes in a breeze, but the third (Frankenstein’s family, it appears) proves a challenge to scare. Will they learn to be scary enough in time for Halloween? You’ll have to read and see! Ages 4-8.

Trick or Treat on Scary Street by Lance Bass, illustrated by Roland Garrigue — New to the list in 2024, this is a fun walk down memory lane for me of going to haunted houses as a kid. Finding the balance of feeling scared but knowing it’s all for fun, eating all the candy, and arriving at the fun party at the end… Maybe you’ll find this fun rhyming book nostalgic, too! Ages 4-8, though I could see this being too much for younger audiences.

The Pomegranate Witch by Denise Doyen, illustrated by Eliza Wheeler — I have to admit that I almost left this one off of my list when I previewed it on my own. In my head, it was hard to read and follow… But then I took a chance and read it out loud to my girls, and it works so much better out loud than in my head — and they LOVED it! We had a long debate after about whether the story is about one “witch” playing trick on the kids, or indeed about 2 sister witches… Have you read this one? What is your thought? Ages 5-8.

The Pumpkin Book by Gail Gibbons — You can’t go wrong with Gail Gibbons’s nonfiction books, and The Pumpkin Book is no exception. Okay, so she only includes a few pages about carving jack’o’lanterns that make this a Halloween book, but I think it still deserves a place on this list. This would be a perfect addition to a theme study on pumpkins! Ages 5 and up.

Little Blue Truck’s Halloween by Alice Schertle — All children seem to love Little Blue Truck, and this one has flaps to lift so the reader can “see” under the friends’ Halloween masks as Little Blue picks up the animals to go to a Halloween party. Ages 0-3.

Where Is Baby’s Pumpkin? by Karen Katz — My girls LOVED all of her seasonal books as babies and toddlers… I’m a little sad that we have passed the season when Katz’s seasonal books are the most popular holiday books in our house! Ages 1-4.

Five Little Pumpkins by Dan Yaccarino — A wonderful rhyming tale that can easily be sung (and even accompanied by hand motions) if your kiddos like that. Also, be sure to check out the sequel, Five Little Pumpkins Came Back, released in 2018! Ages 2-4, but also engaging for younger audiences.

The Itsy Bitsy Pumpkin by Sonali Fry, illustrated by Sanja Rescek — Super fun because you sing the story to the tune of “The Itsy Bitsy Spider” while trying to help the roll-away pumpkin find his way home. What small child won’t enjoy that? Ages 2-4, but perfect for babies, too!

Herbert’s First Halloween by Cynthia Rylant, illustrated by Steven Henry — This one admittedly doesn’t seem to come in board book format, but I love how this story depicts fears and worries kids can experience when they’re new to Halloween. We rereading it a lot last year, when my 3-year-old declared she’s not so sure about Halloween and wouldn’t go trick-or-treating. Spoiler alert– she loved Halloween and did indeed don her “firefighter puppy” costume and trick-or-treat with the best of them! Ages 2-4, but appropriate for even younger listeners too!

Guess Who? Boo to You! by Katie Woolley, illustrated by Grasya Oliyko — Follow along with Ghost, but look carefully… He’s not trick-or-treating! Instead, he’s delivering treats. And readers get to use clues in each illustration to guess who is behind the door on each page. Your youngest readers will love it, especially the last page! Ages 2-5.

Happy Halloween! by Liesbet Slegers — This is such a gentle introduction to Halloween, perfect for those who are starting to understand the concept of trick-or-treating and all that comes with it. From addressing the fact that ghosts aren’t real to choosing a costume and even attending a Halloween party, this is sure to help kiddos who aren’t sure about Halloween! Ages 3 and up.

Mercy Watson: Princess in Disguise by Kate DiCamillo (illustrated by one of my favorites, Chris Van Dusen) — our girls LOVE Mercy Watson! Van Dusen’s illustrations are wonderful additions to the story, but the audiobooks narrated by Ron McLarty are stellar too. When Mr. and Mrs. Watson decide that their porcine wonder must be a princess for Halloween, of course hilarity is going to ensue! This is the 4th in the Mercy Watson series, but they don’t need to be read in order. Ages 6-9, but definitely appropriate for younger readers, too.

Lola Levine and the Halloween Scream by Monica Brown — This is book #6 in the Lola Levine series, but these also don’t need to be read in order. This one’s also a great Halloween friendship story, as Lola has to learn to listen to her friends, respect their wishes, and amend mistakes with the realization that she’s not perfect. Bonus points for diversity, as Lola is half-Peruvian and half-Jewish and uses words such as “shalom,” “bubbe,” and “diario”! Ages 6-10.

Ghoulia: Making New Friends Can Be Scary by Barbara Cantini — Ghoulia, published this year, was translated from an Italian original (Mortina, pub. 2017). It’s not broken into chapters, but at 64 pages it’s definitely not a picture book! This is a charming story of making friends and being oneself. A second Ghoulia book (Ghoulia and the Mysterious Visitor) was released in 2019, but I haven’t had a chance to read it yet. Ages 6 and up.

Weird But True! Halloween: 300 Spooky Facts to Scare You Silly from National Geographic Kids — Between watching what my girls have loved to check out from the library for the last few years, to working most weeks to reshelf books in the school library, I can promise you that any Weird But True! book is going to be a hit with elementary-aged kiddos. This is a great one to check out from the library!Ages 8-12.