It’s spooky season! As a chill passes through the air, frolic with us through this book
list that includes something for the whole family—whether you prefer skeletons, witches or
monsters (oh, my!), the only truly ghoulish thing is missing out on these fantastic reads.
Board Books
“Oh, Halloween Tree”
by Dori Elys
A twist on the popular holiday song, this spooky rhyming book gives “O Christmas Tree” some Halloween flair! Have you ever seen a tree glow green with spooky cheer or ornaments that just might bite? Enjoy a boo-tiful holiday mashup as ghosts, vampires, witches and more find their perfect tree and decorate it for a night of celebration!
“Ring Around the Rosie”
by Patricia Romanov
Embark on a whimsical journey with our enchanting bony skeleton ballerina as she pirouettes through the delightful pages of this captivating board book. Step into the world of classical ballet, where the five core positions come to life with each graceful twirl. Set to the familiar tune of “Ring Around the Rosie,” this engaging tale invites young readers to sing along in English and Spanish with our skeletal star. But keep an eye out for an unexpected spectator that might cause some tumbles and falls!
Picture Book
“¡Vamos! Let’s Celebrate Halloween and Día de los Muertos”
by Raúl the Third
Little Lobo is celebrating two big holidays this fall! On Halloween, Little Lobo and his friends dress up in costumes, trick-or-treat for candy and share spooky stories. Then, everyone in the town prepares food, drinks and other gifts and decorates the cemetery with ofrendas so they can enjoy Día de los Muertos with the spirits of the people they love. Join Little Lobo and his friends as they celebrate!
“Trick-or-Treating in the City”
by Tiffany D. Jackson
Janelle knows exactly what she wants to be for Halloween, but she has no idea how she’ll celebrate—her mommy has to work and can’t take her to trick-or-treat in the suburbs, and Daddy has to run his store like always. But listening to her friends and neighbors’ stories of Halloweens past and present helps Janelle realize that there may be a way to celebrate the fall-iday that lets her give as much as she gets.
Early Elementary
“Shiver-by-the-Sea: Bella and the Vampire”
by Erin Dionne
Bella Gossi just moved from New York City to the Massachusetts beach town of Shiver-by-the-Sea to live with her Uncle Van and is already missing her old home. When she meets Cooper and his adorable basset hound, Casper, things start looking up. But when Mom tasks them with clearing out an old trunk, that’s when the trouble begins. Out of the trunk pops a bat! But not just any bat . . . a kid vampire. A very hungry, very scared kid vampire, who’s lost and doesn’t know how to get home to his family. Bella and Cooper are a little frightened at first, too, but soon they’re on a mission to help Bram find his way home, because that’s what real friends do.
“Welcome to Scare School”
by Jarrett Lerner
Bash, a young ghost who’s never been good at “ghost stuff,” is heading off to Scare School, the world’s leading institution for elementary scare instruction, and he’s not happy about it. In fact, he’s kind of scared! Even before his first day of school, Bash is worried about how he’s going to make it through the rigorous curriculum when he hasn’t been able to get the hang of basics like making himself invisible or passing through walls (without bonking his head!). Will the young ghost get booooted out of Scare School?
Middle Grade
“Deja Ross Speaks to Freaks”
by Lisa Naffziger
Deja Ross is a seventh-grade cryptozoologist. That means she loves monsters… and hopes to someday prove they’re real! On a long family road trip, she pulls out her new video camera to search for legendary creatures at every stop. One night, Deja sneaks out of the RV and meets the Texas chupacabra face-to-face! In her excitement to meet an actual cryptid, she charms the beast out of eating her. It turns out that mythological animals are not only real… they can talk. And maybe it’s time for their stories to be heard! Deja and her furry new friend hatch a plan to interview the rest of the cryptid community. Unfortunately, they’re not the only ones on the trail… and some other monster hunters don’t have intentions as pure as Deja’s. Has she led her beloved beasts into a trap?
“Mind Over Monsters”
by Betsy Uhrig
FACE YOUR FEARS! That’s what the meditation app with the cheesy name De-stress-o-rama is telling Lena to do. She’s one of seven always-worried middle schoolers trying out this new app to see if it can help students handle stress. But something is going wrong—very, very wrong. The group’s fears are becoming all too real, first lurking and dangling and then chasing them around and threatening to swallow them whole. From a stubborn inky blob that is fear of the dark to the queasy giant in sweaty underpants that is fear of public speaking, monsters are invading Cranberry Bog Middle School! Can Lena’s group of worriers figure out how to conquer their fears before the whole school is swarmed?
Teens
“The White Guy Dies First: 13 Scary Stories of Fear and Power”
edited by Terry J. Benton-Walker
Killer clowns, a hungry hedge maze and rich kids who got bored. Friendly cannibals, impossible slashers and the dead who don’t stay dead…. A museum curator who despises “diasporic inaccuracies.” A sweet girl and her diary of happy thoughts. An old house that just wants friends forever….These stories are filled with ancient terrors and modern villains, but go ahead, go into the basement, step onto the old plantation and open the magician’s mystery box because this time, the white guy dies first.
“So Witches we Became”
by Jill Baguchinsky
For high school senior Nell and her friends, a vacation house on a private Florida island sounds like the makings of a dream spring break. But Nell brings secrets with her—secrets that fuse with the island’s tragic history, trapping them all with a curse that surrounds the island in a toxic, vengeful mist and the surrounding waters with an unseen, devouring beast. Getting out alive means risking her friendships, her sanity and even her own life. To save herself and her friends, Nell will have to face memories she’d rather leave behind, reveal the horrific truth behind the encounter that changed her life one year ago and face the shadow that’s haunted her since childhood. But when Nell’s friends reveal that they each brought secrets of their own, a solution even more dangerous than the curse begins to take shape.
