Five Spooky Books for Kids to Read this Halloween

‘Tis the season for Halloween fun! Reading festive stories together can spark your child’s imagination, build early literacy skills and even help them work through their worries about spooky things.

This list of five Halloween books covers different topics related to the season and will help you and your child get excited about Halloween.

1) Where Is Baby’s Pumpkin? by Karen Katz

This book is suitable for even the tiniest trick-or-treaters. Where Is Baby’s Pumpkin? has bright, friendly illustrations and simple, repetitive text that babies and young toddlers love. It’s a gentle introduction to Halloween symbols (like bats, ghosts and candy) with nothing even a 2-year-old would find too spooky.

The book also features flaps that a toddler can interact with, helping them develop fine motor skills.

Ideal for ages: 0-2

2) Ten Little Jack-O’-Lanterns by Amanda Sobotka

Count down to Halloween with this engaging tactile board book. Ten Little Jack-O’-Lanterns is a bright, chunky book that starts with 10 shiny pumpkin faces and ends with just one. Each page turn makes a pumpkin “disappear” as children learn new numbers. Kids can press each pumpkin piece as the number lowers, helping them learn to count while engaging and having holiday fun.

Ideal for ages: 0-3

3) Little Ghost Makes a Friend by Maggie Edkins Willis

In Little Ghost Makes a Friend, a ghost sees a girl move in next door and comes up with a plan to become friends with her. He’s going to invite her to a Halloween party, but first he has to prepare! This book speaks to the power of friendship and how to find common ground with others, even when they seem a bit different than us.

Ideal for ages: 4-8

4) Leila, The Perfect Witch by Flavia Z. Drago

Leila is a young witch who seems to excel at everything. One day, however, she tries to bake a cake and realizes she’s a disaster in the kitchen. Leila still wants to win the grand “Witchy Cake-off” so she perseveres with the help of her older sisters. This book shows that anything can be accomplished with a little grit and love.

Bonus activity: When you’re done reading this book, mix up your own cauldron recipe with sherbert and fruit to give your kids some hands-on Halloween fun.

Ideal for ages: 4-7

5) Grumpy Monkey Don’t Be Scared By Suzanne Lang

Grumpy Monkey Don’t Be Scared follows Jim Panzee and his friends as they go trick-or-treating in the rainforest. Along the way, Jim gets scared by mysterious noises and shadows in the night. His friends encourage him to be brave and remind him that at night, not all things are as frightening as they seem. This book will make you and your child laugh and give them a space to talk about any of their own fears around trick-or-treating.

Ideal for ages: 2-6

Looking for more Halloween activities?

We hope you enjoy reading these books this spooky season. If you want even more ideas for ways to bond with your kids and teach them about Halloween, check out our list of affordable Halloween activities for kids.