17 Must Read HALLOWEEN Picture Books

Halloween is a fun holiday.  I have always enjoyed, for obvious reasons, the excessive amount of chocolate treats and candy that can be consumed or baked with.

However, I don't always think about food and baking.  I'm also a big fan of the fun, not scary at all (though a few are suspenseful), picture books that can be enjoyed by the young and old alike.

There truly are so many fun books that make amazing read-alouds and can be used in numerous lessons in the library or classroom. 

These 17 Halloween picture books fit the bill of fabulous Halloween, or Halloween-ish, stories that you can enjoy with your kids, enjoy yourself, use in a lesson, and maybe just have out as decoration during the holiday (that is totally what I do :).

No matter what you do with great Halloween picture books you should definitely make these 17 books a must read this month. Check them out!     

17 Must Read Halloween Picture Books

I Need My Monster by Amanda Noll  

A different kind of Halloween/monster story, but a good, unique, and refreshing one nonetheless.  Excellent read aloud, and teachers could teach tons of different writing lessons from this book. 

Best for Preschool to 5th grade, though could be used as a writing lesson for older grades. . 

The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything by Linda Williams 

I love this Halloween book!   It doesn't mention the holiday, but it has the suspense and fun that goes with Halloween.  It's a fabulous read aloud and makes a great sequencing lesson; I'm going to share it with you on Friday.  Toddlers to first graders absolutely love repeating the story and doing the actions as you read.

Best for Toddlers to 3rd grade.

Click Clack Boo by Doreen Cronin

If your child likes Click Clack Moo, then they’ll like the similar characters of Farmer Brown and his barnyard animals found in this book.  It's a fun Halloween book with great onomatopoeia words a teacher could enjoy using in a Word Choice Lesson and as a read aloud.  

Best for Toddlers to 2nd grade. 

Halloween by Harry Behn 

Fun story that follows a few trick or treaters on Halloween night.  There’s a bit of spookiness, but it is still age appropriate.  Fun read aloud, and the illustrations are fabulous as well.  However, this may be a book you will have to do a little searching for in Used Book Stores or the library. 

Best for Toddlers to 3rd grade.

The Pumpkin Smasher by Anita Benarde 

  An old, "classic" Halloween book that is a fun one kids will enjoy over and over again.  There is a bit of magic and suspense to this story that makes it a great read aloud for many ages.  Hopefully, the Pumpkin Smasher doesn’t come to your house, but if it does you’ll know what to do thanks to this book..

Best for Toddlers to 2nd grade. 

Dem Bones by Bob Barner 

A fabulous book that the young can enjoy learning the parts/bones in the body while reading the book with it's great pace and rhythm.  An older child could really go in more depth about the skeleton.  Not a Halloween book, but a book that sure looks Halloweenish with the fun skeletons on the front. 

Best for Toddler to 6th grade. 

Broom Mates by Margie Palatini 

This book may be harder to find/buy now, but it's a fabulously fun story for Halloween that is definitely not scary.  Gritch the Witch is having a Halloween party and her sister flew in for the fun.  The two witches don't always, or ever, get along.  This book has great writing lesson possibilities with  Word Choice (onomatopoeia words, puns, and word plays) for older kids.  All ages will enjoy the story and the colorful pictures.     A great read aloud and all around fun book.

Best for Toddler to 4th grade, older grades for lesson ideas.

Piggie Pie! by Margie Palatini

 Not really a Halloween book, but it's about a witch.  Gritch the Witch sets out for Old MacDonalds Farm to find a pig to make piggie pie.  This book is one of my favorite Palatini books, and even though it's not really a Halloween book it is about a witch and a fun book nonetheless. 

Best for Kindergarten to 5th or even 6th grade. 

The Hallo-Wiener by Dav Pilkey 

Dav Pilkey, the author of Captain Underpants, has some pretty fun picture books as well.  The Hallo-Wiener is one of those fun books boys and girls alike, and many ages, will enjoy. 

Best for Toddlers to 3rd grade. 

Big Pumpkin by Erica Silverman 

A fabulously fun book that makes a great read aloud and is enjoyed by many ages.  It's a fun book about using your brains and working together; it is definitely not a scary Halloween book.

Best for Toddlers to 3rd Grade 

Five Little Pumpkins by Dan Yaccarino  

A very simple book that goes along with the popular hand play/puppet song/poem.  Kids will love to "read" this one on their own. 

Best for Toddlers to Preschool maybe Kindergarten

The Widow’s Broom by Chris Van Allsburg 

A great story with the typical and beautiful Van Allsburg illustrations.  Though this book is not really a Halloween book it is about a witch's broom.  Not a scary story, but a fun story.  This book is better for the older grades; it is a bit wordy for a picture book. 

Best for 3rd through 6th grade. 

Cinderhazel: The Cinderella of Halloween by Deborah Nourse Lattimore 

Cinderhazel is what results when you combine Cinderella and Halloween and give it a big twist.  It’s a fun story with great details and silly events.  The pictures are fabulous as well.  This makes a great read aloud, and teachers could easily use this book for an Ideas writing lesson.  The students could take fairy-tales and twist them for different holidays.  

Best for Kindergarten to 3rd grade.

Creepy Carrots! by Aaron Reynolds

 This is one of my favorite picture books.  Technically this book is not a Halloween book so you can enjoy it year round, but it has a creepy Twilight Zone vibe to it. Therefore, I felt it was perfect for our list. This is a great story, with great illustrations.

Best for Kindergarten to 6th grade, but the older grades would only appreciate it if a teacher used it in a lesson.   

Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson 

I have always had mixed feelings about this book, but after speaking with a good friend and hearing how much she loves it I felt I should include it on this list.  Room on the Broom has fun rhyming text, great pictures, and a good message about sharing and cooperating. 

Best for Toddlers to 3rd grade.

Halloween Night by Marjorie Dennis Murray 

This book is the Halloween version of the famous, "Twas the Night before 

Christmas" poem.  It’s got great pictures and the word choice is excellent.  Halloween Night makes for a fabulous read aloud. 

Best for Kindergarten to 4th grade. 

Tell Me a Scary Story… But Not Too Scary by Carl Reiner

This is a funny scary story that is perfect for little ones at this time of year.  The hardback books come with a CD of Reiner reading the story.  It's fun! I loved using this book for several different lessons (including Ideas) in the library with my 2nd and 3rd graders. 

Best for Preschool to 4th grade. 

That is Not a Good Idea! Gets 4.5 Stars

That is Not a Good Idea! by Mo Willems is a fun picture book with a surprising twist.  I love Mo Willems and almost all of his books (though I don't love his latest Pigeon Needs a Bath book).  They are simple, have beautiful drawings and unique story lines, and they are all around great picture books.  I consider Willems to be one of the best writers, and I think it's doubly cool that he illustrates everything.  

I gave That is Not a Good idea! 4.5 out of 5 stars.  I loved the pictures and simplicity, but the Silent Movie layout (where you only here the baby chicks talking) could be a bit confusing at first, especially for the younger students.  I absolutely loved the surprise ending.  The twist at the end was not what I was expecting at first, but it was fun.  There were a few things that took away from a perfect 5 star book, but all in all this is a great book. 

With that said, I would most definitely rethink the ages for this book.  The publisher has this book for 4- 8 years.  However, I think 4 is a bit young, especially b/c of the twist at the end.  I would say a 6 year old at the youngest could enjoy this book, but a child up to 12 could really enjoy it including the format as well as story line.

Lesson plan/ideas for this book: 

• Younger grades (1-2) you could do a lesson on predicting.  You could have the students make predictions what is going to happen next from the pictures/text previously.  Really using the pictures since the pictures in this book are exaggerated for the "silent movie" type of book.   I would do a brief predicting of almost every page or every other page with my class or reading group..
• Older grades (3-6) could do a lesson on inference.  With the twist at the end the students will be surprised at what they inferred from the clues they were given. 
• All grades could really discuss what a silent movie is, reread the book to again see the silent movie format and how Willems makes it work (big and obvious facial features).  The students could then attempt a writing and art assignment where they use the pictures/illustrations and the words (from an audience member) to really tell the story. 

To get a better idea for storyline here's a book review from Amazon: 

"If anyone is going to pull off a picture book built on the conventions of old-time silent movies—exaggerated facial expressions, telling body language, and, of course, blacked-out dialogue pages cut into the story—it would be Willems. The setup is classic dastardly villain and innocent naïf, as a three-piece-suited, top-hatted, grinning fox catches the eye of a sweet, old babushka-wearing duck. Dinner! He asks if she’d like to go for a stroll in the deep, dark forest to his kitchen, where he’s making a pot of soup that’s missing only one last ingredient. At each step of the way, an increasingly frantic litter of chicks warns That is really, really, really, really not a good idea! By the time the story reaches its peak, you can practically hear the Wurlitzer throbbing, and kids will be squirming with tense glee, primed for a classic Willems gotcha that turns the whole thing on its head for the poor, unsuspecting fox. A quick, crowd-pleasing lark that should be a hit at group storytime. High-Demand Backstory:" 

That is Not a Good Idea by Mo WIllems is not a book for a young sensitive child.  However, it'll keep the older children more involved and alert to the story and it's plot.  

Have you read That is Not a Good Idea?  What did you think? 

This book reminded me a bit of Mo Willems' Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs. It's a classic fairy tale, but there are twists and differences make for a great purchase/read.  

Happy fun and surprising ending