Halloween is right around the corner, so we're reaching for books about pumpkins, ghosts, and things that go bump in the night! Here are 21 books we recommend for Halloween reads for book lovers of all ages:
Board Books
Five Little Pumpkins on Halloween Night by Sandra Magsamen
Join these happy pumpkins in a cheerful rhyming countdown, in this chunky tall board book format!
Five little pumpkins
giggling all day long.
The first one said,
"Let's sing a song!"
Your little one will delight in this adorable, spooky, rhyming countdown! Discover how these little pumpkins celebrate Halloween in this new upright board book format from Sandra Magsamen, the bestselling creator of over 30 baby and toddler books.
Boo Boo I Love You by Sandra Magsamen
A spooky way to tell your little boo just how much you love them, perfect for the Halloween season!
Whoever you are,whatever you do...
boo, boo,
I love you!
Babies and toddlers will love touching, holding, and reading this adorable board book, complete with a soft felt cap!
Teeny Tiny Ghost by Rachel Matson with illustrations by Joey Chu
Join this teeny tiny ghost on a BIG Halloween adventure in this launch of an adorable new board book series!
In the teeny tiny barn
Of a teeny tiny house
Lived a teeny tiny ghost
And a teeny tiny mouse...
This teeny tiny ghost is too little to be spooky. Will she find her voice... and a friend, too? Discover the perfect Halloween read-aloud, full of vibrant illustrations, bouncy rhymes, and an adorable friendship duo!
Picture Books
The Littlest Witch by Brandi Dougherty, with illustrations by Jamie Pogue
Is the littlest witch just too little to celebrate Halloween? Find out in this adorably spooky new story in the bestselling Littlest series -- with stickers!
From the New York Times bestselling author who brought us The Littlest Elf comes a sweet new Halloween story filled with gentle spooky fun and one adorable little witch friend!
In this companion to The Littlest Mummy, Mae the Mummy's friend Wilma is the littlest witch in the Spooky Woods. She may be little, but Wilma knows this is the year she'll be able to fly with her family in the big broom-flying demonstration! But even though she knows the flying routine by heart, Wilma just isn't able to fly yet. Will Wilma be able to find a way to participate in the broom-flying fun, or is the littlest witch still too little?
I Spy Spooky Night with photographs by Walter Wick and riddles by Jean Marzolo
Kids of all ages will enjoy a fun and spooky exploration as a trickster skeleton beckons readers from room to room to I Spy for mice, spiders, candles, bats, jack-o'-lanterns, bones, and so much more! From its rickety gate to its cobwebbed attic, this haunted house contains 13 spooky and spectacular photographs. There is a spooky graveyard, a mysterious laboratory, a garden of ghoulies -- each page has rhyming puzzles with eerie objects to find.
Early Readers
Mister Shivers: Beneath the Bed and Other Scary Stories by Max Brallier with illustrations by Letizia Rubegni
What is hiding under the bed? What is scratching at the window? Find out in New York Times bestselling author Max Brallier's scary stories collection. These five spine-chilling stories will have beginning readers everywhere begging to stay up late to read (with the light on!). With authentically scary, easy-to-read text and creepy, full-color artwork throughout, this book is perfect for young children who crave lite scares. This is also THE book to share at sleepovers or around a campfire. It will send SHIVERS down your spine!
Eerie Elementary #10: The End of Orson Eerie? by Jack Chabart (aka Max Brallier) with illustrations by Sam Ricks
Eerie Elementary is hosting a haunted house for the town's Eerie Day celebration! But mad scientist Orson Eerie has his own plans for this creepy holiday. Pumpkins attack and Sam gets trapped in a hayride maze! Can the hall monitors find a way to save their school and the rest of the town? Will they finally defeat this mad scientist FOR GOOD?
Owl Diaries #11: Trip to the Pumpkin Farm by Rebecca Elliott
Eva's class cannot wait for their field trip to the pumpkin farm! On the farm, they pick apples, milk cows, and even make new friends. But then an award-winning pumpkin goes missing! Eva and her friends will have to solve the mystery. Will they find the pumpkin in time for the holiday party... and also help a friend in need? In this sweet fall story, Eva discovers that everyone has something to be thankful for!
Geronimo Stilton #11: It's Halloween, You 'Fraidy Mouse! by Geronimo Stilton
It's Halloween on Mouse Island, and it seemed like everyone was out to get me, Geronimo Stilton! My cousin Trap kept pulling scary pranks on me. And then my sister Thea told me I had to write a book about Halloween in less than one day!
Before you could say boo, my nephew Benjamin had dragged me to a graveyard to do research. There I met a very spooky mouse who — yikes! — tried to lock me up in her coffin! Oh, how would a 'fraidy mouse like me ever survive the year's scariest holiday?
Middle Grade
The Fear Zone by K. R. Alexander
If you don't stand up to your fears,
they will destroy you.
When five kids are invited to a cemetery at midnight, they think it's just a prank. When they find a gravestone that instructs them to dig up a grave, they think it's just a joke.
It's no joke.
An evil force is unleashed - a force that takes the shape of their worst fears.
A shark in the water.
A ghost in the walls.
A nightmare of being buried alive.
A snake about to strike.
A sinister clown waiting in the woods.
Once these fears are released, they won't go away. Not without a fight. . . .
City of Ghosts and Tunnel of Bones by Victoria Schwab
Ever since Cass almost drowned (okay, she did drown, but she doesn't like to think about it), she can pull back the Veil that separates the living from the dead . . . and enter the world of spirits. Her best friend is even a ghost.
So things are already pretty strange. But they're about to get much stranger.
When Cass's parents start hosting a TV show about the world's most haunted places, the family heads off to Edinburgh, Scotland. Here, graveyards, castles, and secret passageways teem with restless phantoms. And when Cass meets a girl who shares her "gift," she realizes how much she still has to learn about the Veil -- and herself.
The Forgotten Girl by India Hill Brown
On a cold winter night, Iris and her best friend, Daniel, sneak into a clearing in the woods to play in the freshly fallen snow. There, Iris carefully makes a perfect snow angel -- only to find the crumbling gravestone of a young girl, Avery Moore, right beneath her.
Immediately, strange things start to happen to Iris: She begins having vivid nightmares. She wakes up to find her bedroom window wide open, letting in the snow. She thinks she sees the shadow of a girl lurking in the woods. And she feels the pull of the abandoned grave, calling her back to the clearing...
Obsessed with figuring out what's going on, Iris and Daniel start to research the area for a school project. They discover that Avery's grave is actually part of a neglected and forgotten Black cemetery, dating back to a time when White and Black people were kept separate in life -- and in death. As Iris and Daniel learn more about their town's past, they become determined to restore Avery's grave and finally have proper respect paid to Avery and the others buried there.
But they have awakened a jealous and demanding ghost, one that's not satisfied with their plans for getting recognition. One that is searching for a best friend forever -- no matter what the cost.
The Forgotten Girl is both a spooky original ghost story and a timely and important storyline about reclaiming an abandoned segregated cemetery.
Hello, Neighbor by Carly Anne West, illustrated by Tim Heitz
Lock your doors! From the creators of the blockbuster horror video game Hello Neighbor comes the story that started it all. Unravel the mystery in this gripping prequel novel!
Nicky Roth has always been a lonely kid. But that all changes when he and his family move to Raven Brooks and meet their eccentric neighbors, the Petersons. Nicky befriends the Petersons' son, Aaron, bonding over their talents for tinkering. Soon the boys are inseparable and using their skills to pull pranks on the townspeople.
But something about Aaron bothers Nicky--people seem almost afraid of him and his family. Through snippets from Aaron and a lot of sleuthing in the town's archives, Nicky discovers a dark past haunting his neighbors, a streak of bad luck they can't seem to shake. Aaron thinks that's all behind them now, but Nicky has a feeling the Petersons are fated for another tragedy. . . .
Five Nights at Freddy's by Scott Cawthon and Kira Breed-Wrisley
It's been 10 years since the horrific murders at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza tore the town of Hurricane, Utah, apart. Charlie, whose father owned the pizzeria, reunites with her childhood friends on the anniversary of the tragedy, and together they revisit the abandoned pizza place. After they discover a way inside, they realize that things are not as they used to be. The four animatronic mascots that once entertained patrons have a dark secret . . . one that sets Charlie and her friends on a path to unravel the many mysteries her father -- and his twisted partner -- left behind.
Don't miss this boxed set from the #1 New York Times bestselling authors and creator of the game, which includes an original print inspired by the trilogy!
The Witch Boy trilogy by Molly Knox Ostertag
In thirteen-year-old Aster's family, all the girls are raised to be witches, while boys grow up to be shapeshifters. Anyone who dares cross those lines is exiled. Unfortunately for Aster, he still hasn't shifted . . . and he's still fascinated by witchery, no matter how forbidden it might be.
When a mysterious danger threatens the other boys, Aster knows he can help -- as a witch. It will take the encouragement of a new friend, the non-magical and non-conforming Charlie, to convince Aster to try practicing his skills. And it will require even more courage to save his family . . . and be truly himself.
Monster Club: Hunters for Hire by Gavin Brown
A trio of friends set out to catch monsters and foil a nefarious plot in this hilarious adventure by Josh Baxter Levels Up author Gavin Brown.
There is only one thing seventh graders Tommy Wainwright, Colleen "Spike" Hernandez, and Karim Khalil want to do -- go on adventures and catch monsters! And in a world where monsters -- big and small -- roam, someone has to keep these creatures in check, right? Luckily, this is the iPhone era, and that means anyone can use the brand-new app, AppVenture ("It's like Uber for monster-slaying!"), to hire their very own adventurer to stop the beasts.
So when Tommy, Spike, and Karim find a way to become registered "Independent Adventure Contractors" for the new app, they couldn't be more thrilled. At first, being full-fledged adventurers is a blast. But when the trio embark on their second quest, they stumble upon a secret: It seems AppVenture has been releasing monsters into the wild in order to generate more business. Now the three friends find themselves on the run from a venture-backed startup that will do anything to make sure our heroes don't live to reveal the truth...
Rose Coffin by M. P. Kozlowsky
Rose Coffin can't win. She's teased for her secondhand clothes. She's teased for blushing all the time. And she's teased for slipping into song at inopportune moments, though that's the only thing that keeps her panic at bay.
After a particularly mortifying incident, Rose escapes to the woods where she's captured by a group of otherworldly creatures. They take her to Eppersett-a magical, eerily beautiful place where cemeteries are full of dead dreams, moving castles roll along on tracks, and most shocking of all . . . people seem to love Rose at first sight. They tell her that she's "the one they've been waiting for. The one who's going to save them." An evil force called the Abomination is on the loose, and there's only one thing powerful enough to stop it-her voice.
There's just one catch. Rose hasn't been brought to Eppersett to fight the Abomination.
She's going to be sacrificed to it. She's the chosen one all right . . . the one who's been chosen to die.
In this startlingly original fantasy, M.P. Kozlowsky takes readers on a journey like no other-an adventure that'll transform everything you thought you knew about friendship, love, and the true power of finding your voice.
Beanstalker and Other Hilarious Scarytales by Kiersten White
Kiersten White, the author of the New York Times bestselling Paranormalcy trilogy, is ready to make her middle-grade debut!
Once upon a time, a girl skipped into the forest and became a zombie.Wait, no, that's not how this story is supposed to go. Let's try again.
Once upon a time, a boy did a horrible job as a sheep-sitter and burned his tongue on stolen pie.
No, children in these stories are always good and virtuous. From the top.
SlappyWorld #1: Slappy Birthday to You by R. L. Stine
A brand-new Goosebumps arc narrated by the most iconic and evil character of the series, Slappy!
The evil dummy comes to life to tell his own twisted tales and scary stories!It's bad enough Ian Barker has to spend his twelfth birthday with his sister and their two annoying cousins. The four of them can't ever hang out without getting into trouble. Vinnie and Jonny always want to play with Ian's stuff. They take extra turns and break everything they touch. Even Ian's new birthday presents are up for grabs. But when Ian gets a Slappy dummy from his dad, things go from bad to worse. When Slappy's in charge, you don't fight over him, he fights over you!
