Halloween Books For Kids And Halloween Bookshelves

Since the Halloween festivities are here, it’s about time I share with you our favorite Halloween books for kids and the Halloween bookshelves all spookified for the season.

I’m somewhat ashamed to share that we almost didn’t get Rowan’s room decorated for Halloween this year, including the bookshelves. This is so not like me (or Rowan). We typically have the house decked in spiders, pumpkins, black cats, and ravens by October 2 at the latest. Here it is almost Halloween night before it’s done!

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind around here, especially with the bathroom renovation consuming us. But we finally made the Halloween bookshelves happen.

Halloween Bookshelves

Ever since we built the basic bookshelves for our daughter’s room, I have tried to be diligent about switching out the books for holidays, the seasons, and sometimes just because. Otherwise, I feel like we would be reading Paw Patrol: Mission Paw just about every day. Nothing wrong with that, I just like a little variety and it’s fun to read for the seasons.

My mission as a parent is to ensure my children are kind, readers, and experience the magic of the holidays. These Halloween bookshelves check two of those boxes…winning!

It’s become a favorite Halloween tradition in our home. To break out the Halloween books, add a few new Halloween books to our collection, and read the spooky tales all season long. It’s a tradition I hope to continue for years to come.

​Using the Halloween books as decor is just one more design element to set the tone for the season. After the books are up, I’ll typically add some lanterns, spooky trees, little pumpkins, or other Halloween season decor. Hence the reasons why we built these shelves extra deep. Not only to layer a lot of books but to mix in holiday season decor.

Rowan (age 6) loves these shelves almost as much as I do and now Beatrix (age 2) is also in on the action. Even though we keep most of our toddler’s Halloween board books in a basket in her room, she knows to run to Rowan’s room to grab books from the shelves.

Speaking of Halloween board books, let’s start diving into my list of our favorite Halloween books for kids.

Halloween Board Books

Let’s start with Halloween board books for our youngest readers, the little little kids in our lives. Our youngest is two and officially a book destroyer. She’s been known to rip a book or two (okay…many many more than two) so we try to stick to board books with her. She’s even ripped a couple of board books too, so insert shoulder shrug emoji here.

Favorite Halloween Board Books:

• B is for Boo by Greg Paprocki (author, illustrator)
• Bear Picks a Pumpkin by Zondervan (author), Gil Guile (illustrator)
• Boo! Baa, La, La, La by Sandra Boynton (author, illustrator)
• Dracula: A BabyLit Counting Primer by Jennifer Adams (author), Alison Oliver (illustrator)
• Eek! Halloween by Sandra Boynton (author, illustrator)
• Frankenstein: A BabyLit Anatomy Primer by Jennifer Adams (author), Alison Oliver (illustrator)
• Goodnight Goon, a Petrifying Parody by Michael Rex (author, illustrator)
• The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson (author), Axel Scheffler (illustrator)
• It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (Peanuts) by Kara McMahon (adapter), Charles M. Schulz (author), Scott Jeralds (illustrator)
• Little Blue Truck’s Halloween by Alic Shertle (author), Jill McElmurry (illustrator)
• Little Poet Edgar Allan Poe: Nevermore by Kate Coombs (author), Carme Lemniscates (illustrator)
• Olivia Saves the Circus by Ian Falconer (artist, illustrator)
• One Black Cat by Robie Rogge (author), August Ro (illustrator)
• Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson (author), Axel Scheffler (illustrator)
• Spooky Pookie by Sandra Boynton (author, illustrator)
• Where is Baby’s Pumpkin by Karen Katz (author, illustrator)

So many sweet stories that encompass the Halloween spirit. From picking the biggest pumpkin in the patch to finding the right Halloween costume. My personal favorite of the bunch, Eeek! Halloween hands down. I adore making a robot voice and discussing silly chickens with Bea.

Halloween Books For Kids

There are so many gems in this list of picture book hits for Halloween with themes of making new friends, being brave, and staying true to yourself. And of course a sweet story of a friendly ghost best friend, a tale of strange things happening, and the downright silly stories of Jasper Rabbit. The silly Halloween books may just be my favorite. There’s not one book here that I dread reading.

Favorite Halloween Picture Books:

• At the Old Haunted House by Helen Ketteman (author), Nate Wragg (illustrator)
• Beatrice Likes the Dark by April Genevieve Tucholke (author), Khoa Le (illustrator)
• Cats’ Night Out by Caroline Stutson (author), Jon Klassen (illustrator)
• Countdown to Halloween! (Peanuts) by Charles M. Schulz (author)
• Creepy Carrots! by Aaron Reynolds (author), Peter Brown (illustrator)
• Creepy Crayon! by Aaron Reynolds (author), Peter Brown (illustrator)
• Creepy Pair of Underwear! by Aaron Reynolds (author), Peter Brown (illustrator)
• Ghost Afraid of the Dark by Sara Conway (author), Alex Willmore (illustrator)
• Ghosts in the House by Kazuno Kohara (author, illustrator)
• Gilbert the Ghost by Guido Van Genechten (author, illustrator)
• Gustavo, The Shy Ghost by Flavia Z. Drago (author, illustrator)
• Hazel and the Spooky Season by Kyle Sullivan (author), Jess Mason (illustrator)
• How to Make Friends with a Ghost by Rebecca Green (author, illustrator)
• Leila, the Perfect Witch by Flavia Z. Drago (author, illustrator)
• The Little Ghost Who Was A Quilt by Riel Nason (author), Byron Egenschwiler (illustrator)
• The Little Kitten by Nicola Killen (author, illustrator)
• Mother Ghost: Nursery Rhymes for Little Monsters by Rachel Kolar (author), Roland Garrigue (illustrator)
• No Such Thing by Ella Bailey (author, illustrator)
• Pick A Pumpkin by Patricia Toht (author), Jarvis (illustrator)
• The Scariest Book Ever by Bob Shea (author, illustrator)
• That Witch by Courtney Hanks (author, illustrator)
• Vampirina Ballerina by Anne Marie Pace (author), LeUyen Pham (illustrator)
• Vlad, the Fabulous Vampire by Flavia Z. Drago (author, illustrator)
• Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak (author, illustrator)

My favorite of this batch is Beatrice Likes the Dark, obviously since it’s about sisters Roo and Beatrice (so close to my Ro and Beatrix). I also love reading each whimsical story in Mother Ghost, the stories of timid ghosts, and the spooky book Creepy Pair of Underwear (which my kids laugh uncontrollably when we read it so maybe it’s not that spooky).

Halloween Books For Young Readers

We are in this stage of reading with our eldest daughter. She learned to read in kindergarten and her reading has just exploded over the summer. She’s been consuming any and every book she can get her hands on. I feel like I’m picking up new early reader books just about every time I run errands. Thankfully they’re inexpensive! We’ve started amassing a collection of early readers and starting to add some great Halloween books.

The early reader Halloween books don’t look as great on the shelf as the hardcover picture books or the board books, so I typically keep them in a basket near the shelves and the bed. Some of those $3.99 paperbacks are so dog-eared! You can tell which ones are our favorites!

Favorite Halloween Books for Young Readers:

• 100 Monsters in My School by Bonnie Bader (author), Bryan Hendrix (illustrator)
• Bones: A Halloween Book for Kids by Stephen Krensky (author), Dory Jones (illustrator)
• Click, Clack, Boo! by Doreen Cronin (author), Betsey Lewin (illustrator)
• Halloween Fun by Margaret McNamara (author), Mike Gordon (illustrator)
• Happy Haunting, Amelia Bedelia by Herman Parish (author), Lynn Sweat (illustrator)
• Have No Fear! Halloween Is Here! by Tish Rabe (author), Tom Brannon (illustrator)
• Little Witch Goes to School by Deborah Hautzig (author), Sylvie Wickstrom (illustrator)
• Little Witch Learns to Read by Deborah Hautzig (author), Sylvie Wickstrom (illustrator)
• Little Witch’s Big Night by Deborah Hautzig (author), Marc Brown (illustrator)
• Lulu Goes to Witch School by Jane O’Connor (author), Bella Sinclair (illustrator)
• Monster Parade by Shana Corey (author), Will Terry (illustrator)
• Monster School: The Spooky Sleepover by Dave Keane (author, illustrator)
• National Geographic Readers: Halloween by Laura Marsh (author)
• The Pumpkin Contest (Peppa Pig) by Meredith Rusu (author), EOne (illustrator)
• Pumpkin Day! by Candice Ransom (author), Erika Meza (illustrator)
• Rocket and the Perfect Pumpkin by Tad Hills (author, illustrator)
• The Witch Who Was Afraid of Witches by Alice Low (author), Jane Manning (illustrator)
• You Got A Rock, Charlie Brown by Maggie Testa (adapter), Charles M. Shulz (author), Robert Pope (illustrator)

​Rowan is obsessed with dogs so Rocket and the Perfect Pumpkin is a staple, along with anything Amelia Bedelia. I forgot about those silly and sweet books from childhood.

I’ve found that picking up books around Rowan’s interests has been a great way to encourage more reading. While normally I don’t love getting books that are adapted from television shows or movies, anything goes when it comes to early reader books.

Halloween Books For Older Kids

Admittedly, this is not my current forte in terms of books. We are still years away from having a middle-grade reader. But I have intentions of updating this post over time so why not start a Halloween books for older kids category?! Most of these are my childhood favorites along with favorites of middle-grade friends and family.

Favorite Halloween Books for Older Kids:

• The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill (author)
• Goosebumps Series by R.L Stine (author)
• Nightmares! Series by Kirsten Miller, Jason Segel (authors)
• Roald Dahl’s Book of Ghost Stories by Roald Dahl (author)
• The Second-Best Haunted Hotel on Mercer Street by Cory Putnam Oakes (author)
• Thirteens by Kate Alice Marshall (author)
• Winterhouse by Ben Guterson (author)
• The Witches by Roald Dahl (author)

If you have favorite middle-grade books that you or your children love, please let me know in the comments. I love adding books to our shopping wishlist, especially ones that come recommended by others. 

Classic Halloween Books For Kids

Oh, the Halloween classics! Many of these classic books have a soft spot in my heart. Be it everyone’s favorite pumpkin patch story with Linus, scary stories in Goosebumps books (a very popular series when I was a child), and other nostalgic books. These are the books of my childhood that still make the grade today.

Favorite Classic Halloween Books:

• The Berenstain Bears Trick or Treat by Stan Berenstain (author), Jan Berenstain (illustrator)
• Goosebumps Series by R.L Stine (author)
• It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (Peanuts) by Kara McMahon (adapter), Charles M. Schulz (author), Scott Jeralds (illustrator)
• Nancy Drew Series by Carolyn Keene (author)
• Little Witch by Anna Elizabeth Bennett (author), Helen Stone (illustrator)
• The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything by Linda D. Williams (author), Megan Lloyd (illustrator)

I’ve kept many of these books to pass down to my children, including my big collection of Goosebumps chapter books! I hope someday my kids love them as much as I do.

Halloween Books For Kids MVPs

Before I close out today’s post I thought I would leave you with a few MVPs from our Halloween book collection. These are the true winners for our family and make the perfect read-aloud. Without further ado…

Most Nostalgic Picture Book: The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything

This book takes me back to my childhood! I remember the first time I read this to Rowan, I still could remember many of the words from when I was little.

Best Series: Creepy Tales! by Aaron Reynolds

These books are supposed to be creepy tales of Jasper Rabbit’s misadventures but they make both my children laugh uncontrollably. Well…Bea laughs because Rowan laughs. It’s cute. Maybe it’s the fact one of the stories is about underwear (underwear is 100% funny to small children!) but these books are a hit.

Best Glow in the Dark Book: Ghost Afraid of the Dark

You gotta love a book that your children get pumped to read because the cover glows in the dark. When we first picked up this book they both headed straight for the closet to test out its glow-in-the-dark-ness. It was cute.

Most Classic of the Classics: It’s The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown

This story, both the book and the movie, may be the most classic children’s story of Halloween. Silly, silly Linus. But truly, can you think of another more classic?!

Best Illustrations: Pick A Pumpkin

The illustrations in this book suck me in. The other two books in this series (Pick a Pine Tree and Pick a Perfect Egg) are just as beautifully illustrated. I’ve been known to pick up other books illustrated by Jarvis just because I adore the art.

Mom’s Choice: Mother Ghost

These stories! I could read them every day during Halloween. This book is a collection of creepier, spookier spoofs of classic Mother Goose stories. Stories like “Wee Willie Werewolf” and “Old Mother Hubbard,” which Rowan adores when the dog runs off with the skeleton’s bone.

Dad’s Choice: Goodnight Goon

What can I say, Dad loves a good “petrifying parody” of an old standby. He also has a penchant for calling our children goons, especially when there’s mischief-making in progress.

Kid’s Choice (Rowan): Vampirina Ballerina

Rowan and I have read this book together just about every day this October. Hands down her favorite book right now. We also discovered the Vamperina show on Disney Plus and someone is hooked.

Kid’s Choice (Bea): Eeek! Halloween

I’ve read this book to Bea multiple times a day, sometimes back-to-back while reading before bed or nap, and we just can’t put it down. Her top requested book. It’s also adorable when Bea runs around the house, points out a skeleton or a pumpkin, and says, “Eek! Halloween!”

Psst…So tell me, dear readers, what are some of your favorite Halloween books for kids? Is it a ghost story? A Halloween pop-up book? Or maybe a story of a mean witch? Do share your favorites! I’m always looking for recommendations for our Halloween book collection.