Halloween has the best books. Spooky pumpkin seeds, stemless pumpkins (stumpkins!), and so many ghosts and ghouls! Use our list of the best Halloween books to stock your classroom shelves and choose read-alouds or book recommendations all October long. (We recommend also reading these Halloween books long after Halloween.)
Plus, be sure to fill out the form on this page to get your free printable list of Halloween books.
Best Halloween Books for Kids
1. The Good, the Bad, and the Spooky by Jory John and Pete Oswald
If your students love the “Food Group” series as much as ours, this is one of the Halloween books that is a no-brainer to add to your classroom library. In it, Bad Seed goes on a quest to find the perfect Halloween costume.
Use this book to introduce students to Halloween topics like choosing costumes and Halloween traditions.
2. Pig the Monster by Aaron Blabey
In this latest installment of the “Pig the Pug” series, everyone’s favorite pug goes on a wild quest for treats. A fun read-aloud that will have your students giggling. It’s a great book to talk about hyperbole and theme (in this case, don’t go too crazy with Halloween sweets).
Buy it: Pig the Monster
3. Halloween Is Coming! by Cal Everett
We love the sweet illustrations and lyrical text in this ode to Halloween, which focuses on the magic of the celebration.
This is another great book to use to introduce Halloween and talk about what you love about the holiday.
Buy it: Halloween Is Coming!
4. Hardly Haunted by Jessie Sima
An old house just wants to be loved, even if she’s a little bit haunted, in this sweetly spooky story about self-acceptance.
Use this book to talk about vocabulary (hardly and haunted) and to design your own hardly haunted houses.
Buy it: Hardly Haunted
5. That Monster on the Block by Sue Ganz-Schmitt
When Vampire moves out, Monster is excited for a new neighbor. But when the moving truck arrives, Monster can’t believe who’s moving in next door. …
Use this book to categorize types of monsters, and design your own scary neighbor.
Buy it: That Monster on the Block
6. Creepy Carrots! by Aaron Reynolds
Jasper Rabbit loves carrots and eats them all day long. But suddenly the carrots seek revenge and he sees them everywhere. What can be done about creepy carrots?
This is one of the Halloween books that is perfect for teaching tone. Read it and then write your own creepy vegetable stories.
Buy it: Creepy Carrots and the other Creepy Tales, Creepy Pair of Underwear! and Creepy Crayon!
7. The Pomegranate Witch by Denise Doyen
An old tree has beautiful pomegranates, but an old witch wants to keep them for herself. A bunch of kids notice the tree, and the fight is on!
This read-aloud is a great one to use for story analysis with a clear, if witchy, problem and solution.
Buy it: The Pomegranate Witch
8. Pick a Pumpkin by Patricia Toht
A rhyming ode to choosing a pumpkin from a patch. Read this before you head to the pumpkin patch and speculate about the types of pumpkins you’ll find.
Buy it: Pick a Pumpkin
9. The Short Straw by Irene Mathias
The kid who draws the short straw must go into the haunted house first. Do you dare?
Read this book to talk about the things that scare us and how we handle it.
Buy it: The Short Straw
10. Big Pumpkin by Erica Silverman
A witch has a giant pumpkin that she wants to turn into a pie. The problem? She can’t pull the pumpkin off the vine and needs some help from her spooky friends.
This is one of the great Halloween books to use to teach order of events as each Halloween character lines up to try to free the pumpkin.
Buy it: Big Pumpkin
11. Halloween in the Orchard by Phyllis Alsdurf
This Halloween book is all about celebrating the holiday at a local apple orchard. A boy and his father enjoy everything the orchard has to offer, including Halloween-y things like a hayride, scarecrows, and a corn maze. This is a great read-aloud to complement the spooky stories with sweet memories, and it’s a must-read if you’re taking a field trip to an orchard.
Buy it: Halloween in the Orchard
12. Pumpkin Countdown by Joan Holub
A fall-inspired countdown that takes place on a class field trip to a pumpkin patch. Use this in morning meeting to reinforce counting backward and then during center time to count Halloween and fall items.
Buy it: Pumpkin Countdown
13. Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson
In this rhyming, lyrical story, a witch helps her friends find what they’re missing, and then the friends save her from a dragon.
Use this book to talk about story sequence or to find and match all the rhyming words.
Buy it: Room on the Broom
14. Bone Soup by Cambria Evans
Finnigin is never seen without his spoon, all the better to eat everything in sight! But no one wants to eat with him. Can he use his cauldron to mix up Halloween magic?
This book is perfect for teaching problem-solution story formats.
Buy it: Bone Soup
15. Splat the Cat and the Pumpkin-Picking Plan by Catherine Hapka
When Splat goes to the pumpkin patch with his sidekick, Seymour, he’s determined to find the biggest pumpkin ever. He finds a huge pumpkin, and now he has to get it home!
Use this book as part of a bigger Splat the Cat character study or to inspire STEM activities—how can your students help Splat get his pumpkin home?
16. Leo: A Ghost Story by Mac Barnett
Leo is a great ghost, but after his antics scare his human family, he wants a friend. So, when he runs into Jane, a girl with a big imagination, the stage is set for a spooky friendship.
Use this story to inspire your own ideas about what you would do if you were friends with a ghost.
Buy it: Leo: A Ghost Story
17. Stumpkin by Lucy Ruth Cummins
Stumpkin is an ordinary pumpkin who wants to be a jack-o’-lantern. There’s only one problem: He has a stump, not a stem. Will Stumpkin find his home in time for Halloween?
This book is a wonderful read-aloud with warmth, heart, and humor. Talk about the theme and the message at the end.
Buy it: Stumpkin
18. The Scariest Book Ever by Bob Shea
A ghost or a bunny? Students will love the anticipation of each page turn in this silly Halloween read-aloud. Use it to inspire your own silly or scary projects by giving students a piece of plain construction paper and seeing what they can come up with.
Buy it: The Scariest Book Ever
19. Little Blue Truck’s Halloween by Alice Schertle
In this rhyming story, Little Blue Truck and Toad prepare for a Halloween party by visiting all their animal friends. Who is behind each costume?
This book is wonderful for a pre-K read-aloud, with rhyming, lift-the-flaps, and a surprise at the end. Students can extend the read-aloud by designing a costume for Little Blue.
Buy it: Little Blue Truck’s Halloween
20. How To Make Friends With a Ghost by Rebecca Green
If you happen to meet a ghost, how do you make friends with it? That’s the premise of this quiet, sweet how-to book. Use this book to analyze the how-to structure for storytelling, and make your own Halloween-inspired list of how to make a friends.
Buy it: How To Make Friends With a Ghost
21. Bonaparte Falls Apart by Margery Cuyler
Bonaparte just can’t keep himself together. His friends (Franky Stein, Mummicula, and Blacky Widow) have some ideas, but will Bonaparte be together for the first day of school?
A lighthearted, humorous, punny book, use this story to analyze story structure and organize a story with a clear problem and solution.
Buy it: Bonaparte Falls Apart
22. The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything by Linda Williams
Once there was a little old lady … Students will love this read-aloud that involves clapping, stomping, and a big Boo! This book is perfect for a repeated read-aloud as students can join in more and more each time you read it.
23. Goodnight Goon by Michael Rex
This parody of Goodnight Moon is so much fun to read and is great to use to introduce Halloween vocabulary.
Buy it: Goodnight Goon
24. Witch & Wombat by Ashley Belote
Wilma wants a cat, but when the pet store is out of cats, she brings home a wombat instead. This sweet, funny story is a great one to talk about being flexible and keeping an open mind. Use this book as a read-aloud to talk about story structure.
Buy it: Witch & Wombat
25. Bruce and the Legend of Soggy Hollow by Ryan T. Higgins
Bruce, everyone’s favorite curmudgeon, hates Halloween (of course). His mice friends try to get him in the spirit with some spooky stories, but will it change Bruce’s attitude? Use this book to talk about the idea of a “legend” and to study Bruce’s character.
26. Lila and the Jack-o’-Lantern by Nancy Churnin
This Halloween story incorporates an Irish Halloween tradition told through the story of Lila, who immigrates to America during the potato famine. She experiences her first U.S. Halloween and incorporates Irish traditions as well.
This story is a wonderful addition to Halloween read-alouds as it incorporates bigger themes of how holidays are celebrated around the world, and how we can adapt old traditions to new places.
Buy it: Lila and the Jack-o’-Lantern: Halloween Comes to America
27. Vlad, the Fabulous Vampire by Flavia Z. Drago
Vlad is a vampire who looks real, thanks to those rosy cheeks. He tries to hide his rosy complexion until he finds his community. This story adds a dash of humor to a read-aloud about acceptance.
Buy it: Vlad, the Fabulous Vampire
28. Roscoe the Rascal Visits the Pumpkin Patch by Shana Gorian
When James and Mandya go to the pumpkin patch, they bring their dog, Roscoe. Deep in the corn maze, the three find two bullies in skeleton masks. Can the kids and Roscoe defeat the bullies?
This is a fun fall read for students who are ready for chapter books and appreciate a hero (or dog) story.
29. School of the Dead by Avi
When his Uncle Charlie dies, Tony is devastated. But then he starts seeing his uncle everywhere, especially at his new school. The Penda School is already scary without his uncle’s ghosts. When a rumor starts that a student went missing shortly before Tony arrived, he wonders if it could be related to his uncle’s death. This story is for kids who like scary stories and mysteries, and it’s a great one for studying how authors create fast-paced adventure.
Buy it: School of the Dead
30. Confessions of a Candy Snatcher by Phoebe Sinclair
On Halloween, Jonas and his friends usually bully other kids out of their candy. But when something goes wrong and Jonas starts getting cryptic messages, his everyday life turns upside down. Recommend this book for students who love humor and an unexpected underdog character.
Buy it: Confessions of a Candy Snatcher
31. Goosebumps House of Shivers by R.L. Stine
R.L. Stine is the master of Halloween literature for middle grades. Is there a better series than Goosebumps for Halloween scary stories? Check out the latest Goosebumps House of Shivers: Scariest. Book. Ever. for stories about villains and monsters.
32. Bunnicula by Deborah and James Howe
When a new pet comes home, family dog Harold suspects that this pet is not a typical one. Little does the family know they’ve brought a bunny vampire into the house. Bunnicula is a classic Halloween read-aloud that 2nd and 3rd graders will love.
Buy it: Bunnicula
33. A Halloween Carol by Sean Hogan
This is A Christmas Carol with a Halloween twist. Zach Hall hates Halloween. Even a zombie and little witch can’t help him. Then, Zack makes a wish on a jack-o’-lantern, and the three spirits of All Hallows’ Eve take him on a soul-searching spooky adventure.
This book is great for kids who love an adventure, and it’s even better if they have the background knowledge of A Christmas Carol to help them see the humor in the story.
Buy it: A Halloween Carol
34. Lilac Skully and the Haunted House by Amy Cesari
Lilac Skully is afraid of everything, but when her father disappears, she has to deal with the ghosts that haunt her home, and learn to trust herself along the way. Another story for spooky-adventure-loving kids.
35. In a Dark, Dark Room and Other Scary Stories retold by Alvin Schwartz
This is a classic easy reader re-illustrated for today’s kids. The stories—The Teeth, The Graveyard, The Green Ribbon, and more—are scary folktales that are a great introduction to the scary story genre, so kids can try on a spine-tingling read.
Buy it: In a Dark, Dark Room
36. Scary Stories To Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz
This classic anthology of scary stories can be used for entertainment or to study the genre.
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