Be sure to check your local library for great books. The Penny Whistle Halloween Book by Meredith Brokaw, Annie Gilbar (Contributor), Jill Weber (Illustrator) The Penny Whistle Halloween Book is an absolute must for teachers parents and kids of all ages who want to make this Halloween a safe, spooky, and happy one! It is chock-full of hundreds of bewitching ideas about carving, painting, and decorating pumpkins, making your own costumes, and planning an unforgettable Halloween party.(buy)

Five Little Pumpkins
pictures by Dan Yaccarino
A popular Halloween rhyme with colorful pictures that will delight children. This rhyme is an easy one for young children to learn.(buy)

Pumpkin Faces
by Emma Rose, illustrated by Judith Moffatt
A glow in the dark heavy paged book with different pumpkin faces.(buy)

Scared Silly!: A Halloween Book for the Brave
by Marc Tolon Brown
A collection of poems, stories, jokes, and riddles designed to help young readers scale their fears down to size by inviting them to laugh out loud at the things that make them scared silly.(buy)

What Is Halloween?
by Harriet Ziefert and Claire Schumacher
A lift the flap book. Little Mouse wants to know what Halloween is.(buy)

AGES 4-8

A Halloween Mask for Monster
by Virginia Mueller, illustrated by Lynn Munsinger
Monster tries on a lot of masks, but they are all too scary. What will he be for Halloween?(buy)

Adventure in the Witch's House: A Book to Read by Flashlight
by Lynn Gordon, illustrated by Susan Synarski
Lifting the flaps on each spread reveals a printed acetate window the exact circumference of a standard flashlight. By shining the light through the windows, children can project the scary image on the wall and step right into the story! Full color. 6 spreads.(buy)

Apples and Pumpkins
by Anne F. Rockwell, illustrated by Lizzy Rockwell
It is Fall! And for one little girl, that means the special joys of visiting the Comstock Farm: choosing the reddest apples from the trees and finding the best pumpkin in the patch. Back home, she helps her mother carve a funny jack-o'-lantern face and puts a glowing candle inside her prize new pumpkin...just in time for Halloween and an evening of lots of "trick or treats"! (buy)

Arthur's Halloween (Book & Cassette)
by Marc Brown
A reluctant trick-or-treater at first, Arthur discovers that Halloween isn't really so frightening after all. Millions of fans love this story and are sure to be delighted with this tape, which features the theme song "Say Hello to Arthur" and includes turn-the-page signals on one side of the cassette and uninterrupted narration on the other.(buy)

Arthur's Halloween Costume
by Lillian Hoban
Arthur the monkey's costume gets ruined on the way to his school costume party...and he ends up with the most original costume of all.(buy)

Bat Bones and Spider Stew
by Michelle Poploff, illustrated by Bill Basso
Henry Hooper is a little nervous about going to his friend Artie Doomsday's house on top of Hallows Hill. Everybody calls the hill HAUNTED Hill, and when Henry meets Artie's sister Wanda and Granny Doomsday, he starts to wonder if the Doomsday household is haunted, too. Especially when Granny starts cooking up a big pot of bat bones and spider stew! Is this some kind of crazy Halloween prank, or is the Doomsday family for real?(buy)

Big Pumpkin
by Erica Silverman, illustrated by S.D. Schindler
A witch trying to pick a big pumpkin on Halloween discovers the value of cooperation when she gets help from a series of monsters.(buy)

Class Trip to the Spooky Museum : A Hair-Raising Lift-The-Flap Tour
by Buster Yablonsky, Sarah Albee (Contributor), illustrated by Margeaux Lucas, bus Yablonksy
When Miss March takes her second-graders to a very odd museum on Halloween eve, the day is filled with bizarre occurrences thanks to the class's mischievous pet hamster, Tootsie. Bold gouache paintings catch the exuberance of the setting and ensure that this lift-the-flap mystery will lead to laughs--not nightmares.(buy)

Clifford's First Halloween
by Norman Bridwell
What will Clifford be for his first Halloween? Read about the fun Emily Elizabeth had with Clifford on his first Halloween.(buy)

Clifford's Halloween
by Norman Bridwell
Emily Elizabeth tries to figure out what Clifford the big red dog should be for Halloween.(buy)

Ed Emberley's Halloween Drawing Book
by Ed Emberley
Features a collection of things for kids to draw and projects to make as they get ready for Halloween. Includes: jack-o-lanterns, skeletons, witches, bats and cats.(buy)

Frank Was a Monster Who Wanted to Dance
by Keith Graves
Frank dreams of dancing, but what will happen when he tries it? This delightful poem fits in beautifully with the fun, "dark" side of Halloween! (buy)

Franklin's Halloween
by Paulette Bougeois and Brenda Clark
Franklin has an exciting Halloween - figures out what to wear, figures out what costumes disguise his friends - and is thoughtful with a sick friend.(buy)

The Hallo-Wiener
by Dav Pilkey, Dave Pilkey, Liz Parker
A little dachshund that is made fun of by the other dogs because of his shape. But on Halloween night he changes their mind.(buy)

Harriet's Halloween Candy
by Nancy Carlson
Harriet the dog figures out there is such a thing as too much Halloween Candy (urp).(buy)

Here Comes Halloween
by Becki Ward, Mike Dodd (Illustrator), William Ward
A lift-the-flap Halloween adventure where two naughty mice roam the forest playing tricks on their neighbors. Finally the tables are turned and the two mischievous mice get their comeuppance. Lift the flaps to see who lives in the forest and what tricks are about to be played.(buy)

Humbug Witch
by Lorna Balian
There is a witch whose spells never work...and when she takes off her witch clothes, who is she?(buy)

If I Were a Halloween Monster
Robert E. Moler
Features masks and backward text that can be read when held up to a mirror. Readers will transform themselves as they look through the eyeholes and become werewolves and skeletons and other scary beasts.(buy)

The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything
by Linda Williams, illustrated by Megan Lloyd
Once upon a time there was a little old lady who was not afraid of anything. One windy autumn night, while walking in the woods, she encountered a noisy pair of shoes--and then pants, a shirt, and a pumpkin head--that gave her the scare of her life.(buy)

Monster Cake
by Rebecca Dickinson
Three little monsters decide to surprise their mother with a very special, homemade birthday cake. They set the table with a cloth made from spiders silk, pour glasses of iguana milk and pick a lovely dead flower from the garden. But wait- more than a cake is needed for this meal! What about rotten apple yogurt on earthworm ketchup roast? Or garlic stuffed potato bugs? This is one birthday surprise that's bound to be unforgettable! A darling book, my kids love.(buy)

Six Creepy Sheep
by Judith Ross Enderle and Stephen Gordon Tessler, illustrated by John O'Brien
The six creepy sheep get scared by everyone they meet.(buy)

The 13 Nights of Halloween
by Rebecca Dickinson
To woo his goblin sweetheart, a shy goblin guy gives her a present on each of the 13 nights of Halloween. Readers join the two goblins as they look for items hidden in the illustrations.(buy)

The Berenstain Bears Trick or Treat
by Stan & Jan Berenstain
Brother and Sister Bear learn a lesson about appearances can be deceiving in this cute trick or treat story.(buy)

The Biggest Pumpkin Ever
by Steven Kroll, illustrated by Jeni Bassett
Two mice, Clayton and Desmond, are both trying to grow the biggest pumpkin ever. Neither knows the other has different plans for the same pumpkin.(buy)

The Ghost's Dinner
By Jacques Duquennoy
What happens when ghosts eat Swiss cheese? Do you know what happens when they drink fruit juice? Once you read this book, it will become an instant favorite! Children will delight in seeing what happens to the ghosts with each thing they eat! This is our favorite book at Halloween and throughout the year!(buy)

The Halloween Performance
by Felicia Bond
Roger the Mouse's class was practicing for the Halloween performance. Families from all over town were coming to watch. This is a book my kids ask to be read over and over.(buy)

The Witch Goes to School
by Norman Bridwell
What happens when your next door neighbor, that happens to be a witch, goes to school with you?(buy)

AGES 9-12

A Newbery Halloween : A Dozen Scary Stories by Newbery Award-Winning Authors
by Martin Harry Greenberg, Charles G. Waugh (Editor)
A collection of thirteen scary stories by Newbery Medalists Beverly Cleary, Madeleine L'Engle, Paul Fleishman, Eleanor Estes, and E. L. Konigsbury, among others, provides thrills and chills, ghosts and witches, to make any Halloween perfectly spooky.(buy)

All Saints, All Souls and Halloween (World of Holidays Series)
by Catherine Chambers
Examines the traditions and celebrations occurring around the world on Halloween, All Saints' Day, and All Souls' Day, festival days at the end of October and beginning of November that bring fire and mystery to the onset of winter.(buy)

Dawn and the Halloween Mystery (Baby-Sitters Club Mystery, No 17)
by Ann Matthews Martin
The night before Halloween a masked robber holds up a store in Dawn's neighborhood - and Dawn witnesses a getaway! The police can't seem to catch the robber. Will trick-or-treating get cancelled or can Dawn and the WLKC catch the robber themselves?(buy)

Full Moon Fever (Goosebumps Series 2000, 22)
by R. L. Stine
Robbie and his sister love trick-or-treating--even at scary old Mrs. Eakins' house. But when they both gobble down one of her "Beast" candy bars, things start to get very hairy.(buy)

Make Your Own Spooky Story
by Cherry Denman
Everything you need to make your own books: colorful sticker illustrations, a blank dummy book, a giant poster plan, a handy stencil with letters and theme pictures, plus plenty of ideas and tips, interesting information on famous authors of the genres, a personalized author ID card and a "Do Not Disturb" sign.(buy)

The Case of the Creepy Castle, Vol. 19
by Mary-Kate Olsen
Great-grandma Olive takes Mary-Kate and Ashley and their friends to a fun house called Creepy Castle. Before we could say "boo!" we were surrounded by werewolves, vampires even a suit of armor that walked around all by itself. Then our friends started to disappear, one by one! Soon Ashley and I were the only two left. If we didn't crack this case fast, the next visitors to vanish would be us!(buy)

We also have some stories online that you can read

We'd love to add your favorite Halloween books to the list - please email Feedback with the name, author, and a brief description.