I have so many great Halloween books to tell you about, that I needed to create a second post. If you are interested in reading the first post, you can find it here – Fun Halloween Books Part I.
Without further adieu, here are some more great books your child or grandchild might enjoy during “spooky season.”
The Clackity by Lora Senf
Evie Von Rathe lives in Blight Harbor—the seventh-most haunted town in America—with her Aunt Desdemona, the local paranormal expert. Des doesn’t have many rules except one: Stay out of the abandoned slaughterhouse at the edge of town. But when her aunt disappears into the building, Evie goes searching for her.
There she meets The Clackity, a creature who lives in the shadows and seams of the slaughterhouse. The Clackity makes a deal with Evie to help get Des back in exchange for the ghost of John Jeffrey Pope, a serial killer who stalked Blight Harbor a hundred years earlier. Evie must embark on a journey into a strange otherworld filled with hungry witches, penny-eyed ghosts, and a memory-thief, all while being pursued by a dead man whose only goal is to add Evie to his collection of lost souls.
I didn’t get the chance to read over this book. This book is for older children (10+ years old) and has 288 pages, so it’s not a quick read like books for younger children.
Based on the description, I could get into a book like this.
The Pup Who Wanted to Be a Pumpkin by Bella Swift.
Peggy the pug’s family are getting ready for Halloween, but Peggy’s friend Chloe is too scared of monsters to look forward to trick-or-treating. Peggy can’t let her best friend miss out on all the Halloween fun. She’ll just have to conquer her own fears and go trick-or-treating with Chloe to keep her safe. But first she needs the perfect costume…
Can this book cover be any cuter?
This book is relatively easy to read for kids around 7+ years old. Throughout the book you’ll find adorable illustrations.
I only read bits and pieces of this book to get a sense of it. From what I read, this is a wonderful book. I know it was quick to disappear from our program’s library, so someone must have thought the book was as cute as I thought it was. Ha Ha.
The Ghost of Spruce Point by Nancy Tandon.
Twelve-year-old Parker has grown up in his family’s Home Away Inn, nestled on a wooded peninsula in Maine called Spruce Point. His best friend, Frankie, has been staying at the inn every summer for years with her family. Together, they’ve had epic adventures based out of a nearby old treehouse that serves as their official headquarters for Kids Confidential Meetings.
But lately, business at the inn hasn’t been great, and Parker is pretty sure he knows why. It’s long been rumored that Mrs. Gruvlig, one of the few year-rounders on Spruce Point, has unique abilities of the supernatural kind. And Frankie is absolutely sure she saw a ghost on Mrs. Gruvlig’s property! As more and more spooky happenings occur around the Point, Parker and Frankie are convinced Spruce Point has been officially cursed.
I am sorry, but I didn’t get the chance to look through this book. I didn’t want to not include it because I’m sure that there are kids out there who’d love this book. It’s geared towards kids 8+ years old.
The next three books are comic book style books. Instead of traditional book pages, these books pages look like comic books (graphic novels).
Creepover: Truth or Dare by P.J. Night and illustrated by Glass House Graphics.
During a round of Truth or Dare, Abby Miller confesses her crush on Jake Chilson. The only people who know her secret are her friends at the sleepover—and whoever sent her a text message in the middle of the night warning her to stay away from Jake…or else!
But Abby isn’t going to stay away from Jake, especially not after he asks her to the school dance.
As the night of the dance comes closer, some very creepy things start happening to Abby. Someone definitely wants to keep her away from Jake. Is it a jealous classmate or, as Abby begins to suspect, could it be a ghost?
Creepy full-color graphic panels tell the story with the same horror as the original novel! This spine-tingling tale is a Level 3 on the Creep-o-Meter.
I’m not always a fan of graphic novels, but I really enjoyed this book. It has great, colorful graphics and a story that will make you want to finish the entire book in one sitting. It’s that captivating. I really enjoyed this one.
Bunnicula by James Howe and Andrew Dorkin. The book is illustrated by Stephen Gilpin.
Harold the dog and Chester the cat must find out the truth about the newest pet in the Monroe household—a suspicious-looking bunny with unusual habits…and fangs! Could this innocent-seeming rabbit actually be a vampire? Experience the chills and thrills of this classic tale in an all-new graphic novel format!
This book is geared more towards older children. Some of the illustrations seem a bit “dark” if you ask me. It’s an interesting book to read, but the illustrations make this book geared more towards older kids (8+), so as not to be frightening to little ones.
Lumber Jackula by Mat Heagerty and illustrated by Sam Owen.
Jack is in a pickle. His lumberjack mom wants him to go to Mighty Log Lumberjack Prep to learn how to chop wood and wear flannel. His vampire dad wants him to go to Sorrow’s Gloom Vampire School to learn how to turn into a bat and drink blood-orange juice. And Jack has a secret: what he really wants to do is dance.
When he finds out about Tip Tap Twinkle Toes Dance Academy from new friend Plenty, Jack feels he’s finally found the place where he can be his true self. But he’s too afraid of disappointing his family to tell them. What’s a half-lumberjack, half-vampire boy to do?
To summon the confidence to pursue his dreams, Jack will have to embrace every part of himself—his lumberjack toughness, his vampire eeriness, and most especially his awesome dance moves.
This is a cute book. My “work kids” have been very interested in this book ever since I brought it into our program. For that reason, I haven’t let anyone take it home or keep it yet because I know that several children are interested in it.
This is a “novel” (get it) idea for a book with a Halloween theme. The illustrations are entertaining to look at as well.
Boo Hiss by Cyndi Marko
Ghost and Snake live in an old, old house. All by their lonesome, with no one to bother them. They go about their days hooting and hissing, until a family—a human one!—moves in and disturbs their peace and quiet. A crying baby? A barking dog? A wailing saxophone? How will they ever stop all this noise and reclaim their home?
Their plan involves lots of scaring and slithering, and they’re sure once the family sees them, out they’ll move! But could it be that having a noisy, barking, laughing family around isn’t all that bad?
As with Lumber Jackula, this is a delightful graphic novel which has also become a popular book at work with my “work kids.” Of the two, this book is my favorite. I like the story and I love the illustrations. Each page features colorful illustrations and some text. It’s not a “text heavy” story. I think a lot of the story is more visual, which is fine, especially for kids who are not really into reading much.
Creepy Crayon by Aaron Reynolds and illustrated by Peter Brown.
Jasper Rabbit has a problem: he is NOT doing well in school. His spelling tests? Disasters. His math quizzes? Frightening to behold. But one day, he finds a crayon lying in the gutter. Purple. Pointy. Perfect. Somehow…it looked happy to see him. And it wants to help.
At first, Jasper is excited. Everything is going great. His spelling is fantastic. His math is stupendous. And best of all, he doesn’t have to do ANY work! But then the crayon starts acting weird. It’s everywhere, and it wants to do everything. And Jasper must find a way to get rid of it before it takes over his life. The only problem? The creepy crayon will not leave.
I love this book! It’s so funny, and so unique. The illustrations are done in shades of gray and black. The only color in the book is the purple crayon.
Harold and the Purple Crayon was a favorite book of mine growing up. That is what this book reminds me of, except this story is about a haunted crayon and not a magical one.
I hope that you found great books worth checking out with your child.
If you would like to learn more about Simon and Schuster, visit them online at SimonandSchuster.com. Click on the “Children” category to learn more about these and other great books (Halloween and non-Halloween).
You can also find Simon and Schuster on social media.
Which book(s) do you think your child/grandchild might like? Feel free to comment and share your thoughts. I always love to hear from readers.
Kimberly
*I received free book samples in order to do this review. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own and not influenced in any way.