Halloween is one of my favorite times to share books with my daughter. She loves stories filled with pumpkins, witches, and friendly ghosts, and I love finding books that feel festive without being too scary. These Halloween books for children are perfect for cozy nights at home or for adding a little seasonal fun to storytime. Here are some of our favorite titles to enjoy together this time of year.
In The Boo Crew Needs YOU!, the Boo Crew needs your help to save Monster Town’s Halloween festivities. With fun interactive prompts—tap, clap, turn, and shake the book—kids become part of the story. The rhyming text and vibrant illustrations make this a perfect read-aloud for young Halloween fans who love gentle spooks and playful adventures.
This book is my daughter’s absolute favorite this year and I probably have it memorized.
In This Year, a Witch!, a little girl decides she’s done with sweet costumes and wants to be a real witch this Halloween. She casts her spell, dresses the part, and has a spook-tacular time—even if it’s a little scary! Fun illustrations and playful text make this a perfect read-aloud for kids who love Halloween adventures.
Join the Sesame Street crew for a Halloween celebration. All of the characters kids love are dressed in costumes and the ending has a fun and spooky surprise. The text in this book rhymes and reads extremely well, almost sounding like poetry so I love reading this one!
Boneaparte is a skeleton who is falling apart – literally. His friends try to help him stay together, each using different and silly ideas. While not Halloween-specific, it is the perfect read for this time of year and has monsters, skeletons, vampires, and more.
Duck wants to make a Jack-O-Lantern to surprise his friends Mouse and Pig, but when he falls into the pumpkin, he ends up spooking them instead. This story has hilarious illustrations, an entertaining and funny plot, and extremely short text that makes this one of my favorite Halloween books for children. If you haven’t heard of this title, you should read it this season!
The mouse everybody knows and loves has holiday board books and they are all a ton of fun. This one involves painting pumpkins with different emotions and I like to practice making the faces with my daughter. I highly recommend this one for young readers and for story times!
The Isty Bitsy Pumpkin can be sung to the tune of the Itsy Bitsy Spider . As the little pumpkin rolls past a goblin’s ghost and a stinky goblin’s feet trying to get home, he gets help from a little witch. A short story and song perfect for bedtime or for a Halloween read.
Duck and Goose are getting ready for trick or treating, but their friend warns them to beware the swamp monster. Children will delight in the not-so-spooky swamp monster! Duck and Goose are two of my favorite book characters and this Halloween book didn’t disappoint.
Froggy is a classic character that kids of all ages love. Whether a grownup is yelling “FROGGYYYYYY” or Froggy is looking more “red in the face than green”, there are plenty of options for kids to jump in and help read this book. This book is a longtime favorite of mine and will remain in my top choices for Halloween books for children.
This is book of Halloween rhymes where children have to guess what the riddle is about. The riddle is on one page and then the answer is on the next spread, which gives children the perfect opportunity to guess. This would make a wonderful storytime read because interactive books are always a hit.
These 5-minute stories are beloved by families everywhere. They have so many topics and stories in them, there truly is something for everyone. The Halloween one is really fun and make sure you get comfortable because if your child(ren) are like my daughter, you will be reading ALL of the 5-minute stories in one sitting.
From silly monsters to magical witches, these books are sure to bring extra fun to your Halloween season. Whether you’re reading at bedtime, during storytime, or before trick-or-treating, may your holiday be full of pumpkins, costumes, and plenty of stories. For more monster-themed things, check out my Monster Storytime post. For more songs and rhymes, check out jbrary’s Halloween post. Do you have go-to Halloween books for children? I’d love to hear in the comments!