Book Suggestions for the Halloween Reading Chart

It was SO fun to release the Halloween reading calendar yesterday – thank you for all your enthusiasm and excitement!

If you haven’t downloaded a copy yet, it’ll take you 30 seconds!

Each day of October, there is a reading prompt and to make it easier on you, here are suggestions for books, music or treats for each day.

I hope this makes it even easier and more fun to enjoy the Halloween spirit all October Long!

1. Play some spooky (or silly) music while you read.

We really love the Yoto Halloween Songs card for fun funky Halloween music, but Spotify also has some fantastic curated playlists just for Halloween. I love this playlist for spine-tingling classical music, or this Disney Halloween playlist is great for Disney lovers!

2. Read a book with a pumpkin in it.

Nothing says Halloween more than pumpkins! These are some of my favorite pumpkin books:

• Pumpkin Jack by Will Hubbell
• Runaway Pumpkins by Teresa Bateman, illustrated by Stephanie Fizer Coleman
• We Planted a Pumpkin by Rob Ramsden
• Pick a Pumpkin by Patricia Toht, illustrated by Jarvis
• Stumpkin by Lucy Ruth Cummins

And, if you are looking for more options, I have an entire post with pumpkin books!

3. Read a rhyming Halloween book.

I’m not sure how many words rhyme with Halloween, but in these rhyming books, maybe you will find out!

• How to Spook a Ghost by Sue Fliess
• Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson, illustrated by Axel Scheffler
• Happy Owl-Oween! by Laura Gehl, illustrated by Lydia Nichols
• The Ghosts Went Floating by Kim Norman, illustrated by Jay Fleck

4. Color while you read.

If you haven’t printed off your free Halloween reading chart yet, this is the moment! It’ll take you just a few minutes and you can enjoy coloring it all month long. Add in a tin of our favorite colored pencils and you are ready to go!

5. Ask a librarian for a recommendation.

If there is anyone who will know of some fantastic Halloween books, and possibly one you can take home same day – it would be the librarian. They are a wealth of knowledge!

6. Make paper bats while you read.

My paper bats are probably one my favorite Halloween decorations! With just a few supplies – scissors, black construction paper, and a template – even the littlest hands can join in to make the house festive. Or if you aren’t the crafty type, you can decorate the house with a pack of black bats, while you read.

7. Read a book about skeletons.

I am not mad that all the houses are decked out in skeletons all down the street. It’s actually so much fun! And these skeleton books are just as fun!

• Skulls! by Blair Thornburgh
• Skeletown: Sí. ¡No! by Rhode Montijo
• Bone Dog by Eric Rohmann

8. Make a cozy fort and read inside.

Grab some couch cushions and blankets and get cozy inside a homemade fort…you may not want to stop reading once you are in.

9. Read a Frankenstein book.

He’s probably one of the most well-known monsters of Halloween. And all three of these books depict him in very different ways.

• Trick or Treat, Crankenstein by Samantha Berger, illustrated by Dan Santat
• Frankenstein by Jennifer Adams, illustrated by Alison Oliver
• Frankenstein: A Monstrous Parody by Rick Walton, illustrated by Nathan Hale

10. Read a search and find Halloween book.

Over the years, I’ve discovered lots of search and find books, and they’ve become favorites in our home. Whether you are searching for a black cat, or five skeletons – these are some fantastic Halloween options.

• I Spy Spooky Night by Jean Marzollo, photographs by Walter Wick
• Bear’s Spooky Book of Hidden Things: Halloween Seek-and-Find by Gergely Dudás
• Spooky Sights (Can You Find It?) by Sarah L. Schuette

11. Discover a Halloween book published this year.

Every year I love reading all the new Halloween book releases, and sharing my favorites for you to enjoy too!

• Griselda Snook’s Spectacular Books by Barry Timms, illustrated by Laura Borio
• The Ghost Who Was Afraid of Everything by Nadia Ahmed
• ¡Vamos! Let’s Celebrate Halloween and Día de los Muertos: A Halloween and Day of the Dead Celebration by Raúl the Third
• I Got the Spooky Spirit by Connie Schofield-Morrison, illustrated by Frank Morrison

If you want more ideas for Halloween books published in 2024 I have an entire post full of book titles.

12. Pick a book about trick or treating.

Besides carving pumpkins, the culmination of all the Halloween anticipation comes down to the trick-or-treating (it’s the costumes and candy for me!). These books are perfect for getting in the spirit for the big day!

• The Crayons Trick or Treat by Drew Daywalt, illustrated by Oliver Jeffers
• If Animals Trick-or-Treated by Ann Whitford Paul, illustrated by David Walker
• Pig the Monster by Aaron Blabey

13. Enjoy a Halloween book your parent loved.

Mom and dads know best, and chances are they know of a Halloween book that could potentially become a family tradition. (And probably bring about a lot of nostalgia.)

14. Sip a festive drink while you read.

When you can finally feel fall in the air, there is nothing better than a cozy fall drink and good book – this caramel apple cider and cobweb hot chocolate look tasty and fun. Or if you are looking for a chilled spooky drink – my girls would go crazy for this Witches Brew.

15. Read a Halloween counting book.

These aren’t your average counting books…some are simple, some complex, some are spooky, and all are just plain fun!

• Ten Orange Pumpkins by Stephen Savage
• 10 Things I Love About Halloween by Samantha Sweeney
• Zip! Zoom! on a Broom by Teri Sloat, illustrated by Rosalinde Bonnet
• Ten Spooky Pumpkins by Gris Grimly
• The Twelve Days of Halloween by Leann Schwandt Lehner, illustrated by Alais Fortier-Meyer

16. Enjoy an animal Halloween book.

Who says animals can’t have fun on Halloween? All of these books featuring animals on the spookiest holiday are fantastic!

• Dog and Bear: Tricks and Treats by Laura Vaccaro Seeger
• A Tiger Called Tomás by Charlotte Zolotow, illustrated by Marta Álvarez Miguéns
• Herbert’s First Halloween by Cynthia Rylant, illustrated by Steven Henry
• Halloween Mice! by Bethany Roberts, illustrated by Doug Cushman
• Mouse’s First Halloween  by Lauren Thompson, illustrated by Buket Erdogan

17. Do your best witchy cackle at the beginning and end of the book.

Any wicked witches out there? Loud, quiet, shrill, or boisterous, any and all cackles are welcome here!

18. Choose a book with yellow on the cover.

It’s not the most common Halloween color, but all of these books have just enough yellow on the cover – I’d say they qualify!

• Halloween Is Coming! by Cal Everett, illustrated by Lenny Wen
• Little Blue Truck Halloween by Alice Schertle, illustrated by Jill McElmurry
• Boo Haiku by Deanna Caswell, illustrated by Bob Shea

19. Have a pumpkin snack while you read.

To be honest, I am not the biggest pumpkin fan, but these pumpkin snacks are ones I completely approve of!

• Black and White Pumpkin Bread – This recipe couldn’t be easier – one bowl and you’ll have the whole thing in the oven in less than 10 minutes. Plus, it’ll make your whole house smell like fall!
• Jack O’ Lantern Yogurt Parfaits – My girls think sweetened yogurt is a MAJOR treat (we’re a mostly unfun plain Greek yogurt family). They can add granola or nuts or mini chocolate chips or fruit or whatever they’d like to it. You could easily make these ahead of time by adding jack o’ lantern faces, yogurt, and fruit (I always save the granola till right before serving to keep the crunch).
• Clementine Pumpkins – You’ve probably seen those peeled clementine pumpkins topped with a teeny piece of celery all over Pinterest. It’s super cute, but they dry out really fast, so I prefer to just draw a little jack-o-lantern face on an unpeeled clementine or orange with a black pen or marker.

20. Shiver your way through a haunted house book.

I can’t say that I would ever be excited to walk through a haunted house, but I happy to read through a book about one…in the safety and comfort of my own home.

• Hardly Haunted by Jessie Sima
• Ghosts in the House! by Kazuno Kohara
• The Most Haunted House in America by Jarrett Dapier, illustrated by Lee Gatlin

21. Dress up for your family story time.

It doesn’t have to be anything elaborate, a sheet ghost, a silly hat, or a cat headband would do the trick. A little costume can make any book more fun!

22. Read with a grandparent or other family member over FaceTime.

My parents don’t live in town, so we definitely utilize FaceTime to stay connected when we aren’t visiting each other. There is nothing more fun than getting to share some of the holiday festivities with loved ones – no matter how far away they might be.

23. Read a book about ghosts.

What better time to read about ghosts than during Halloween season? I love all these ghost books, where most of the ghosts are just sweet, cute, and even sometimes funny little characters.

• A Friend for Ghost by Suzanne Kaufman
• Leo the Ghost by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Christian Robinson
• The Little Ghost Who Was a Quilt by Riel Nason, illustrated by Byron Eggenschqiler
• The Little Ghost Who Lost Her Boo! by Elaine Bickell, illustrated by Raymond McGrath
• Gustavo, the Shy Ghost by Flavia Z. Drago
• Sir Simon: Super Scarer by Cale Atkinson

24. Choose a book with a monster in it.

Vampires, werewolves, zombies, and mummies – there is no shortage of monsters during Halloween! (The good news…even though these books feature monsters, they aren’t too spooky.)

• The Monster’s Monster by Patrick McDonnell
• Monster Trouble! by Lane Fredrickson, illustrated Michael Robertson
• Boo Who? by Ben Clanton

25. Laugh along with a funny Halloween book.

Halloween doesn’t just have to be about the scary and spooky of it all. I have laughed out loud with all of these funny Halloween books!

• The Scariest Book Ever by Bob Shea
• Brunhilda’s Backwards Day by Shawna J.C. Tenney
• A Spoonful of Frogs by Casey Lyall, illustrated by Vera Brosgol
• Creepy Pair of Underwear by Aaron Reynolds, illustrated by Peter Brown
• Pumpkin Trouble by Jan Thomas

26. Read a spooky book by candlelight.

For some reason darkness seems to intensify any book, let alone a spooky Halloween book. So turn off the lights, pull out a spooky book, and use a flameless candle (safer than real candles), or my favorite book light to really get into the spirit.

27. Have a quick Halloween dance party before you read.

This is a perfect after-school activity especially when the excitement of Halloween is really riling up some kids. We love the Yoto Halloween Songs card – they are full of kid-friendly Halloween songs that are the perfect blend of fun and funky, and a little bit spooky.

28. Read a book with a black cat.

Is anyone else superstitious about black cats? Luckily all of these black cat books are charming, but still put you in the Halloween spirit.

• Meowl-o-ween by Diane Muldrow
• One Black Cat by Robie Rogge, illustrated by August Ro
• I’m a Witch’s Cat by Harriet Muncaster

29. Make cookies and munch while you read.

I am a HUGE cookie fan. I am a HUGE book fan. It is only logical that the two together would be a match made in heaven! If you want to keep things festive, these are my favorite pumpkin cookies. They’re perfectly crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, no cakey cookies here! Or, I am also a huge connoisseur of Chocolate M&M Cookies, Healthy No Bake Cookies, and the BEST chocolate chip cookies.

30. Pick a book about bats.

If there is one animal that screams Halloween, it is definitely bats! Maybe it’s their association with Dracula – but I love these books that feature this nocturnal flying mammal.

• Amara and the Bats by Emma Reynolds
• Stellaluna by Janell Cannon
• Bats at the Library by Brian Lies

31. HAPPY HALLOWEEN!