7 Halloween Picture Books to Read for a Classroom Party
This list is a must for any Halloween classroom parties or story time. If you’d like a printable copy of this Halloween read aloud book list that you can take to your library or screenshot on your phone for easy access, just pop in your email address below and it’ll come right to your inbox!
Every year, my favorite thing to volunteer for at my children’s elementary school is reading aloud at the classroom Halloween party.
I own a LOT of Halloween picture books and this is a great time to share some of my favorites with my children and their friends.
But, of course, not all Halloween picture books are great read aloud picture books!
Whether you’re going in for a classroom Halloween party or a mystery reader during October or hosting a little story time of your own, I hope this list of Halloween picture books will be helpful!
Halloween Picture Books to Read for a Classroom Party
Creepy Carrots! by Aaron Reynolds and Peter Brown
I don’t trust any list of best Halloween children’s books that doesn’t include this one (and the Caldecott committee gave it their stamp of approval too). Jasper Rabbit loves carrots and can’t stop eating them out of the nearby garden plot. So the carrots take things into their own hands. The companion books, Creepy Pair of Underwear, and Creepy Crayon! are equally fabulous.
Stumpkin by Lucy Ruth Cummins
Poor Stumpkin. He’s such a beautiful pumpkin, but his stem got snapped off and now no one wants him. As the other pumpkins get snatched up before Halloween, Stumpkin stays where he is, wishing that someone will take him home and make him into a beautiful jack-o-lantern. This is such a sweet story with a surprise twist!
Ghosts in the House! by Kazuno Kohara
This was the first book in my personal Halloween children’s book collection and I love pulling it out every year. When a little witch moves into an empty house she isn’t worried about all the ghosts there – she rounds them up, washes and irons them and turns them into curtains, tablecloths and blankets! Perfect for younger kids because it is short and not scary.
Skulls! by Blair Thornburgh
I’ve loved this book from the moment it was released – it’s such a clever, upbeat look at how cool skulls are and how we all have one. This one is especially fun in a classroom because of the informational, educational bent to it, while still being fun. Skulls aren’t scary; they’re AWESOME.
I Love My Fangs! by Kelly Leigh Miller
This little vampire LOVES his fangs. So you can imagine his horror when one of his fangs FALLS OUT. How can he be a vampire with only one fang?! I particularly love this one with young elementary schoolers because many of them are in the loose tooth phase and they are delighted to see their own experience reflected back to them in this book!
The Widow’s Broom by Chris Van Allsburg
I love all of Chris Van Allsburg’s books (he’s famous for The Polar Express and Jumanji), but this one is hands-down my favorite about an old widow who takes in a witch who falls from the sky. And when the witch heals and departs, she leaves behind her broom which turns out to be very useful to the widow. The neighbors, though, aren’t so sure about this magical broom.
Brunhilda’s Backwards Day by Shawna J.C. Tenney
When we pull this book out in October, we read it almost every single day. I’m pretty sure if my children had to choose a single favorite Halloween picture book, it would be this one, about Brunhilda who loves to stir up trouble until her cat makes a potion that makes all her spells do GOOD things instead of mean things. It’s always a hit in the classroom!
And if you’d like a printable copy of this Halloween read aloud book list that you can take to your library or screenshot on your phone for easy access, just pop in your email address below and it’ll come right to your inbox!
