Halloween Picture Books for Older Readers
For the last several years, one of my favorite ways to volunteer in my kids’ school classrooms is as the reader for the Halloween class party.
I have a LARGE collection of Halloween picture books and I love pulling out favorite ones to take to read aloud.
The thing that delights me most is that even with upper elementary schoolers, they love sitting down for a good story.
The good news about choosing Halloween picture books for upper elementary audiences is that even if they have read them before, they love seeing old favorites – even ones they loved as very small children – again.
And they can also handle a little more scary (although none of these books are truly SCARY).
These are some of my favorites that lend themselves well to older classes (in fact, I had my 6th grader go through and help me pick books for this Halloween picture book list!).
Whether you’re reading at home or taking them into a classroom, I hope you find this book list helpful!
23 Halloween Picture Books for Upper Elementary Students
Creepy Carrots by Aaron Reynolds
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. This one is great for all ages!
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. This one is great for older kids because it is more text heavy than most picture books!
Hallo-Weiner by Dav Pilkey
If you have a Captain Underpants and Dog Man lover, this Halloween book is a must! Oscar, the weiner dog, is tired of being made fun of for his short legs and long body and his mom doesn’t help when she gets him a hot dog costume for Halloween. But Oscar gets to show just what he is made of when he has to prove his bravery this Halloween!
Trick or Treat, Crankenstein by Samantha Berger
This series of books features a little boy who turns into Crankenstein when things don’t go as planned. In this installment, all of the Halloween festivities are not working out and to top it off, a toothache is looming! My kids find these books hilarious!
Gustavo the Shy Ghost by Flavia D. Drago
Gustavo is great at being a ghost – he glows in the dark and floats through walls and makes objects levitate. But the thing he loves most is making beautiful violin music and he wants to share that with the monsters around him. But when he’s invisible, that’s a tricky prospect. Is he destined to be lonely forever?
Hardly Haunted by Jessie Sima
You may know Jessie Sima from her wildly popular title, Not Quite Narwhal, and it’s one of those that you could read all year long – it’s not OVERLY Halloween-y. House desperately wants to be a home for a family, but since she’s a little bit spooky, complete with banging pipes, creaky hinges, and scratchy branches, she’s pretty worried she’s actually a haunted house and no one will ever want to make her their home.
Big Pumpkin by Erica Silverman
A ginormous pumpkin has sprouted in the garden and all of the Halloween characters have to work together to pull it off the vine in order to make pumpkin pie! Will they all be able to figure out how to get it off the vine?
There’s a Ghost in This House by Oliver Jeffers
You almost 100% know Oliver Jeffers famous book The Day the Crayons Quit. If you have a child who wants something a little more spooky, try this story about a girl who lives in a haunted house and starts searching for a ghost living in her house.
Skulls by Blair Thornburgh, illustrated by Scott Campbell
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. Skulls aren’t scary; they’re AWESOME.
Brunhilda’s Backwards Day by Shawna J.C. Tenney
When this book first came out, 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.
The Stranger by Chris Van Allsburg
Farmer Bailey accidentally hits a stranger with his truck and brings him home only to find out that this stranger has some unique relation to the weather! I’ve heard this one is one the creepier side, but the illustrations are amazing!
The Spider and the Fly by Mary Howitt, illustrated by Tony DiTerlizzi
This classic poem gets a decidedly creepy twist, thanks to the black-and-white illustrations which give it an old horror-film feel. It’s such a perfect addition to a Halloween collection and a great way to introduce your child to poetry (and also to learn not to trust spiders!).
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.
The Little Ghost Who Was a Quilt by Riel Nason, illustrated by Byron Eggenschqiler
This Halloween book feels like it could be 50 years old instead of brand-new! Most little ghosts are made from sheets – they can swoop around on every breeze. But our little ghost? He’s made from a quilt. Which isn’t ideal. Until one chilly Halloween night when a quilt ghost is exactly what one little girl needs.
Christopher Pumpkin by Sue Hendra, illustrated by Paul Linnet
Christopher Pumpkin is a sweet and cute pumpkin, unlike his counterparts from the wicked old witch. Christopher tries suggesting friendly and happy decorations and games, when the creepy group of pumpkins start planning the scariest Halloween party ever, but is met with some serious pushback.
The Pomegranate Witch by Denise Doyen, illustrated by Eliza Wheeler
This longer story is perfect for the older elementary bunch. All the neighborhood children want is a taste of a juicy pomegranate, but the pomegranate tree belongs to the creepy, old witch. This begins the face off between the children and the witch and comes down to who has the better tricks!
Piggie Pie! by Margie Palatini, illustrated by Howard Fine
Gritch the Witch is hungry and not just any kind of hungry – she wants some pigs to make a piggie pie! Heading to Old MacDonald’s farm, the pigs outsmart her by disguising themselves as anything but pigs. Cute, bold illustrations and heavier on the text, this is a great picture book for uppoer elementary kids.
Too Many Pumpkins by Linda White, illustrated by Megan Lloyd
Because this is a longer picture book, it’s perfect for older kids. Rebecca Estelle hates pumpkins. As as a child, her family was so poor that they ate nothing but pumpkin for a period of time, and so now, as an old woman, she’s determined never to even look at another pumpkin again. She busily tends her productive garden that has absolutely no pumpkins. Until a pumpkin truck rattles down the road by her house and a pumpkin falls out and smashes on her property. Of course, a pumpkin left to rot in the ground is going to be bringing some surprises come fall. And now Rebecca Estelle is going to have to figure out how to deal with dozens of pumpkins.
The Skull: A Tyrolean Folktale by Jon Klassen
This is based on a folktale about a little girl who stumbles upon a large house inhabited by a skull. When Skull is scared of something that comes every night, the little girl is ready to help. The Skull is a quick read with really amazing illustrations and definitely a little dark. You might recognize Jon Klassen’s dark humor and illustration style from his Caldecott winner, I Want My Hat Back. This one actually has three chapters and totals 112 pages, making it perfect for those upper elementary kids!
Bone Dog by Eric Rohmann
I’ve been reading this one almost every year since it came out. My girls really latched on to it, and we’ve read it at least a dozen times in one season. When Gus loses his beloved dog Ella to old age, she promises him that she’ll always be with him. And when Halloween rolls around and some spooky skeletons corner Gus, she keeps her promise.
Poultrygeist by Eric Geron, illustrated by Pete Oswald
I’ll warn you that this one definitely veers a little macabre, with a chicken getting squashed on the first couple of pages by a semi truck and becoming a ghost, er, poultrygeist. He wants to be nice, but all the other animal ghosts he meets are urging him to scare the pants off anyone he comes across. This is one of those books that some people will find HILARIOUS and others will find a little much. And it is more of a hit with the older kids.
Pumpkin Soup! by Helen Cooper
Cat, Duck and Squirrel live together in the white cabin with the pumpkin patch in the back. Every day they each have their own job and make pumpkin soup together, until naturally, one of the animals wants to try a different job!
Nobody Likes a Goblin by Ben Hatke
Someone recommended this one to me (I think on Instagram? I wish I could remember!) and when we checked it out from the library, it became an instant favorite. A goblin lives in a dungeon with his dear friend, Skeleton, but when adventurers come and steal not only the treasure but also Skeleton, Goblin is determined to do whatever it takes to get back his friend. Even if, as he’s warned at his departure, nobody likes a goblin.
And if you’d like a printable copy of this Halloween picture book list for older readers 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!
