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22 Favorite Witch Books

The first Halloween costume I remember from my childhood is dressing up as a witch (my mom made my costume and my hat had shiny gold star buttons on it – I LOVED it!).

Now, as a parent myself, I love cute books about witches when Halloween rolls around.

Whether you’re looking for a board book or a picture book or chapter books about witches, I hope you’ll find something delightful here!

22 Favorite Witch Books for Halloween

witch books

WITCH BOARD BOOKS

Where's the witch

Where’s the Witch? by Nosy Crow, illustrated by Ingela P Arrhenius
I LOVE this simple series of books with felt flaps (no ripping!) and bright festive illustrations. We own several of them and my littlest girls never get tired of them.

Seeking a witch

Seeking a Witch by Angela DiTerilizzi, illustrated by Allie Smith
If you’re in a need of a witch (and who isn’t, come Halloween?), then you know what you need. Someone with a black cat and a wart on their nose. This lighthearted little board book is absolutely delightful and by October’s end, I always have the whole thing memorized.

WITCH PICTURE BOOKS

ghosts in the house

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. 

zip zoom on a broom

Zip! Zoom! on a Broom by Teri Sloat, illustrated by Rosalinde Bonnet
It may look like a Halloween book on the outside, but it’s much more. A counting book told in rhyme, you have ten witches who all want to cram onto one broom. As you’d expect, one by one, the witches topple off. Make sure to watch for the numbers hidden on each page!

The Witches’ Supermarket by Susan Meddaugh
When my girls were little, we would read this one over and over. It is just delightfully fun. From the author of Martha Speaks, this book follows Helen and Martha on Halloween night. Headed out dressed as a witch and a cat (much to Martha the Dog’s displeasure), Helen spots an old woman drop a coupon and when she follows the woman to return the coupon, she finds herself at a Witches’ Supermarket, with a sign on the door warning that there are NO DOGS ALLOWED. Of course, since Martha is dressed as a cat, Helen decides they should just take a quick peek around. You can imagine how that turns out.

If your babysitter is a bruja

If Your Babysitter Is a Bruja by Ana Siqueira and Irena Freitas
When you get a new babysitter on the night before Halloween, it might be a good idea to watch your back because that new babysitter might just be a bruja! (The black hat and cackles give her away!). Fortunately the little girl is quick on her feet in this delightful and surprising  Halloween picture book with lots of Spanish sprinkled into the text.

How to catch a witch

How to Catch a Witch by Alice Walstead, illustrated by Megan Joyce
The How to Catch series is wildly popular and now there’s a Halloween witch version to add to the collection! When the Catch Club Kids venture out for a Halloween night of trick-or-treating, they see spooky creatures everywhere and realize a witch has opened a magical portal to let these spooks out into the real world! Time to set some traps, close the portals, and keep some candy for themselves!

spoonful of frogs book

A Spoonful of Frogs by Casey Lyall, illustrated by Vera Brosgol
Do you know what a witch’s favorite treat is? Frog soup! And, of course, the most important ingredient is a spoonful of frogs to give it that beautiful bright green color. But . . .frogs are HARD to wrangle. They just want to jump around, hide in the kitchen or escape altogether. This book is so funny – it’ll for sure be a hit with preschoolers and early elementary readers!

Leila the perfect witch

Leila, the Perfect Witch by Flavia D. Drago
You may remember Gustavo, The Shy Ghost, which came out a few years ago. Now the author/illustrator is back with a fun story of Leila Wayward, a little witch is who is excellent at. . .everything. That is, until she tries to enter a bake off and realizes she’s not so perfect in the kitchen. Fortunately, she has three magical sisters who are more than happy to help her with her recipe.

the witch next door

The Witch Next Door by Norman Bridwell
Written by the same author/illustrator of Clifford the Big Red Dog fame, this delightful story follows a brother and sister who are both curious and delighted when a witch moves in next door. But not every neighbor wants a witch living next to them and when they coming knocking on the door, it’s anyone’s guess how the witch will react to being told to move.

room on the broom

Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson, illustrated by Axel Scheffler
You can’t mention a witch book without thinking of this one! Oh, it’s good to be a witch, flying through the air on a broomstick with your cat in tow. But then her hat goes tumbling down to earth, followed by her bow and her wand. Who is going to help the witch find them? And what will they want in return?

there's a witch in your book

There’s a Witch in Your Book by Tom Fletcher, illustrated by Greg Abbott
There’s not much that I love more than an interactive picture book (I have a whole list of favorites here!)  and when you make that a HALLOWEEN interactive picture book? I’m all in! In this one, a grumpy little witch casts a magic spell on the reader (that’s you!) and now you can use your finger wand to make your own magic! But be careful – it’s some pretty strong magic!

twitchy witchy itch

Twitchy, Witchy Itch by Priscilla Tey
If you like a picture book with a lot of details to look at on every page, this book is for you! Itch the witch is prepping for company that’s coming for tea and she’s in a frenzy trying to clean up before they arrive. Naturally, she turns to magic, but when her guests arrive, all the magic housekeeping starts to fall apart.

i am a witch's cat book

I’m a Witch’s Cat by Harriet Muncaster
This little girl has a witch for a mom. Naturally, she’s a nice witch and the little girl makes the perfect little black cat to accompany her mother on all her Halloween outings. The images for this book are mixed media sets that are photographed and they are STUNNING. Check out the sequel, too, Happy Halloween, Witch’s Cat!

grimelda the very messy witch book

Grimelda The Very Messy Witch by Diana Murray, illustrated by Heather Ross
Grimelda doesn’t care about keeping her home tidy – she loves a nice mess! But then when she can’t find the ingredients for her favorite pickle pie, she decides that maybe being messy isn’t ALWAYS the best.

the widows broom

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.

brunhildas backwards day

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!

WITCH CHAPTER BOOKS

the witches

The Witches by Roald Dahl
You can’t have a Halloween book list without The Witches! This movie version of this scared me to DEATH as a child, but my girls have loved this audiobook and pull it out to listen to every Halloween (there is a Yoto card of it with lots of sound effects too!).

 

crimson twill

Crimson Twill: Witch in the City by Kallie George, illustrated by Birgitta Sif
This is the first book in a new series (it just came out this summer!) and it’s charming. Crimson Twill is a young witch, but she’s not into black dresses or ugly hats – she loves happy colors and pretty clothes. And tonight she’s going a big adventure, riding her mother’s broom all the way to New York (er, New Wart) City.

worst witch book

The Worst Witch by Jill Murphy
This book kicks off a seven book series, so if you want something you can really dive into, The Worst Witch is hard to beat! It follows Mildred Hubble who is starting her first year at Miss Cackle’s Academy for Witches. And it’s not going well – she’s messing up everything she possible could, including making an enemy out of the teacher’s pet. (I’ll be reading this one to my girls as soon as we finish our current read aloud!). 

the marvelous magic of miss mabel

The Marvelous Magic of Miss Mabel by Natasha Lowe
This is a perfect non-scary but festive Halloween pick with a sweet old fashioned feel! Mabel is left on a doorstep as a baby and the widow who finds her takes her and raises her as her own child. When Mabel is quite young, they discover that she has magical abilities and she wins a place at a prestigious witch school. But it’s not all that Mabel hopes – way too much tradition and far too little experimenting with interesting magic. We all loved it!

kiki's delivery service

Kiki’s Delivery Service by Eiko Kadono
Kiki is a half-witch and when she turns thirteen, she can’t wait to fulfill her witch destiny by choosing a new town to live in for a year. She can’t wait to use her powers to bring delight to the people of her new home but it turns out that it’s trickier than she expected to get a new place to accept a witch among them.

And if you’d like a printable copy of this witch 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!

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