Here’s me making another push for a great Halloween book that isn’t JUST a Halloween book; The Book That Eats People. It may not, at first bite, be a book that is thought of as a Halloween book. But the highly imaginative story within a story is perfect for a silly-scary read. And it’s not just about candy and tricking and treating.
No pumpkins, no witches…but nothing better captures the mood of Halloween than The Book That Eats People.
I don’t have a favorite Halloween picture book. My daughter and I like The Haunted Hamburger by David LaRochelle. And I like reading Julia Donaldson’s Room on the Broom (Illustrated by Axel Scheffler). Where’s my Mummy by Carolyn Crimi and John Manders is also a good read for those Halloween bed times. Lately my daughter has taken a liking to a couple of different History of Monsters type books. Some of them are definitely not picture books, but she loves the ‘historical’ aspects of them. The Essential Worldwide Monster Guide by Linda Ashman and David Small was a book my daughter had no interest in the first night it was read, but ended up as the book of choice (BOC) for about two weeks after that. She claims it needed to be read with a certain style. Whatever it was, I know it well by now. It’s a small-word-count book that examines creatures from different cultures. It stays simple and sharp and offers lots of jumping-off points to discuss other things.
And it’s almost time to watch It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. That’s the best part of Halloween for me. Well, that and the left over candy.
Thanks for the tips – I think my girls will enjoy The Essential Worldwide Monster Guide. They just watched Hotel Transylvania and loved it.
There are so many Halloween picture books. Once I started writing that post I realized I was in trouble if I was going to catalog them. So I mentioned only the most recent ones we’ve been had around. Just looking at my bookcase I can see another 10 Halloween based picture books!