Books 4 Kiddos - October

Title: The Little Ghost Who Lost Her Boo

Author: Elaine Bickwell

Illustrator: Raymond McGrath

Lovely story about a little ghost in search of her boo. She goes and asks her friends to help her find it. In the end the reader is the one who saves the ghost and her boo.

Perfect for young kids, I would say from toddler to elementary age. My four year old was playing along and making all the noises in the book while my one year old was fascinated by the beautiful illustration.

This book is definitely on my yearly Halloween book list.

Title: Arthur’s Halloween

Author: Marc Brown

I read the books and watched the Arthur television series as a kid. Now that I have children of my own, I wanted to see if they would enjoy it too. AND…they absolutely did. It is fun to join Arthur as he experiences Halloween. This included preparing for the holiday, being a part of the celebration at school, and of course the best part, trick or treating.

What makes this book a great Halloween story is that it goes beyond just the candy and the costumes. It shows children how to face their fears especially when those you care about might need your help.

I would say this book works well for kids four years old and up. My oldest, who is four, did not care for it much last year but this year she couldn’t have gotten enough. My one year old wanted me to move a bit quicker, so if you use it mainly for the pictures and don’t read all of the text it could work for younger children.

Marc Brown, like all of your other holiday books, Arthur’s Halloween is a perfect read for the Halloween season.

Title: How to Catch a Witch

Author: Alice Walstead & Megan Joyce

This was one of the new books that we read for Halloween and I am glad we did. It felt like the perfect “I Spy” because while you read the story you were always trying to find the witch to help the kids. I also enjoyed the message that went along with the book. Essentially being different is okay and that we should make sure we don’t make judgements on others.

Especially if ghouls or ghosts are just trying to enjoy a nice halloween party for themselves and their friends.

On top of that it also shared the idea to never give up and keep trying. Over and over again the kids in the book were not able to get a hold of that tricksy witch, but they never gave up. They continued to come up with new ideas to find a way to save Halloween. Thankfully at the end, catching the witch wasn’t necessary because it turned out she was really good and they were sad to see her go.

Illustrations for the book were great and my daughter really enjoyed the searching for the witch, but based on the reactions of my four year old and one year old. I would say this book is for an older crowd, the elementary crowd.

However, I still plan to read this to both of my kiddos every Halloween and maybe add a fun engineering component, a trap to catch our own witch on Halloween night.

Title: Berenstain Bears Halloween is Sweet!

Author: Stan and Jan Berenstain

Anyone else grown up reading the Berenstain Bears? I sure did and loved every moment of it. I wanted to share that with my children, so this holiday season we read the Berenstain Bears own Halloween story.

It is always fun to follow talking bears, and it is even more fun to see what bears might be doing Halloween. Watching them carve pumpkins, dress up in their costumes, and go out for treats is a joy to see and read. And like all Halloween books, we learn that everything is not what it seems as the Berenstain Bear children discover on their final trick or treat location.

Short and sweet, this book is perfect for toddlers and elementary kids. Even my one year old enjoyed looking at the pictures (and thankfully I had a hard cover version so he could help flip the pages with ease).

Add this book to our Halloween Book List!

Title: It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown

Author: Charles M Schultz

I think most of us grew up watching those Charlie Brown specials. The most memorable ones of mine were Christmas, Thanksgiving, and of course It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown. So once I found you can buy these in book form, I jumped right on it.

For those that don’t know the story, Charlie Brown’s friend Linus believes in the Great Pumpkin (like Santa Clause except for Halloween). The young boy and his blanket try to convince everyone to join him in the pumpkin patch to see the Great Pumpkin arrive, but he is left alone. Even so, good ol’ Linus believes he will one day see the Great Pumpkin and continues to believe.

The story is fun (though I do wish Charlie Brown could get a break…a rock everytime…poor guy) and the illustration is great with its bright, bold colors and its large print to help with first time readers. I will admit, however, this is one of the harder books to get my kids interested in and that is because their patience level is a little low at their age. That is why I suggest this book is best for children in elementary school.

I do want to add, however, I will always read this book to my kids multiple times up until Halloween and also on Halloween night. As well as watch the Charlie Brown special it is based upon. Charlie Brown will always be a part of my holidays and hopefully my kids as well.

What are some children's books you recommend for Halloween? I would love to know so I can share them with others, but also read them to my kids next year.