Fun and Spooky Children's Books for Halloween

The Monsters’ Monster by Patrick McDonnell. I have long been a fan of McDonnell’s illustrations and stories. The Monsters’ Monster is about three very ferocious monsters (or so they think) that decide to build the monster of all monsters (Frankenstein). What they create though, isn’t quite what they were hoping for…

Crankenstein by Samantha Berger and Dan Santat. Do you know a Crankenstein? If you’re a parent, I’ll bet you do. This is a fun story that describes a slew of reasons why little people get cranky. The illustrations are silly and engaging. This book will work year round as it’s not necessarily a Halloween picture book, but with the Frankenstein undertones it fits the season well.

Click, Clack, Boo!: A Tricky Treat by Doreen Cronin and illustrated by Betsy Lewin – Farmer Brown’s animals are at it again in this fun new installment from Cronin and Lewin. Click, clack, boo! is full of fun Halloween type sounds that kids will enjoy.

Zombelina by Kristyn Crow and illustrated by Molly Idle – this is my favorite new book of the season. Zombelina loves to dance and has just started taking ballet lessons. Everything goes pretty well until performance night arrives and our zombie ballerina gets a little stage fright. The family component incorporated into this book is great. There is some rhyming and the illustrations are fun, but I really like that actual ballet vocabulary is used.

Vampirina Ballerina by Anne Marie Pace and illustrated LeUyen Pham – this is another great picture book that little dancers will be sure to love. It’s a about a young vampire who starts ballet lessons. Vamperina has lots of great tips about how to become the best ballerina possible. I love the illustrations in this book.

Goodnight Goon: A Petrifying Parody by Michael Rex – a petrifying parody of the all time classic, goodnight moon by Margaret Wise Brown, this Halloween book is filled with clever rhyme. Rex has done a fabulous job creating a creepy Halloween version of goodnight moon. This is definitely one of my favorite Halloween picture books.