13 Spooky picture books for Halloween

Halloween is right around the corner, and with it conjures up frightening images of eerie graveyards, grinning jack-o-lanterns, and cackling witches on their brooms. It's the perfect time to curl up with a spooky book that will give you chills and thrills and send shivers down your spine!

1. The Bones of Fred McFee, by Eve Bunting
In this rhythmic story, an unsuspecting brother and sister bring a toy skeleton home from the harvest fair. They name it Fred McFee and hang it from a sycamore tree. Soon, eerie things begin to happen. And then on Halloween night, Fred vanishes!
Ages 5-8

2. Halloween Night, by Charles Ghigna
It's Halloween night and all are preparing, for a wickedly wonderful evening of scaring. With zombies and banshees and mummies galore, read this book once and you'll come back for more! This spooky and humorous collection of Halloween poems will fright and delight young readers. Ages 4-8

3. The Little Old Lady Who Wasn't Afraid of Anything, by Linda Williams.
A clever reworking of a classic story.The little old lady’s fearless attitude and her clever solution as to what to do with the lively shoes, pants, shirt and pumpkin head that are chasing her will enchant young audiences. With brilliantly colored, detailed folk art illustrations. Ages 4-8

4. Piggie Pie, by Margie Palatini
When Gritch the Witch takes a trip to Old MacDonald's farm to find plump, juicy piggies for her piggy pie, she finds a Big Bad Wolf instead. Ages 4-8

5. A Very Hairy Scary Story by Rick Walton, David H. Clark (Illustrator)
Sarah's walk home is perfectly safe, but you know how creepy things can look when it's getting dark. Shadows take on lives of their own, any noise can make you jump, and a perfectly normal yard can seem pretty scary indeed.
Witty verse propels Sarah from fright to fright while with each page turn, kids can see the harmless everyday objects that inspire her fear. Kids won't ever look at grills or skateboards the same way again!

6. One Dark Night by Lisa Wheeler, Ivan Bates (Illustrations)
Evenings at home with Mouse and Mole are always safe and cozy, until one dark night they venture outside for a moonlit
walk and find something waiting for them.  With its satisfying ending, this adventure is a perfect read-aloud for every
night.

7. Who Will Haunt My House on Halloween?  by Jerry Pallotta, David Biedrzycki (Illustrator)
Spooky bats and zombies. Spiders and skinny skeletons. These are just some of the scary creatures that show up at a little girl’s door to trick or treat on Halloween night. But are they real? A suspenseful story and colorful illustrations make this book a fun Halloween choice.

8. Can You See What I See? On A Scary Scary Night by Walter Wick
Mr. Wick dazzles the senses with spooky scenes that achieve new levels of aesthetic excellence! This book offers readers lots of search and find fun as they peer through pages and pages of brilliant photographic compositions looking for fascinating toys and objects.
This highly collectable book is a must.

9. Your Skeleton Is Showing by Kurt Cyrus
The spectacular rhymes of Kurt Cyrus, paired with the deliciously grim illustrations of Crab Scrambly, take readers on an adventure through the friendliest and wackiest graveyard you'll ever find! This collection of dead-pan poems is sure to be a perennial favorite and is the perfect off-beat introduction to poetry.

10. The Nightmare Before Christmas written and illustrated by Tim Burton
Meet Jack Skellington. He’s in charge of making Halloweenland the coolest creepy place around. But when Jack suddenly grows bored with tricks and treats, he goes searching for new ways to celebrate… and he finds them in Christmas Town! Christmas, Jack decides, is just what Halloweenland…and the world…needs! He sets out to take over the role of Santa. But can anything good come of a tall and lanky skeleton dressed up as everyone’s favorite jolly old elf?

11. Frankenstein by Rick Walton, Nathan Hale(Illustrator)
This laugh-out-loud funny and devilish send-up of Ludwig Bemelmans's Madeline is for little monsters everywhere.
Frankenstein is the scariest of all the monsters in Miss Devel's castle. He can frighten anything--animals, parents, even rocks. Until one night, Miss Devel wakes up and runs downstairs to find that Frankenstein has lost his head!

12. Ghost in the House by Ammi-Joan Paquette, illustrated by Adam Record
A ghost, mummy, monster, skeleton and witch all must leave the haunted house when they're terrified by a young boy who shows up in his pajamas. The art and rhymes are just right for younger children.

13. Skeleton for Dinner by Magery Cuyler, illustrated by Will Terry
Big Witch and Little Witch have made stew, and now they want to have their friends for dinner! But when Skeleton mistakes the guest list for a menu, he takes off running, and soon Ghost and Ghoul join him too! But poor Little Witch has no idea there's a misunderstanding. Luckily there's one creature in the haunted forest who can help everyone figure it all out.
This spooky and silly read-aloud is just right for Halloween.

Picture book review : The Gruffalo

The Gruffalo was first published in 1999 and has won many awards as well as a place in my children's hearts! Julia Donaldson has written other children's books but for many this is the best! It's got a whole collection of soft toys, games, room decorations, and other items inspired by the brilliant artwork of Axel Scheffler.

The book tells the simple story of a mouse who takes a walk in the forest and has to avoid becoming lunch to the various animals he meets. He creates what he thinks is an imaginary scary monster to keep them at bay and it turns out that the Gruffalo really exists!

The story is one parents will enjoy reading to small children. It's easy pace and alliteration make this a fun book too! Children will request this book at bedtime again and again! The story will appeal to children from an early age and it'll be one of their preferred books to be read because of the rhymes and fun storyline.


This story can be one that helps your child learn to read too. When they love stories they learn the words and when they sit with you to read the book you can put your finger on the words so they can start to learn to read. This technique is very easy to do and can start your child off learning their letters and beginning to recognise words.

The Gruffalo is a scary monster when the mouse finally meets him but the mouse is cunning and shows the monster how the other animals are all frightened of him and scares the Gruffalo away.

Gruffalo toys are available for fans of the Gruffalo at Cartoon Network.

There also a short animated film based on this classic children's picture book released by BBC on 2009.

Year 2014 marks the 15th anniversary of the Gruffalo. Join in the Gruffalo’s birthday celebrations with the special edition, which comes complete with exclusive bonus content, including early drawings from Axel’s sketchbook, some of which have never been seen before, and a new, specially written foreword from Julia herself.