Happy Halloween! Celebrate this fall holiday in October with the best Halloween books for kids about witches, ghosts, cats, pumpkins, monsters, and more!
halloween is just around the corner. Are your kids excited?
You are reading: Halloween books for 8 year olds
maybe it’s time to start reading good books about these spooky fall holidays.
discover the best options in halloween books, perfect for children of all ages to enjoy. Find board books, picture books, and chapter books. Even better, these books aren’t scary, kid-friendly, and mom-approved.
It’s time for your kids to read a comprehensive and comprehensive list of all my favorite halloween picture books.
From not scary to a little creepy, this list has something for every age and stage.
don’t miss out on this printable halloween scavenger hunt.
find 80 book character costume ideas here.
If you’re looking for scary books, try this list of scary chapters and middle grade books.
my all time favorite halloween books for kids
board books for children from 1 to 4 years old
Spookie Pookie by Sandra Boynton Don’t you just love Sandra Boynton board books? My kids ADORED her writing and illustrations when they were little. This cute Halloween book shows how Pookie makes a decision about what to wear as a Halloween costume. You’ll love it.
Eek! Halloween! by Sandra Boynton The chickens are nervous at all the strange things they see on Halloween like a pumpkin, a wizard, and a robot. So what do they do? Cover their eyes, of course. Until someone explains all about Halloween costumes to them.
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Boo! Haiku by Deanna Caswell, illustrated by Bob Shea Simple haikus will get kids thinking and guessing about Halloween items including a bat, a skeleton, and a black cat.
The I’m Not Scared Book by Todd Parr Parr makes it okay to feel scared. This excellent board book shows how some things feel scary and also, those same things can seem not scary, too. “Sometimes I’m scared of dogs // I’m not scared when they give me kisses.” LOVE.
Open the Witch’s Door by Jannie HoIt’s Halloween! Lift the flaps to see who’s in the house, find out what the witch is reading, what’s hidden in her cupboards, and even how she sees at night…Early readers will like this playful, not-scary Halloween story about a little witch.
It’s Pumpkin Day, Mouse! by Laura Numeroff Learn about feelings in this simple Halloween board book. Mouse paints 7 pumpkins with different kinds of faces — silly, scary, friendly, and sad. Love this so much.
Peep and Egg I’m Not Trick-or-Treating by Laura Gehl, illustrated by Joyce Wan If you love these two friends, you’ll like this new, funny story about Halloween. Peep does an admirable job trying to entice Egg into being brave for trick-or-treating by sharing jokes, planning out the night, and talking about costumes. But Egg just won’t. (Yet.)
B is for Boo: A Halloween Alphabet (Babylit) by Greg Paprocki The retro artwork of this Halloween alphabet book feels cozy with pages filled with treats, costumes, and other Halloween words. Absolutely lovely.
AlphaOops: H is for Halloween by Alethea Kontis, illustrated by Bob Kolar Hilarious! This goofey book is one of our favorite Halloween stories!
Peep and Egg I’m Not Trick-or-Treating by Laura Gehl, illustrated by Joyce Wan If you love these two friends, you’ll like this new, funny story about Halloween. Peep does an admirable job trying to entice Egg into being brave for trick-or-treating by sharing jokes, planning out the night, and talking about costumes. But Egg just won’t. (Yet.)
Ten Orange Pumpkins A Counting Book by Stephen Savage A bold, graphic illustrations accompany rhyming text that counts down from 10 to 1. Well done, not scary.
Where Is Baby’s Pumpkin? by Karen Katz Don’t you just love Karen Katz books? In this adorable Halloween-flavored story, baby searches around her house for her pumpkin. Help her find it by lifting the flaps. Where will it be?
Spookytale by Christopher FranceschelliWhat a cool Halloween board book with peek-through die-cut pages, detailed illustrations, and lots of gatefolds to open! (It also features tons of prepositions!) Two young friends journey in the dark woods, over the rickety bridge, along the stubbly field, across the dismal swamp, and through the deserted graveyard, seeing all sorts of friendly animals and monsters as well as other children in costumes. When they finally arrive at the haunted house, they’re welcomed into a festive Halloween party!
halloween picture books for children from 4 to 8 years old
We’re Going on a Pumpkin Hunt by Goldie Hawk, illustrated by Angie RozelaarA fun adaptation of “We’re Going on a Bear Hunt” that is absolutely pitch-perfect to read aloud to celebrate Halloween! Trick or Treating friends are looking for the perfect pumpkin but to find it, they must brave cobwebs, bats, and a spooky house. But they’re not scared!! Lots of fun spooky sound noises like “creaky-squeak, flap-flap, tickle-swish, and meow-meow” for readers to chant along.
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10 Spooky Pumpkins by Gris GrimlyAs the sun sets on the autumn day, a little girl dressed as a scarecrow explores the countryside and finds 10 spooky pumpkins, 9 black cats, 8 screeching bats, and many other spooky Halloween creatures. “3 toothless witches stirring up the brew…Looking for a scarecrow and they found two.” Fun-to-read, perfect rhymes plus wildly imaginative and charming illustrations make this a perfect read-aloud for kids who enjoy slightly scary Halloween stories.
what are your favorite halloween picture books?
halloween first chapter books for children from 6 to 9 years old
Monster School First Day Frights by Dave Keane Norm’s new school is full of hairy, scary, Larry monsters. But, Norm feels different because he’s not a monster. But, he can turn green like Hilda when she takes him for a wild broom ride. A hilarious, not-at-all-scary I Can Read book.
Ava the Monster Slayer by Lisa Maggiore, illustrated by Ross Felten We think Ava rocks! She’s the fierce monster slayer (glasses and all) who braves monsters in her basement to rescue stuffed Piggy. Awesome, don’t you think?
Never Kick a Ghost and Other Silly Chillers (I Can Read Book) by Judy Sierra, illustrated by Pascale Constantin A not-too-scary, silly. spooky stories perfect for early readers! My daughter’s first-grade teacher read this to the whole class and they LOVED it!
Ghoulia: Making New Friends Can Be Scary by Barbara Cantini Ghoulia wants to make friends. But, she’s a zombie so she’s forbidden to befriend village children or else their family will be cast out of the village. When she overhears the children talking about Halloween, Ghoulia realizes she can join in with the celebrations, too. The children are impressed by her costume until Ghoulia pulls off her head. Shocked, all they can do is stare. And stare. Until they shot with joy — they love it and promise to keep her family’s secret. Full-color, charming illustrations give this story tons of personality.
Invisible Inkling Dangerous Pumpkins by Emily Jenkins Invisible Inkling is an invisible bandapat that lives with 4th grader Hank and who LOVES to eat pumpkins. Unfortunately, Inkling destroys the pumpkins that Hank’s sister is entering in the Dangerous Pumpkins contest. Of course, Hank gets blamed. Will things work out for Hank and Inkling? We sure hope so!
Mr. Pants: Trick or Feet! by Scott Mccormick, illustrated by R. H. Lazzell We’re huge fans of the hilarious Mr. Pants graphic novels for beginning readers — this is the third book in the series. In this story, Mr. Pants and his sisters are stuck at the airport on Halloween. Boring, right? It’s up to Mr. Pants to figure out how to make the holiday fun happen no matter where they are.
Check out all of my scary, creepy, creepy chapter book recommendations here.
keep reading:
Book Character Halloween Costumes 
Scary Chapter Books
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