Halloween Books Your Toddler Will Love
We’ve been working on our fall bucket list and Halloween is just around the corner. And if your kid is anything like mine, you talk about Halloween all of the time. Chulengo is obsessed with Halloween characters, Halloween books, Halloween decor, and everything else Halloween-related.
We walk through the neighborhood, looking at decorations. We play dress-up regularly. We “look for zombies” outside after dinner. We talk about the different sounds each Halloween character makes — he has a hilarious werewolf impression. I can take Chulengo to the home decor store and roam up and down the Halloween aisles with decor items for hours — seriously. He can never focus on something for hours, but when it comes to Halloween decor, he can’t look away.
Part of our bedtime routine is reading stories. So I have invested in entertaining Halloween to enjoy with Chulengo before bedtime. Below is a list of my favorite Halloween books to share with Chulengo.
Monsters Are Afraid of Babies by Nicholas Tana. This book was gifted to us by the publisher, and it couldn’t be more perfect. As we are preparing for the arrival of Bambino, Chulengo’s little brother, or sister, I try to discuss babies as often as possible. This book is adorable, as it outlines how babies help keep monsters away, which could be a therapeutic read for any toddler.
EEK! Halloween! by Sandra Boynton. Like any Sandra Boynton book, this one has a cute storyline, great graphics, and a fun rhythm. The chickens notice something is different and are all freaked out. A fun read for any toddler.
The Night Before Halloween by Natasha Wing. This book is a fun little spin on The Night Before Christmas. There are brightly illustrated pages with lots of details. I like to use this book as a “search and find” book, too, because there is so much detail. As I am reading, I will ask Chulengo to find different objects.
Trick or Treat! by Matt Mitter is an excellent book for active little ones. Chulengo loves all the flaps in this book, which has been great entertainment when out at a restaurant, and I need to keep him busy. I like how this book talks about various traditions and activities related to Halloween.
Clifford’s First Halloween by Norman Bridwell is a classic. I remember reading this as a kid, and I love that Chulengo has been hooked on it lately. This book is about Clifford’s first Halloween with Emily Elizabeth. It talks about the costumes they wore, going trick or treating together, and hosting a holiday party.
Spooky by Roger Priddy is another good activity book that I use for distraction when we are out and about. Each page has interactive sliding panels to keep kiddos engaged.
The 13 Nights of Halloween by Guy Vasilovich is a spin on the 12 Days of Christmas. I particularly like this one because it has repetition, so Chulengo has figured out the lines of the book pretty quickly and reads along with me. This book is a creative and fun read.
Inside a House That is Haunted by Alyssa Satin Capucilli is another book with good rhythm and repetition, that is still enjoyable with each read. I like that this book builds upon itself so that Chulengo helps me read along. It also uses symbols for some words, which allows Chulengo to predict what I will say next.
Spooky Pookie by Sandra Boynton. Of course, there is another Sandra Boynton book on this list because her books are so catchy and entertaining. I like this book about a pig that is looking for the perfect Halloween costume.
Llama Llama Trick or Treat by Anna Dewdney. We have read the original Llama Llama book hundreds of times since Chulengo was born. So, he gets excited when he sees a regular character in a different book. This book follows little llama picking out a costume, choosing a pumpkin, and trick or treating with his friends.
Spooky House by Roger Priddy is another book with flaps to keep Chulengo entertained. The book discusses different rooms in the spooky house, including a witch, ghosts, vampires, and more. And many objects are hidden behind numerous flaps on each page.
The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything by Linda Williams is a great book! Again, another book with repetition, this book is about a little old lady who takes a walk in the evening and comes across different items that scare her a little bit. She perseveres in trying and making it home. Chulengo and I have little hand and body motions that we do for this book, which makes it even more enjoyable.
Boo! by Leslie Patricelli. We’ve liked this book as much as the Potty book by Leslie Patricelli. Something about the little kid in the picture makes it relatable to Chulengo. In this story, the little boy discusses finding a pumpkin, carving a jack-o-lantern, finding the right costume, and trick-or-treating. Like any Leslie Patricelli book, there isn’t much wording, but there are a lot of visually stimulating images and a cute storyline.
Ten Timid Ghosts by Jennifer O’Connell. Oh boy, we have been reading this book for two years straight! Chulengo LOVES this book. This book is about a witch who moves into a haunted house and tries to drive the ghosts out. One by one, she drives the spirits out, where they meet up in the woods to come up with a plan to get their house back. The lines are catchy, and the graphics are great.
Little Goblins Ten by Pamela Jane is another rhythmic book that Chulengo has had us read over the past year. The story is engaging, as each page includes a family of Halloween characters. I like using funny voices and sounds with this book, and Chulengo always thinks it’s hilarious.
Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson is an adorable book with such a great message about working as a team and helping others out. A witch and her cat are flying on her broom, some misfortunes happen, and she and her pals work together to help each other out.
Do you have a favorite Halloween book that isn’t on this list? Share with me in the comments below
I love books. As an “early” retired elementary teacher, books are a joy to buy. They are great for birthday presents for young children–especially when you are not sure what toy to buy or what toy they already have…
They really are great gift ideas!
I love all the Halloween book recommendations! My 4 year old is obsessed! He loves all things spooky
Glad to know I’m not the only one with a Halloween obsessed kiddo, lol!
So many great books to choose from – Room on the Broom has always been our favorite. We need to check out some of these too.
That’s a good one too, Angela!
i love reading holiday books with the kids. I still have ours from when mine were wee
Aw, I bet it’s nice to reminisce with your kiddos about them!
Such a fun round up of Halloween books for toddlers! We have a couple of these in our house. I love Sandra Boynton books – she has so many good ones! Monsters Are Afraid of Babies looks super cute too. Will have to look for that one. Thank you for the great list!
Thanks, Jessica. Monsters are Afraid of Babies is a really great one!
I love everything Sandra Boynton but I hadn’t heard of her Halloween books before! They are perfect additions to our bookshelf 🙂
We are big fans of Sandra Boynton here too!
These are some great suggestions, thanks. I will have to let my friend know about some of these.
Thanks, Michelle!
This is such a fun time of year, and I adored Halloween as a kid. I don’t think you can start too young. These are all great suggestions. Thanks!
Thanks, Matt!
Thank you for this great list and info. We love story time at our house and are always looking for great books to add to the shelf
Thanks, Erika. I try to circulate new books in regularly to save myself from having to read a book like 100x 🙂
My kids are past the toddler stage, but this looks like a fun collection of “spooky” books!
Thanks, Tiffany!
I don’t have kids yet, but I love these books! I vividly remember reading and loving Clifford’s First Halloween. Great list!
Thanks, Disha. That was one of my favorites, as a kid too!
Nice list for gifts as well! Thank you for sharing them.
Thanks, Suzan.
Ah, we love Spooky House! I will have to take a look back through the others! What a fun list to make for us!
Thanks, Lee Anne!
A couple of these look really cute! Going to have to pick up one or two for my grandkids! I like the 10 Timid Ghosts!
The 10 Timid Ghosts is a good one!
Great list for tots! I recognize some of them from my classroom teaching days!
Thanks, Katherine.
These are great book recommendations. We are going to share with our family, thank you for sharing.
Thank you, Lisa.
I think I have only read 2 of these. I didn’t know there were so many books geared towards younger kids.
It’s pretty amazing…I didn’t know until just this year when I realized I needed to increase my inventory for my own sanity, lol.
Eek Halloween and Spookie Pookie were our favorites! ??
Yay!! Good choices.
We love llama llama books! THey are our favorite, both boys love them. Growing up I loved reading Clifford, it’s fun reading them with my boys!
I loved Clifford books as a kid too! I get so excited to read those books to him.
Lisa this list is awesome!! That first book I must get for my two littles who talk about monsters non stop.
Yes, the Monsters Are Afraid of Babies is absolutely adorable!!
When my boys were little, every holiday I bought them books to read. Our favorites were the holiday books about Biscuit the dog. I still have those around the house. I miss those days.
Oh, I will have to check out those books. Thanks for the idea!
These look like fun books. My kids would have loved them too. I miss those days of reading naptime and bedtime stories to a sleepy child! Even my grandchildren are past that stage and read chapter books now.
Aw! I bet you enjoyed it so much! It really is a great boding time.
What a great list. We have a lot of these.
Thank you Pauline.
My 5 year old would enjoy these
Yay!
We have Room on the Broom by i want to get a few of these others ones! Monsters are afraid of babies ?
Room on the Broom is a big hit here!! Monsters are Afraid of Babies is a favorite too.
My kids LOVED the Roger Priddy books. I have not seen this Halloween one before- definitely going to have to check that out!
Yes! I agree, Sarah, his books are great! This Halloween one is too.
Love all these amazing books. Halloween season!!!
Thanks, Kerri! It is such a fun time of year.
It’s Sandra Boynton for the win! I love so many of the books on this list, but I could seriously read Sandra Boynton (and have) all day long.
Me too, Heather. Her books are such a hit in our home. I love the rhythm.
My daughter would love these. I like BOO and Clifford’s first hallowean
I have loved Clifford books since I was a little kid, so I was excited to introduce them to my son.
These look like a lot of fun for families that celebrate Halloween! 🙂
I agree, Shayla.
Great list! There’s so many great books here that I know my kiddos would love. I will definitely have to check some of these out.
Thank you, Amanda. Would love to hear which ones your kiddos like most.
Great list. I love holiday books but I don’t have all of these!
Thanks, Loren. There are so many to choose from, it can be hard to decide. We’ve even discovered a few more since I wrote this article that I would love to add.
I have read a lot of post on art crafts rated to Halloween. This is first post on books. They are great, I’ll will check them out.
Thanks, Puja. Hope you are enjoying your holiday season.