Whether you’re looking for a gentle picture book for a child new to the holiday or something to ratchet up the fear factor for a blasé teen, the crop of possibilities is glowing with options.
From Pajama Press, Pumpkin Orange, Pumpkin Round, by Rosanna Battigelli and illustrated by Tara Anderson, provides seasonal rhymes and images that both hew closely to the scenes young children find fun rather than frightening. There’s even a comfortable theme of having a book read aloud as the cat family here shares their Halloween highlights.
If Halloween weather is too yucky for trick or treating and no Halloween party was planned for showing off costumes, consider a stack of picture books with dress up and pretend ideas. Child’s Play’s board books offer the model in Clive and His Hats, from Jessica Spanyol. In case you don’t already have it at hand, tune in right here:
Can you find the page that’s just right for Halloween?
Independent tween and teen readers may think Halloween is mostly about candy and the threat of tricking. Spook up their options with one or both of these Manga Classics titles: Macbeth offers all the Shakespearean horror as well as the slightly kitschy witches with their refrain, while The Stories of Edgar Allan Poe prove the format-perfect way to meet the horrors Poe concocted for our imaginations. Stacy King does a standout job each time editing these classics in their manga format.
And if you’ve got a kid who is wedded to good scary “facts,” pick up Lonely Planet Kids’ brand new edition of Atlas of Monsters and Ghosts, by Federica Magrin with illustrations by Laura Brenlla. Might as well choose where to go for optimum scariness before venturing out with the trick or treat bag.