October 31 – Halloween

Happy Halloween!

There are so many Halloween stories to choose from… it’s like trick or treat without the tricks! I don’t want to go into a picture book coma today, so I’ll restrict myself to only the newest ones I could find on my library shelves (and one super video)!

Shivery Shades of Halloween: A Spooky Book of Colors written by Mary McKenna Siddals and illustrated by Jimmy Pickering (2014)

Spooky, Creepy, Funny rhymes make this THE Halloween book about colors! Young readers will love an alien that is a ‘slimy-grimy, queasy-peasy, snotty-rotty tinge of green’ or a bat of ‘dusky-musky, burisy-oozy, cruelish-ghoulish blotch of purple’. Together the ‘blaze of orange, stain or red, blot of black, smudge of brown, glint of yellow, wash of blue, shroud of bra, wish of white, blotch of purple, tinge of green’ all create the perfect Halloween!

Halloween Hustle written by Charlotte Gunnufson and illustrated by Kevan J. Atteberry (2013)

Instead of a recap of the story, let me show you this adorable book trailer. I’m sure you’ll hustle right out and pick up your own copy!

Hedgehug’s Halloween written by Ben Sutton and illustrated by Dan Pinto (2013)

Hedgehug can’t find a costume for the Halloween party. The sheet that turned him into a ghost, ripped and made him look like swiss cheese instead. The purple balloons for the grape costume popped. The strips of his mummy costume made him trip and fall. Hedgehug was ready to give up when his friends found the perfect solution… Hedgehug went as cactus!

We’re Going on a Ghost Hunt written by Susan Pearson and illustrated by S.D. Schindler (2012)

Following the same rhythm and pattern as the classic We’re going on a Bear Hunt, this group of adventurous children go on a ghost hunt. Each stanza begins with the refrain, “We’re going on a ghost hunt. We’re going to find a big one. It’s a starry night. The moon is bright. We’re not afraid.” The children go through a muddy murky swamp,a rustling rattling cornfield, a swishy fishy river, the wild windy woods,  a tree, and a graveyard… there they find a ghost! Running as fast as they can back through the graveyard, past the tree, through the river, through the cornfield, through the swamp, and back into their house, they run upstairs and hide under the covers.

Broom, Zoom! written by Caron Lee Cohen and illustrated by Sergio Ruzzier (2010)

Little Witch and Little Monster both want the broom.. both need the broom. Little Monster shows Little Witch the mess he has to clean up, and she helps him sweep it up. Then Little Witch shows Little Monster the sky and takes him for a ride on the broom. Zooooommmm!