“When witches go riding, and black cats are seen, the moon laughs and whispers, ’tis near Halloween.”
Unknown
Children’s picture books
These popular picture books introduce the concept of fantasy and magic with characters that children adore. Combining fun, laughter and spookiness sets up the right mood for Halloween and another chance to encourage children to fall in love with books!
Room on the broom written by Julia Donaldson & illustrated by Axel Scheffler is a lyrical rhyming story about a witch and her cat who find themselves in a dilemma! Thankfully help is on hand in exchange for a ride on the broom. But is there room on the broom for so many friends? Will disaster be averted or will the witch be eaten by a hungry dragon? Themes include kindness and sharing in this fun picture book with vibrant illustrations.
The Crayons Trick or Treat by Drew Daywalt and illustrated by Oliver Jeffers. The Crayons want to go trick-or-treating, but they’re not sure what to say! Purple Crayon teaches the rest of the crayon box the magic words to say when they ring their neighbors’ doorbells. (Hint: It’s NOT “Boo!”). Check out the other books in the series of fabulous and popular picture books.
Fans of Pig the Pug by Aaron Blabey will love reading Pig the Monster – perfect for a Halloween read! You can also purchase the book with the costume for trick or treat fun!
The School of Monsters series by Sally Rippin and illustrated by Chris Kennett is ideal for children starting to read words. With the support of an older sibling, parent or grandparent, children can grow independence reading with this wonderful series of books.
Young readers will love The Very Hungry Caterpillar’s Creepy-Crawly Halloween going on a spooky adventure! Eric Carle’s unique and engaging illustrative style pops out of the page to draw children into the halloween story. Children will want to read this again and again!
A Super Scary Narwhalloween, part of the Narwhal and Jelly graphic novel series, features three stories about Narwhal and Jelly celebrating the spookiest time of the year — Halloween — with a super twist!
Initially published in 1972, Meg and Mog is a series of books by Helen Nicoll & Jan Pienkowski (illustrator) about a witch and her cat. The simple sentences and illustrations will appeal to young children. Check out Meg on the moon activities here
Middle grade fantasy novels
Halloween is the perfect time to read a fantasy novel! The fantasy genre include unreality or enchantment such as talking animals or complex created imaginary worlds. Ghost stories, time travel, horror stories, supernatural and science fiction are all fantasy stories. Low fantasy include nonrational events that occur without explanation in the real world such as personified animals & toys, magical powers, supernatural elements and time slips. High fantasy takes place in created worlds vastly different to our world and can include myth fantasy, gothic fantasy, epic/heroic fantasy, and sword and sorcery fantasy (Vardell, 2019).
Who reads fantasy?
Fantasy novels generally appeal to brighter readers in year 4+ for recreational or independent reading. Greenlaw & McIntosh (1986) indicated gifted and talented children are more likely to enjoy fantasy novels. This could be because they are longer, contain complex vocabulary and made up words and scientific concepts, and feature child protagonists they might identify with (possibly extremely bright, misunderstood or lonely). (Vardell, 2019).
Spooky Weird (WeirDo Book 9) by Anh Do The extremely popular WeirDo series contains a spooky story in the ninth book. With halloween’s approaching, Bella and Weir are busy working on their costumes. But everything will be turned upside-down when Weir Do finds out his family are moving away!
The last kids on earth is a netflix original series. This popular graphic novel series by Max Brallier and Douglas Holgate has all of the ingredients for a halloween read – a monster apocalypse, kids, catapults, zombies & monsters. Watch the trailer here.
The Goosebumps series of horror novels by R.L. Stine has been rebooted and just released on Disney+ and Hulu. This is sure to create a buzz with the popular book series again. Watch the book trailer for Slappy, Beware! Check out all of R.L. Stine’s books here
“Many adults feel that every children’s book has to teach them something…. My theory is a children’s book… can be just for fun.”
R.L. Stine
One child a week is fifty-two a year. Squish them and squiggle them and make them disappear.’
Could you spot a witch if they were disguised as a lady? This classic by Roald Dahl, illustrated by Quentin Blake, is both scary and funny. This is not a fairy-tale. This is about real witches. Real witches don’t ride around on broomsticks. They don’t even wear black cloaks and hats. They are vile, cunning, detestable creatures who disguise themselves as nice, ordinary ladies. So how can you tell when you’re face to face with one? Well, if you don’t know yet you’d better find out quickly-because there’s nothing a witch loathes quite as much as children and she’ll wield all kinds of terrifying powers to get rid of them.
Watch Stanley Tucci read from The Witches for this year’s Official World Book Day Bedtime story!
Paradise Sands: a story of enchantment
Washed clean in his pool, we fall under his rule
Away from what is, for we are now his.
Shortlisted for the 2023 CBCA Picture Book of the Year, this complex story illustrated by Levi Pinfold will intrigue upper primary readers. A young girl and her brothers step into the ghostly Paradise Sands hotel and fall under the rule of the mysterious Teller. She makes a deal with him to free them all from his haunting paradise. But can she hold up her side of the bargain? This book just might leave you with more questions than answers!
“People tend to fear what they don’t understand. And fear can far too easily become hatred.”
― B.B. Alston, Amari and the Night Brothers
This series is suitable for upper primary and lower secodary students and follows the adventures of Amari, a 12 year old African American girl, as she is recruited by the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs that she believes her missing brother Quinton was involved in. She’s certain this secretive organisation holds the key to locating Quinton—if only she can wrap her head around the idea of magicians, fairies, aliens, and other supernatural creatures all being real.
“When in doubt, go to the library.” — Ron Weasley
Be taken to Privet drive and thw cupboard under the stairs to find Harry Potter! The start of an adventure to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardy. Enjoy the memorable characters and creations – which house will you belong to? Find out why Halloween was so important for Harry Potter
The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill and Yuta Onoda
Every year, the people of the Protectorate leave a baby as an offering to the witch who lives in the forest. They hope this sacrifice will keep her from terrorizing their town. But the witch in the Forest, Xan, is kind. She shares her home with a wise Swamp Monster and a Perfectly Tiny Dragon. Xan rescues the children and delivers them to welcoming families on the other side of the forest, nourishing the babies with starlight on the journey.
One year, Xan accidentally feeds a baby moonlight instead of starlight, filling the ordinary child with extraordinary magic. Xan decides she must raise this girl, whom she calls Luna, as her own. As Luna’s thirteenth birthday approaches, her magic begins to emerge–with dangerous consequences. Meanwhile, a young man from the Protectorate is determined to free his people by killing the witch. Deadly birds with uncertain intentions flock nearby. A volcano, quiet for centuries, rumbles just beneath the earth’s surface. And the woman with the Tiger’s heart is on the prowl . . .
“The heart is built of starlight
And time.
A pinprick of longing lost in the dark.
An unbroken chord linking the Infinite to the Infinite.
My heart wishes upon your heart and the wish is granted.
Meanwhile the world spins.
Meanwhile the universe expands.
Meanwhile the mystery of love reveals itself,
again and again, in the mystery of you.
I have gone.
I will return. Glerk”
Shadowghast by Thomas Taylor & Tom Booth (Illustrator)
“When it comes to magic tricks, Herbie, people are so eager to see the magic that they forget to look for the trick.”
― Thomas Taylor, Shadowghast
Read an extract , Explore the map & Watch the trailer
I love this series! This is the 3rd instalment and it is a fantasy & mystery story. The characters are lovable, as is the setting in Eerie-on-Sea. Upper primary and lower secondary students will enjoy this series.
It’s Ghastly Night in Eerie-on-Sea, and the shadows are growing…On the eve of Ghastly Night, a hypnotic stage magician turns up in Eerie-on-Sea – and makes an unexpected claim on Herbie.Violet’s guardian, the owner of the Eerie Book Dispensary, vanishes into thin air … and others soon follow.
Are these events connected? Herbie and Violet are determined to find out. But surrounded by so much shadow and illusion, will they ever uncover the truth?
Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow
Written by Jessica Townsend, the Nevermoor series is truly wondrous, magical and thrilling. The first book is full of exciting twists and turns following the trials of Morrigan Crow. Harry Potter fans will love this series! Perfect for upper primary, secondary school students and adults! Highly recommend – it stretches the imagination and the character of Morrigan is built upon skilfully. I could picture every scene 🎬 and it is going to become a musical film adaptation!!
Teacher Librarian Janet 
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