Halloween: Eerie fun is here
The scariest holiday of all is upon us and we’re getting ready to celebrate. Whether that means curling up with a book and a hot beverage, dressing up, or showing off your costume, we have loads of literary ideas and activities for you to try.
For kids 0-99!
Spine-Chilling Titles
Don’t forget to check for monsters under the bed before curling up with some of these great books…
- Amulet #1: The Stonekeeper, by Kazu Kibuishi (Scholastic)
- Brown Girl Ghosted, by Mintie Das (Versify/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
- Coraline, by Neil Gaiman (HarperCollins)
- Creepy Carrots!, by Aaron Reynolds; Illus. By Peter Brown (Simon and Schuster for Young Readers)
- Eat Pete!, By Michael Rex (Nancy Paulson)
- Eventide, by Sarah Goodman (TOR Teen)
- Ghost and Bone, by Andrew Prentice (Delacorte Books for Young Readers)
- Ghost Wood Song, by Erica Waters (HarperCollins)
- Gloom Town, by Ronald L. Smith (Clarion Books/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
- I Am Scary, by Elise Gravel (Orca Books)
- Mason Mooney: Paranormal Investigator, by Seaerra Miller (Nobrow/Flying Eye Books)
- Middle School Bites, by Steven Banks; Illus. By Mark Fearing (Holiday House)
- The Monster in My Basement, by Dave Preston; Illus. By Heather Lynn Harris (City of Light Publishing)
- Out to Get You, by Josh Allen; Illus. By Sarah J. Coleman (Holiday House)
- Secrets of the Witch: An Initiation Into our History and our Wisdom, by Julie Légère and Elsa Whyte; Illus. By Laura Pérez (Quarto Knows)
- Season of the Witch: A Spellbinding History of Witches and Other Magical Folk, by Matt Ralphs; Illus. By Núria Tamarit (Nobrow/Flying Eye Books)
- She Wanted to Be Haunted, by Marcus Ewert; illus. By Susie Ghahremani (Bloomsbury Children’s)
- The Witches: The Graphic Novel, by Roald Dahl; Illus. By Penelope Bagieu (Scholastic)
Spooky Activities
If you’re thinking about celebrating Halloween this year here are some resources to do so virtually…
- We have a Virtual Halloween Activity Packet and a free download during October of our book, Reese Has a Halloween Secret: A True Story of Inclusion and Self-Determination.
- Having trouble finding fun things to do while home? Simon and Schuster has a big book of Halloween fun available here.
- Simon and Schuster have a fun activity sheet for your little vampire at home, inspired by I Love My Fangs.
- Help Gustavo the Shy Ghost this Halloween season with this activity packet from Candlewick.
- Create your own monsters with Alfred’s Book of Monsters from Charlesbridge!
- Get Boo’d this Halloween! HarperCollins has a step-by-step instruction manual on how to Boo and get Boo’d this spooky season!
- Our friends at Little Bee Books have Halloween coloring pages available in honor of their My First Big Book of Coloring series!
- Have some brain-scrambling fun with these activity sheets inspired by Lana Lynn Howls at the Moon.
- It’s always spooky season with Warren the 13th. Here are some spooky activities with a bonus excerpt from the books!
Eerie Costumes
Looking for inspiration? Here are some great literary-themed costumes for you and the youngsters…
- All you need is a tutu and a pair of mouse ears to be transformed into Angelina Ballerina this year.
- Grab a red t-shirt and some jeans to become our favorite Wimpy Kid this Halloween.
- Become the Princess of the Plaza with knee-high socks, a black skirt and big bow on your head. And don’t forget to bring Weenie along!
- With a pair of green corduroys and a pair of ears, your child could easily dress up as the beloved Corduroy this October season.
- Have a purple crayon laying around? Get creative with some white shirts and purple markers and you’ll have a family outfit straight out of Harold and the Purple Crayon.
- A pair of overalls and mouse ears will give you a If You Give a Mouse a Cookie costume that works for both old and young.
- Have a super sleuth on your hands? Dress them up as our favorite teen detective Nancy Drew.
- Use arts and crafts time to transform your kids into a giant dinosaur in disguise, just like our friend Bolivar!
- Grab some friends and transform yourselves into Archie, Betty, Jughead, and Veronica!
Find these and more books in our curated lists under the Reading Lists section.
If you’re a CBC member publisher and wish to add your book to the list, please email us.
