Looking for fun, engaging, and non-scary Halloween picture books to enjoy as a family? Check out our top 10 list of Halloween picture book favorites!
Have you visited the Library looking for the perfect Halloween picture books to share with your littles only to find the story not quite the perfect fit for you? We have read so many stories that are cute to read once and then never again, or are just too scary for our little readers. Here are our favorite Halloween picture books that you and your child will want to read again and again!
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Our family is constantly reading! Over the years we have built up quite list of favorite books for every holiday and occasion. Having read so many Halloween picture books, we wanted to share our absolute favorites with you!
Pumpkin Trouble
Pumpkin Trouble by Jan Thomas tells the story of Duck who has worked hard to carve a pumpkin to show his friends. As he is taking the pumpkin to show them, he trips and falls inside. Pig and Mouse don’t realize it is Duck in the pumpkin, which leads to funny results! There are not many words in the book, so the colorful pictures add even more to the story.
The Picky Little Witch
The Picky Little Witch by Elizabeth Brokamp is a cute little book about picky eaters. The Picky Little Witch has to try some soup before she goes out trick-or-treating. Later on in the story, the Picky Little Witch tries to use her mother’s tactics to try to get her mother to try some candy. They both realize that even though it can be scary to try new things, they both ended up liking what they tried.
Pumpkin Circle: A Halloween Book for Kids and Toddlers
Pumpkin Circle: A Halloween Book for Kids and Toddlers by George Levenson is a great children’s non fiction book. The life cycle of a pumpkin is told beginning with the seed and ending with harvesting the seeds from the pumpkin to start the cycle over again. The photographs are colorful and extremely interesting. The different parts of the pumpkin are shown in detail from the root, to the tendrils, to the flower. My kids laughed and laughed at the photos showing the jack-lantern decaying.
Hampire
Hampire by Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen tells of the animals at the farm finding evidence of a Hampire that goes about after dark. One night Duck cannot sleep because his tummy is grumbling. As Duck grabs a midnight snack, Hampire comes after him! This book could be potentially scary to the youngest readers, but if read in a light tone, the ending soothes everything over. We loved the expressions on the faces of the farm animals, but the scared horse is to die for!
The Fierce Yellow Pumpkin
The Fierce Yellow Pumpkin by Margaret Wise Brown is about a young pumpkin who sits in a field and sees the seasons change. He thinks about how he wants to be big and scary. Eventually some children come along and help him fulfill his dream on Halloween night.
It’s Halloween Night!
It’s Halloween Night by Jennifer Barret O’Connell is a cute and non-scary Halloween book that describes each of the common Halloween characters so the kids can guess who is coming trick-or-treating. My kids love books where they can get to guess what is being described and see if they got the answer correct!
My Monster Mama Loves Me So
My Monster Mama Loves Me So by Laura Leuck tells all the ways a monster mama shows love to her little monster. This one is a perfect bedtime story that is sure to bring out the night time hugs for your own little monsters!
Little Goblins Ten
Little Goblins Ten by Pamela Jane can be read or sung to the tune “Over in the Meadow”. This picture book introduces every possible ‘scary’ character of Halloween from zombies to goblins. The illustrations show these monsters in their homes behaving just like us! My kiddos especially like cackling like the witch and moaning like a mummy.
Quackenstein Hatches a Family
Quackenstein Hatches a Family by Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen is very reminiscent of Frankenstein. Quack realizes he is the only one in the zoo that is all alone and has no one to love so he finds a nest of abandoned eggs and decides to adopt. He is surprised when the egg hatches and it appears to be a monster, not a duck. We loved the rhyming and the kids loved tracing the path with their finger where Quack and his baby ran around the zoo.
Skeleton Hiccups
Skeleton Hiccups by Margery Cuyler is such a cute story of a skeleton with the hiccups just trying to carry on with his day as usual. Skeleton’s friend Ghost helps him try different remedies to get rid of the hiccups, but Skeleton finds the cure all on his own. The text of the story is very simple allowing the illustrations to do the story telling.
Bonus Book!
Who doesn’t love a bonus book? After all my top 10 books were written out, I had to include this last one that has been a family favorite because of the characters and the simplicity of the story.
Bears in the Night
Bears in the Night by Stan and Jan Berenstain is a super easy-to-read picture book with often repeated phrases. While it isn’t necessarily a Halloween book, it has enough of the night-time spooky elements that it passes for us as a qualifier. My kids love that it is so easy to read that after a few times even non-readers are reciting or “reading” the book!
What are your favorite Halloween picture books?
