news from the book nook: spooky reads

Don't let the spooky trees scare you away - these books are kid-friendly storytime favorites! Gather the little ones after an evening of trick-or-treating and ease them off the sugar high with these slightly spooky, mostly silly reads! Or build an indoor fort one rainy Saturday and snuggle in with a few of these spooky favorites. Oh and if you're the bonfire-making sort, these are some great family-friendly alternatives to scary stories told around the fire.


If You're a Monster and You Know It by Rebecca Emberley and Ed Emberley
A monster's take on the classic kid's movement song, "If you're happy and you know it." A storytime favorite for the rhyme, movement, and illustrations. The perfect picture book to help get all that excess Halloween party energy out!

The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything by Linda D. Williams
This one's been around for quite some time, but it's just the right blend spookiness and fun. I've read this book to a number of kindergarten and first grade classes and it's always a hit. A little old lady is walking through the woods when she begins to be followed by shoes, a shirt, pants, etc. Kids love joining in with the sounds each thing makes and making predictions for how the story will end. Read it - you won't be disappointed!

The Foggy, Foggy Forest by Nick Sharratt
This foggy forest is filled with fairy tale characters. The plot of the book takes a back seat to the the illustrations - a black and white transparent page leads to a bright and colorful forest on the next. A great book that helps teach preschoolers and kindergartners how to use a book's illustrations to make predictions.

Go Away, Big Green Monster by Ed Emberley
Another preschool storytime favorite by the Emberleys. I love reading this one with a monster head prop that builds as the story progresses. Then I have the kids help me shout "go away" as each piece of the monster head disappears.

Leonardo, the Terrible Monster by Mo Willems
Leonardo is terrible at being a monster. He finally is able to scare a very nervous boy except he doesn't quite get the reaction he was hoping for. A lovely story about friendship in true Mo form.

The Dark by Lemmony Snickett
A newish book that fits well in the "spooky" category. Read my review here.

Popcorn by Frank Asch
I remember re-reading this one quite a few times around Halloween as a child. A boy throws a Halloween party and the popcorn popping gets out of hand. There's something so magically, fun about popcorn filling every room in the house.

Happy reading, happy candy eating, and happy Halloween!