Can you believe we're nearing Halloween time again? Two years ago I highlighted five awesome Halloween books, last year I added to that list to make nine great Halloween books, and this year I'm adding in some fun harvest/fall themed books too. Give it another year or two, and we'll be at 25 or 30 books!
Ages 0 - 4
- Clifford's First Halloween
by Norman Bridwell. Emily Elizabeth is trying to find the perfect costume for her tiny puppy Clifford. Cute as Clifford books usually are. Rating: 3.5 out of 5
- Duck & Goose, Find a Pumpkin
by Tad Hills. Bright, happy illustrations that toddlers will love and an ironic text that will make parents chuckle. Win-win. Rating: 5 out of 5
- Spot's Halloween
by Eric Hill. Spot and his friends are trying to find the best costumes to wear for Halloween. Perfect for younger toddlers. Rating: 4 out of 5
- What Is Halloween?
by Harriet Ziefert. Little Mouse goes trick-or-treating for the first time, and the lift-the-flap adventure lets toddlers participate in her excitement about the holiday. Rating: 4 out of 5
- Corduroy's Halloween
by B.G. Hennessy. Adorable lift-the-flaps follow Corduroy and his friends as they decorate for Halloween and go trick-or-treating. There's one random moment - when the trick or treaters show up at Corduroy's door, and say "Trick or Treat for UNICEF!" I just leave the UNICEF out though, and Eleanor loves searching for the black cat hiding on every page. Rating: 4.5 out of 5.
- It's Pumpkin Day, Mouse!
by Laura Numeroff. Mouse (of 'give a cookie' fame), has seven pumpkins to decorate. He makes sad, funny, and silly pumpkins - and both the girls like the bright happy pictures. Rating: 4 out of 5
- The Itsy Bitsy Pumpkin
by Sonali Fry. Not that Juliet actually understands all the words, but she loves music. So she likes it when I sing her this book (to the tune of The Itsy Bitsy Spider). "The Itsy Bitsy Pumpkin rolled down a spooky street. He passed a ghoulish ghost and a stinky goblin's feet." Rating: 3.5 out of 5
- We're Going on a Leaf Hunt
by Steve Metzger. Written in the same sing-song style as "We're Going on a Bear Hunt", this one follows a group of children through the woods, across the lake, and more, as they try to find different kinds of leaves (maple, oak, hickory). I like that it teaches the differences in the leaves (since we rarely see any of those trees here in southern Arizona!). Rating: 4 out of 5
- Pick a Circle, Gather Squares: A Fall Harvest of Shapes
by Felicia Sanzari Chernesky. This one is beautiful. It follows a family on an outing to an apple orchard, as they pick circles (apples), gather ovals (squash and corn), and eat triangles (wedges of pie). Rating: 5 out of 5
- It's Pumpkin Time!
by Zoe Hall. I really, really love this one. It shows pumpkins growing from seeds to jack-o-lanterns, explaining the whole growing process and then going into Halloween traditions. Rating: 5 out of 5
- Angelina's Halloween
by Katherine Holabird. Eleanor loves Angelina Ballerina anyway - but Angelina Ballerina in a firefly costume?! 3 year old bliss. Rating: 4 out of 5
- Monster Math
by Anne Miranda. This one is full of monsters arriving in increments at a birthday party; teaching addition and subtraction along the way. There are Frankensteins and skeletons among the monsters, so it feels Halloween-ish. Rating: 4 out of 5
- Happy Halloween, Mittens
by Lola M. Schaefer. Perfect for the earliest of readers, this follows the antics of a little kitten named mittens as he tries to help decorate for Halloween. Rating: 4 out of 5
- The Wild Leaf Ride
from The Magic School Bus. The kids are learning about leaves - and then the Magic School Bus turns into a Magic School Bird flying south for the winter, letting them explore a forest. A level two reader, which will make kids giggle at Mrs. Frizzle while they learn some science about leaves. Rating: 4 out of 5
- Johnny Appleseed
by Jodie Shepherd. A very simple biography of Johnny Appleseed, with happy pictures and easy-to-read text. Perfect for introducing the history behind many orchards before you visit one yourself! Rating: 4 out of 5
What Halloween/autumn books do YOUR kids like?
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