Top 5 Children's Halloween Books

As most of you will know, I love the autumn months, and have always celebrated the traditions of Hallowe’en – one of the main reasons that I created my own Halloween themed books that are part of the Hornbeam Hollow series! But even before my books were published, I read Halloween books to my children each year as the days got shorter, and the nights grew colder.

 

What makes a good Halloween book for children?

In my humble opinion they must have interesting and hand-drawn/painted illustrations. They need to present the reader with a real sense of autumn – warm or dark colours, autumn leaves, mushrooms, fog-filled settings, pumpkin-laden backdrops and an overwhelming essence of autumn and all that it entails. 

Each picture not only needs to show us Halloween, but it needs to create the feeling of the season – and not all books or illustrations are able to achieve this. 

For me, I don’t like books with digital artwork – I’m sure many others will disagree, but it just lacks soul in my humble opinion. I enjoy the hand-drawn and imperfect nature of illustrations that have been created with pens and brushes. The occasional wobbly line, watercolour bloom, or random blob of ink all adds to the charm.

The story needs to be engaging, fun, and whilst it can be a little spooky, I don’t believe they need to be frightening. There’s often a confusion between Halloween themes and those of ‘horror’ – two completely different things. Don’t get me wrong, most children enjoy some of the ‘scary’ in small doses, but it’s not always ideal as a bedtime read for our little ones. A more gentle and traditional approach to Halloween is a nicer way to introduce children to these fun-filled autumnal reads.

With these points in mind, I have included FIVE of my favourite Halloween books for young children. These books are in no particular order and may, or may not be in print anymore – most have been replaced by digital abominations, but you can still pick them up second-hand.

Pumpkin Soup

Angelina's Halloween

The Night before Halloween

Too Many Pumpkins

Peter Rabbit and the Pumpkin Patch