September 26, 2025
Halloween Books For Elementary Readers (Spooky, Silly, and everything in between)

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October is a great time to break out all the Halloween books, whether spooky, silly, and just plain cute. My kids love the funny ones so we tend to read those type of books over and over at this time of year. I figured I'd recommend some of our favorites, as well as other books that we haven't read yet, but have been recommended to us and are currently on our TBR. 

Whether you want picture books or chapter books, this list has some recommendations for you to check out. I'll list the chapter books first, so scroll down if you'd rather just get some picture books. 

Halloween Chapter Books for Elementary Readers

1. The Best Halloween Ever by Barbara Robinson - The Herdmans are back so get ready for the Halloween of a lifetime that will have readers of all ages laughing!

The worst kids in the history of the world return to terrorize Halloween this time, and their mischief has readers in fits of laughter. Kids will be raking in this funny book—now in paperback—faster than candy this season.

2. The Worst Witch by Jill Murphy - Mildred Hubble is starting her first year at Miss Cackle’s Academy for Witches — and making a mess of it! She can’t ride her broomstick without crashing, she’s always getting her spells mixed up, and worst of all, the teacher’s pet, Ethel, has just become her sworn enemy.

3. Bunnicula by Deborah and James Howe - This is a great Halloween chapter book with just the right amount of scary for kids. It's also not so long that they'll be bored halfway through. 

4. The Witches by Roald Dahl - My daughter's second grade teacher read this out loud to the class and they loved it (though, admittedly, my daughter was also scared during certain parts). What's more Halloween-y than witches? 

5. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling - While not exactly occurring right on Halloween, again, witches, wizards, and magical creatures ... that's what Halloween is all about, right?

Halloween Picture Books for Young Readers (and listeners)

1. The Monster's Monster by Patrick McDonnell - Once upon a time, there were three little rascals who thought they were the BIGGEST, BADDEST monsters around. Then along came an even BIGGER monster who changed their minds. And all it took was two little words..."Thank you!"

In this playful tale from bestselling picture book author Patrick McDonnell, a very BIG monster shows three very BAD little monsters the power of boundless gratitude.

2. How to Catch a Witch by Alice Walstead -  It's Halloween night and something doesn't seem quite right... When the How to Catch Kids head out to trick-or-treat, there are ghosts, goblins, and ghouls everywhere! Our heroes discover a witch on a broom has opened a magical portal that let out spooky creatures all over the neighborhood. Follow along in this frightfully fun story as they set zany traps for the witch to close the portal and save Halloween before all the candy is gone! 

3. The Berenstain Bears Happy Halloween! by Stan and Jan Berenstain - We love the Berenstain Bears books at our house so any time we can get our hands on one, we read it at least fifteen times. 

4. Little Blue Truck's Halloween by Alice Schertle - Little Blue Truck books are some of my favorite. I love that they're poetic and the illustrations are beautiful. These are books that I actually don't mind reading over and over.

Happy Halloween!