Trick or Treat!
George is now at the age that he truly understands Halloween and is so excited he wakes up every morning and screams “trick or treat time?”.
This is the first Halloween were he has decided his own costume.
Which is a cowboy. Well, first he wanted to be a ghost, then Jessie from Toy Story, then a cowboy, then popcorn – just a kernel – and back to a cowboy.
So now we can’t do our usual family Halloween theme unless we are willing to be politically incorrect (look up cowboy family Halloween costume).
Needless to say we have been reading Halloween-themed books since the 1st of October and there are so many out there.
This is my 2017 list for great reads to get your little ghoul into the Halloween spirit.
All rated by scare factor of course!
This one made me chuckle – I really love Jan Thomas and her humour. Duck is very excited to make a scary Jack-o-Lantern to show Pig and Mouse. Unfortunately he gets stuck in the pumpkin and ends up as the ‘pumpkin monster’ – unbeknownst to him.
Scary factor: none – Jack-o-laughing all the way
I basically have all of the Mouse’s First series for my kids to introduce them to the seasons and holidays.
In this volume, Mouse ventures out on Halloween night and comes upon things that be scary like something flying in the sky, or something flapping on a pole, or something flickering deep in the shadows but discovers that all the things (bats, a waving scarecrow and a glowing jack-o’-lantern) are not so scary after all. He finally comes upon trick-or-treaters who sing a song and say it’s fun to feel scared on Halloween night.
Scary factor: none – all innocent and sweet. Taking the scariness out of the unknown.
If you do not know these Sheep, then you have been reading under a rock. Obviously, there is the book we all should have/know, Sheep in a Jeep, but since that hit, Shaw has written several more books that find these silly sheep in precarious predicaments.
For Halloween, the sheep gather in their barn creating scary costumes for trick-or-treating and then head out to their friends on the farm. They gather oats, apples, a dried fly (that they pass by), and other treats from the barnyard gang. As they head back home, wolves are waiting in the wood. The wolves are frightened away by the lit up scary faces of a mummy, a giant ape and a vampire. The sheep tuck into their treats none the wiser how believeable their costumes are.
Scare factor: minimal. I mean your child might ask why the wolves want to get the sheep and then you have to explain that whole ‘nature is nature and animals devour other animals in a gory bath of blood’ blah blah blah. So yeah, that can be scary. Otherwise, it’s a book about sheep wearing Halloween costumes.
Yet another popular series and yet another Halloween edition of a beloved character. In this case: Splat the Cat.
It’s Halloween and Splat is desperate to win scariest cat at school. After trapping a spider, his mom has an idea and ties sock legs to Splat. He looks so scary, he scares himself! Too bad for Splat, his friends, a mummy and a skeleton are even more scary. Even his Jack-o’-lantern makes everyone giggle instead of scream. It isn’t until the lights are turned off that Splat becomes the scariest cat. How? You’ll have to read to find out. It’s pretty cute though!
Scare factor: None, it’s sweet and cute.
Moonlight the cat loves the night but she especially loves Halloween night. On that night, pumpkins smile at her, she finds snugly straw laps to take a nap (scarecrow), and children are out – Moonlight loves children.
This is a great book for exploring all that is special and lovely about the late fall nights and makes things that could be scary, whimsical and lovely instead.
Scare factor: None. Well none if you don’t count the last illustration of Moonlight with candy in her mouth – I won’t lie, it’s somewhat creepy.
In this Halloween book, little mice all decked out in costumes trek out for a night of fun dancing in the pumpkin patch. When a cat threatens their revelry, they band together to outsmart and scare the cat. By dawn, they snuggle into bed but one little devil just isn’t ready to sleep.
Scare factor: Minimal. Your child might be afraid of the scary cat hoping to eat the mice. And the Macbethian scene of the mice dancing around the fire can perhaps scare someone. But. They are mice and they are cute.
Have you heard the song? Well, this is an illustration of the song. So you will know then that there are five little pumpkins sitting on a gate, one worries that it is getting late, another notices the witches in the air, and another wants to have some fun. Like the song, it’s a fun rhyming text about Halloween.
Scare factor: Minimal. It could be a tad scary but all the scary bits have happy and friendly faces – I want to meet those ghosts in the woods!
This clever story takes place the night before Halloween. Vladimir the vampire had gathered his ‘Fright Club’ – a band of typically scary characters – to make sure they are ready to successfully scare the kids. The meeting is interrupted by an adorable bunny who wants to join the club. Vladimir slams the door in her face. After all, only monsters are capable of being scary.
As the night progresses and the Fright Club is horribly unprepared for Halloween, they keep getting interrupted by a loud protesting group of cute creatures demanding to be part of the club. Of course, it’s the scary bunnies and butterflies that are able to teach the monsters a thing or two about scaring kids.
Scare factor: Eyeballs do come out of the mummy. So it’s your call.
At first I thought this would be the usual alphabet listing book, but it has a great twist. H needs to go first because he stands for Halloween. After that, all the letters are out of order and ‘B’ keeps having his word taken until the very end when he finds the word. I’ll let you read it to find out what it is.
Scare factor: I’m scared my child will no longer know the proper alphabet order after we’ve read this book a dozen times.
Gilbert can’t wait to haunt houses on Halloween. He has a problem though: he’s very small. He must find something small to haunt. But every time he thinks he has found something to haunt it turns itno something that scares him. With the help of a chasing dog, he finally finds the perfectly-sized home to haunt and has a place where he belongs.
Scare factor: Minimal. The snake and dragon are pretty scary, but Gilbert is a cute ghostie and George loves a good ghostie.
This is a perfect Halloween take on the traditional nursery rhyme “Little Ducks Ten” but instead of animals we meet all the Halloween goodies: goblins, ghosts, mummies, skeletons and more. The illustrations are fun and, just like the nursery rhyme, it’s fun to say and I always love when something old is re-written into something new.
Scare factor: Minimal. The illustrations are cheerful with just the right amount of Halloween scare.
I love this one! In it, the tables are turned on us the readers. Instead of humans being afraid of witches, this is a book about witches who are afraid of humans. But the little brave witch has done her research and doesn’t think humans can be too scary – except for the fact that they aren’t green (that IS scary) so she ventures out on Halloween to see what they are doing. Due to a misunderstanding, she finds herself smack dap in the middle of some trick-or-treaters who think she has the best costume. At first she is afraid, but then realizes they can all be friends. The ending is super sweet – I won’t spoil it for you!
Scare factor: None – it shows us how that which we are afraid, can be afraid of us.
I think this is a spooky start right?
Happy reading and, of course, happy Halloween!
Curious in Wonderland
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