Picture Books for Halloween

Halloween is the perfect time to indulge in some spooky picture books to get us in the mood for trick or treating. Here’s a few of our favourites.

Funnybones by Janet and Allan Ahlberg published by Puffin Books.

A true classic that has stood the test of time with its iconic first and last lines, Funnybones is the story of a big skeleton a little skeleton and a dog skeleton who one night decide to go and look for someone to frighten. The only trouble is there’s no one around in the middle of the night so they frighten each other instead.

Our favourite scenes are the ones from the zoo where the skeletons find lots of other animal skeletons to play with. A great opportunity for young children to recognise and name the animals.

With slapstick comedy and catchy rhymes this is a fun and engaging read. The happy skeletons keep the book lighthearted with the black backdrops adding just enough spookiness for little ones.

Buy Funnybones from Waterstones.

Ten Spooky Skeletons by Garry Parsons, published by Caterpillar Books.

In this spooky counting book we meet a skeleton who is all on his own and follow him on a skelly-journey as he sets off to look for some friends. On each page he meets one more friend in a different adventure; circus acrobatics, hiding in a treehouse and even travelling through time. A small portion of each scene is cleverly cut out within the illustrations giving the reader a peek through to the next adventure.

Written in a short and catchy rhyme, this book jumps through the numbers one to ten in an engaging and fun way for young children. Numbers are displayed in numerical form as well as written and there are a matching number of skeletons to count up on each page.

Illustrated with bold colours set against dark backgrounds and with lots of funny little details to pick out too, we like the skeleton mice and fish that appear in some of the pictures. There’s an extra little surprise in this book as the cover and the back page glow in the dark, a true crowd pleaser.

Buy Ten Spooky Skeletons from Waterstones.

Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson, illustrated by Axel Scheffler and published by Macmillan Children’s Books.

A firm favourite in our house is this fabulous tale of a witch and her broom. Whilst out on a flight the witch keeps dropping her belongings but as she finds them she also gains more companions to join her on her broom. Once the broom gets too heavy the witch finds herself in a sticky situation with a dragon but how can her new friends help to save her?

A perfectly flowing rhyming text coupled with Axel Scheffler’s brilliant illustrations, this is a wonderful book to read aloud all year round.

Buy Room on the Broom from Waterstones.

Four Silly Skeletons by Mark Sperring and Sue Hendra, published by Bloomsbury.

The fearless foursome; Fred, Sid, Belle and Bill love to be silly, from playing tennis indoors to juggling with eggs and they always leave a wave of destruction in their wake. Luckily, they have their reliable Auntie June nearby to clear up their mess.

However one night, giddy from dancing in the moonlight, the skeletons are too excited to sleep. Against the advice of the ever sensible Auntie June, they head out into the darkness, dancing away and totally oblivious to the….

“GREAT BIG DROP!”

The four skeletons land at the bottom a tangled, jumbled mess of bones, when who should come along to save the day but Auntie June of course!

Written in rhyme, the words dance and bounce across the pages with suitably goofy and riotous illustrations to match. A brilliantly funny story full of silliness.

Buy Four Silly Skeletons from Waterstones.

Hugo Makes A Change by Scott Emmons, illustrated by Mauro Gatti and published by Flying Eye Books.

Hugo is a little vampire who just loves to eat with meat being his food of choice. However, he starts to notice that his stomach is bloated and he’s too sluggish to do anything so he sets off to explore new foods.

At first he is not impressed with the vegetables he finds but a sweet, red apple soon changes his mind. And all of a sudden, Hugo is enjoying a healthy and varied diet and is much happier for it. Although he very wisely steers clear of any garlic.

An excellent and unique take on healthy eating for young children. This is not simply a story which dictates which foods are healthy and which aren’t but rather cleverly shows the reader what it means to have a balanced diet and clearly shows the outcomes behind food choices.

This book inspired us to make some spooky healthy snacks, you can find out more in our original post here.

Buy Hugo Makes A Change from Waterstones.

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