Monday, October 15, 2012

Scare Up Some Fun with Halloween Books



Halloween will be here soon -- time to think about costumes, decorations and reading scary and not-so-scary stories. Here are a dozen books to get you started. There will be another bunch next week.


 The Everything Kids' Halloween Puzzle and Activity Book by Beth L. Blair and Jennifer A. Ericsson
This book has a bunch of Halloween-related stuff to do. There are all kinds of puzzles and activities: coloring, hidden pictures, hangman, mazes, word searches and more.



 Celebrate Halloween by Deborah Heiligman
This book describes the origins of Halloween and how some countries celebrate it. It’s full of pictures that show people involved in various Halloween activities. The last pages supply more facts, a recipe and further resources.


 Halloween Book of Fun! by National Geographic Kids
This book has lots of what you need for Halloween: games, jokes, Halloween facts, costumes and decorations. The illustrations are funny and sometimes a bit creepy.


How to Build Hair-Raising Haunted Houses by Megan Cooley Peterson (sorry, no link)
If you want to create a scary Halloween, this book and the others in this Edge Books series, have great ideas. Projects include Lawn of the Dead, Dracula’s Coffin, Faces in the Fog and others. Other books in this series:
How to Carve Freakishly Cool Pumpkins
How to Create Spectacular Halloween Costumes
How to Make Frightening Halloween Decorations


 The Hallo-weiner by Dav Pilkey
Oscar is a dog who is half-a-dog tall and one-and-a-half dogs long (a dachshund). All the other dogs tease him until one Halloween night. The text and pictures are really funny. If you like puns, you’re going to love this book.


 Just Say Boo! by Susan Hood, illustrated by Jed Henry
What should you say when you come across scary things? BOO! The illustrations switch from scary to fun with each turn of the page. This would be a perfect read-aloud for young kids.


 Lucy’s Tricks and Treats by Ilene Cooper
Bobby is a shy boy but ever since Lucy, his beagle puppy, came to live with him, he’s learning to make friends. In this fifth book of the series, Bobby has a great idea for Halloween costumes that Lucy and he could wear. But when things start disappearing at school, Bobby’s suspicions take away some of the fun.


 Hubble Bubble, Granny Trouble by Tracey Corderoy, illustrated by Joe Berger
A girl loves her granny, who is a witch. But sometimes she wishes her granny was a little less witch-like. So she asks, “…how about we try to make you normal-ish…” Her granny agrees but in the end, neither of them is too happy with the makeover.


 Twelve Haunted Rooms of Halloween by Macky Pamintuan
A young bear ventures into a haunted house. This book tells about what the bear sees as he creeps from room to room. Based on The Twelve Days of Christmas, it’s very fun and you just about have to sing along. In addition to the clever rhymes, the illustrations are like a spooky Where’s Waldo – with over 375 items to find.


 Invisible Inkling: Dangerous Pumpkins by Emily Jenkins, illustrated by Harry Bliss
Fourth-grader Henry Wolowitz has an invisible, squash-eating friend named Inkling. Keeping Inkling a secret from everyone while preventing Inkling from eating everyone’s pumpkins is making it the trickiest Halloween ever. This is the second book in the Invisible Inklingseries.


 Dragonbreath: No Such Thing as Ghosts by Ursula Vernon
Danny and 2 friends go trick-or-treating. School bully Big Eddy dares them to enter a haunted house. What’s making the scary noises and causing the wall to drip with eggs? Most Halloween books have scary things that end up having a logical explanation … but not all.


 Goosebumps Wanted: The Haunted Mask by R.L. Stine
I confess, I’d never read a Goosebumps book before. But since this is a list of Halloween books, I figured it was about time I did. I learned something – Goosebumps books really are scary. In this one, a girl puts on a haunted mask – bad idea. Then her friend finds himself in a haunted pumpkin patch. Brrrr – this is a very creepy story.


Check back on Monday for even more Halloween books!
Gail

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