A few years ago, I started a Halloween tradition to share with my boys: reading at least one new Halloween picture book a night for the entire month of October.
It’s been quite the feat, one we started researching back in early September. Rather than creating several posts listing each individual book, we decided to have one post listing our favorites!
Trick or Treat on Monster Street by Danny Schnitzlein, Illustrated by Matt Faulkner
A poor little boy is terrified of monsters, and his older brothers know it! They like to scare him as often as they can. One year, on Halloween Night, he gets separated from his brothers and ends up on Monster Street, where instead of candy the residents hand out trout, or slugs, or spiders. Everyone there is just as afraid of humans as he is of monsters! The terrified little boy is terrified no longer and, with the help of his new monster friends, gets revenge on his brothers for all the tricks they’ve played on him!
Justin LOVED this book. Perhaps it was the rhyming prose, perhaps it was the beautifully illustrated pages. I think it’s perfect for a boy his age, a boy just discovering his own fears. It details, in a very fun way, that fears can be in the eye of the beholder and are easily overcome!
The Monster Who Ate My Peas by Danny Schnitzlein, Illustrated by Matt Faulkner
Yes, same author & same illustrator as the previous book. While this isn’t technically a Halloween book, it does have a monster in it!
A little boy hates peas. One night, he makes a wish: “Please let these peas disappear from my dish!” A horrible, ugly monster appears and agrees to take the peas away if the little boy will give him his soccer ball. The boy agrees and the peas are gone. But when he wants to play soccer with his dad, where his ball once was lays a pea.
The boy’s mother serves peas for dinner again one night. The monster appears, this time offering to take the peas away, asking for the boys bike instead. The boy agrees, but is saddened when his friends stop asking him to go for bike rides.
Once again, the boy’s mom serves peas. The monster appears, this time asking for his dog, Ralph, in return. But the boy simply can’t part with Ralph, so instead he picks up a pea and tries it. It’s not nearly as bad as he thought, he quite enjoys eating peas!
As with Monster Street, THE MONSTER WHO ATE MY PEAS is full of rhyming, lyrical prose. Luckily, my boys don’t mind eating peas but this book is perfect for explaining that food that we dislike or hate isn’t nearly as bad as we think it is!
Even Monsters Need Haircuts by Matthew McElligott
During the day, this little boys father is a barber. At night, however, when everyone else is a asleep, this little boy does some hair cutting of his own! He turns his father’s barber shop into a monster barber shop, cutting hair for all monsters, including skeletons, werewolves, even Medusa!
I’m Not Afraid of this Haunted House by Laurie Friedman, illustrated by Teresa Murfin
Simon Lester Henry Strauss claims he is not afraid of a haunted house! He’s not afraid of the ghosts, or the vampire feast, not even the Frankenstein wedding! At the end of the book we learn what Simon Lester Henry Strauss IS afraid of, though!
Justin LOVED the repetitive text in this book. He loved reciting “I’m Simon Lester Henry Strauss, and I’m not afraid of this haunted house!”
It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown! by Charles M. Shulz
It’s not Halloween without a reading of this classic Halloween Tale! Even my oldest will come running if he knows I’m reading this book!
So, there you have it! Justin’s favorite Halloween books this year! Enjoy!
5 Responses to Halloween Picture Book Roundup!