Boredom-busting Halloween books for children: spooky stories and fun activities for all ages
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From friendly ghosts and mischievous witches to spooky sticker books and Halloween puzzles, this bewitching selection offers stories and activities to keep children entertained throughout the half term holidays.
When it comes to gruesome giggles, spooky sniggers and creepy cackles, it’s a well-known fact that children can never be too young to get into the ‘spirit’ of Halloween so here’s a simply bewitching selection of activity and reading books that are guaranteed to fill the half-term boredom gap for your youngest little mischief makers.
Age 6 plus:
Can you escape the haunted house? Solve the puzzles to survive… if you dare! Adventure with an alluring Halloween theme takes centre stage in the puzzle-packed pages of this spooky interactive book written by Sam Smith, designed by Claire Thomas and illustrated by Jared MacPherson. Join best friends Alicia and Jay who are trapped inside a haunted house. But don’t forget that you’ll need to keep your wits about you as you creep through shadowy corridors, cobweb-covered bedrooms and mysterious attics! Each room has a puzzle that must be solved before the pals can pass through… help them crack fiendish codes, spot hidden objects, unlock safes and trapdoors, solve riddles, take on tricky memory challenges, and put your skills to the test. To win, you’ll have to outwit ghoulish ghosts and overcome menacing monsters and, to move from one room to the next, you’ll have to solve those puzzles first! With a wide range of word, logic, number and picture puzzles, and with all the answers at the back of the book, this is the perfect mix of story and puzzles.
(Usborne Publishing, hardback, £6.99)
Age 5 plus:
Have you met Pomona? She’s a cat AND a witch… but she’s also a kind friend. Welcome to acclaimed author and illustrator Tor Freeman’s enchanting forest world of Pomona in a warm-hearted, wise and witty collection of short stories. Our heroine Pomona lives in a little cottage in the forest with her pet caterpillar Baudrillard and not far from her friends Ratso, Prince Frog, Elfis and Grandma Wyona. Pomona works hard to keep her cottage (and friends!) in order although sometimes things happen that are beyond her control. Fortunately, there is always a valuable lesson to be learned. In her new adventures, she works out how to bake a cake with love, sets up a friendship for lonely Baudrillard, discovers empathy, and finds confirmation that there definitely isn’t enough room for anyone else in her hammock! Utterly bewitching…
(Guppy Books, hardback, £14.99)
Turn your windows into a Halloween wonderland with pumpkins, bats, ghosts, cats and other cute-creepy characters with this fun-filled, hands-on craft book from Kate Nolan. Colour the 14 adorably spooky Kawaii-inspired designs, then cut them out and decorate your windows. Special translucent paper lets light shine through your finished artwork, creating colourful Halloween decorations in a spooky stained glass window style. And alongside the window art, children can enjoy fun puzzles and drawing activities on each facing page, making this an all-round creative and rewarding Halloween activity book. Ideal for rainy afternoons and making your windows look spook-tacular!
(Usborne Publishing, paperback, £6.99)
Sticker Dolly Dressing Halloween by Fiona Watt, Stella Baggott and Non Fig
Halloween is on the way and it’s time to dress the sticker dolls for their spooky celebrations! Hours of hands-on entertainment are guaranteed with the new Sticker Dolly Dressing book, one of Usborne Publishing’s best and most popular series. And this colourful new book is bulging with gorgeous sticker clothes and accessories to dress the dolls in their creative costumes and use the accessories and decorations to complete the magical scenes. Youngsters will love choosing outfits for the dolls from over 200 stickers as they prepare for a party, go trick-or-treating, carve creepy faces into pumpkins and dress as spiders, witches and cats! Children won’t be stuck for something to do with this beautiful, sparkle-covered activity book and with so many stickers to choose from and easy-to-remove perforated sticker pages for decorating each scene, this is a Halloween adventure no fun-loving fashionista will want to miss!
(Usborne Publishing, paperback, £7.99)
Who can resist a jolly monster? There’s a whole town packed with monsters waiting to fire up your young readers’ imaginations in the second book of an enchanting, full-colour chapter series from author and illustrator Rong Rong. It’s the start of another busy day in Jolly Monster Town and Ralph the Pufferfish Monster can’t wait to get to the beach and find treasure! But in his rush, he digs up a mole’s house, wakes up a hill monster and disturbs a whole troop of emerald turtles, thinking their shells were jewels! Ralph needs to slow down – or does he? Spot Ralph’s friends Twiggy the Log Monster and Uno the Cyclops Cat, and help find the buried treasure. With delightful details to explore and lots of wacky characters, this joyful book is perfect for reading for pleasure and encouraging imaginative play. Once in Jolly Monster Town, readers will never want to leave!
(Nosy Crow, paperback, £7.99)
Get stuck into Halloween with this ‘spook-tacular’ Halloween sticker-by-numbers activity book which lets youngsters learn as they create. With ten scenes to complete, over 150 stickers and fun facts on every page, this is the perfect way for children to celebrate and learn about Halloween. Discover the origins of trick-or-treat, learn about superstitions, meet Halloween animals and find out the cultural link to spiders. Match the numbered stickers to the numbers on each picture to make Halloween scenes and as each page is perforated, the scenes can be torn out and displayed or given as gifts. From creepy costumes and pumpkin carving to spooky haunted houses, the book is packed with hands-on entertainment!
(Little Tiger Press, paperback, £6.99)
Age 3 plus:
We’ve all heard of Frankenstein and his monster… but whoever heard of Frankenkitty? Enjoy mischief and mirth rather than monsters and their makers in this delightful picture book twist on Mary Shelley’s classic novel from the top team of Maudie Powell-Tuck and Mini Grey. ‘Here is a tale to chill the blood and thrill the soul – a tale of spooky paws and eerie claws, The tale of Frankenkitty!’ Born from stitches and lightning, Frankenkitty wanders the halls of the darketty dark castle… he might look cute to YOU but everyone trembles at the sight of him. Can he really be such a foul and loathsome creature? And can anyone save him before it’s too late? Packed with deliciously dramatic narration from bestselling and brilliantly creative author Powell-Tuck, and the freakishly fun illustrations of Kate Greenaway Medal‑winner Grey, this spine-tingling tale serves as a mischievous reminder that looks can be very, very misleading. Get ready for a laugh-out-loud twist in the tail and be warned that the lovably weird Frankenkitty could happily haunt your shelves for years to come!
(Little Tiger Press, hardback, £12.99)
Halloween Journey by Patricia Hegarty and Katya Longhi
‘With a whistle's loud shriek and a clickety-clack, The ghost train clatters along the track. Skeletons rattle their rickety bones, And the air is filled with ghostly moans.’ Hop aboard the spooky ghost train with this fantastic, layered pop-up gift book to discover a range of Halloween scenes from haunted houses to pumpkin fields and witches’ shacks. Children will love discovering the spooky skeletons and ghostly ghouls hidden amongst the intricate illustrations. Patricia Hegarty’s atmospheric rhyming text and vibrant illustrations by Italian artist Katya Longhi bring the excitement of Halloween to life. The perfect starter for the Halloween season!
(Little Tiger Press, board book, £14.99)
A catchy rhyme and those much-loved pantomime vibes create the perfect package for Halloween as author Jeanne Willis and illustrator Brian Fitzgerald blend their talents on a fun, read-aloud picture book. ‘In the green, green castle with the green, green door, And green, green carpets on the green, green floor, There lived a little ghost who was never seen, And that is because he was green, green, green!’ A naughty little ghost loves giving his unsuspecting victims a fright with a loud ‘Boo!’… they can’t see him, but the reader can! Each character blames the wrong person, until the clever jester finds an unexpected way to expose the culprit. There will be shouts of ‘he’s behind you’ as little ones enjoy spotting the green ghost hidden on every page… and lap up Fitzgerald’s gloriously green and comical illustrations. A brilliant book destined to be a favourite at any time of the year!
(Scallywag Press, hardback, £12.99)
Little First Stickers Creepy Halloween by Kristie Pickersgill and Kirsty Tizzard
From bubbling cauldrons to haunted houses, there is so much to fright and delight young Halloween fans in this adorably spooky sticker book. Children will love using over 150 colourful stickers as they go trick-or-treating with little monsters, pick the perfect pumpkin, tiptoe through whispering woods and have a howl at the werewolves’ full-moon party! Meet magnificent monsters, wacky witches and ghosts galore as you add the colourful stickers to the creepy scenes. An ideal screen-free activity book that will encourage creativity, help develop motor skills and independent thinking, and keep little ones entertained for hours. Halloween fun at your fingertips!
(Usborne Publishing, paperback, £5.99)
I Will Haunt This by Viviane Schwarz and Chris Riddell
What does a ghost do when it hasn’t got anything to haunt? Award-winning children’s book illustrator and former Children’s Laureate Chris Riddell teams up with acclaimed author and illustrator Viviane Schwarz for this spooky but cosy picture book about friendship, kindness and connection. A little ghost lives in a vase in the attic but when the vase breaks, the ghost goes round the house, looking for a new home… something made with love. But the house is full of tidy and shiny new things instead of old comforting ones. When the girl of the house helps the ghost settle into a dusty teapot hidden on a high shelf and full of warm memories, the ghost can do something for the girl, too… encourage her creativity and confidence. Messages about the warmth and security of home shine out through both the moving and original story and Riddell’s almost ethereal artwork. A book to treasure far beyond the witching season…
(Walker Books, paperback, £8.99)
Halloween Snap by Laura Borio and Helena Towell
Little ones will be seeing double when they learn to play the game of Snap or other matching games with this super boxed set of 52 spookily-illustrated cards. The ideal way to learn important skills like turn-taking, rules, and winning and losing, and all whilst enjoying the fun of spotting pairs, these robust, easy-to-handle cards are delightfully decorated with Halloweeny illustrations of witches, spiders, bats, cats and other spooky season motifs. Playing games is a vital part of a child’s early education, helping them to understand concepts such as co-operation with other people, conversation and concentration. An entertaining introduction to matching and card games, this box of Halloween-shaped fun is perfectly created to help youngsters ‘snap’ out of their boredom or to keep them busy on journeys!
(Usborne, card pack, £6.99)
Midnight Creep by Jemima Shafei-Ongu, Honoka Taki and Karim Nagi
Party along with spiders of all kinds and get inspired to dance in this colourful, creepy-crawly original singalong picture book which celebrates spiders, imagination, and the Arab folk dance, the dabke. Welcome to Midnight Creep, created by Sydney-based author Jemima Shafei-Ongu, who has links to the region’s Dharug Aboriginal people, illustrated by Japanese artist Honoka Taki, and sung by Karim Nagi in an audio singalong video animation accessible via QR code. All the giants are asleep and the lights are out… Everybody give a shout and SCREEEAM! What do spiders do when we’re asleep? What if they gathered beneath the full moon for a celebration, with jumping, dancing and feasting until dawn? But shhhh… be careful not to wake the giants sleeping upstairs! Listen, join in and dance along with the audio singalong, learn about the dabke, a communal folk dance, and discover more information about spiders at the end of the book. The ideal rhythm for Halloween!
(Barefoot Books, paperback, £7.99)
Get cosy and celebrate the changing seasons with BIG Autumn colouring! Colour in happy hedgehogs and scampering squirrels, bright berries and falling leaves in this book of delightful autumn drawings. With over 90 bold, simple outlines to fill in, it will provide hours of entertainment while helping young children develop mark-making, pen-control and colouring skills. Packed with fun and creativity, My Big Autumn Colouring Book is ideal to beat half-term boredom whether that’s at home or on holiday travels!
(Usborne Publishing, paperback, £4.99)
Age 2 plus:
Five Little Pumpkins by Catherine Veitch and Holly Surplice
‘Five little pumpkins rolled off one night, across the farm, causing quite a fright. Mrs Owl said, “Come back to me!” How many pumpkins can you see?’ Author Catherine Veitch and illustrator Holly Surplice team up for the fourth title in an enchanting and wonderfully colourful lift-the-flaps picture books series based on the nursery rhyme Five Little Ducks. And this time it’s Halloween as we join five adorable pumpkins on a night time adventure around the farm. There’s so much to see as Mrs Owl and the pumpkins roll, bounce and leap out of the pumpkin patch, play peek-a-boo in the horses’ stables and try not to wake the sleeping piggies. Along the way, they meet all kinds of friendly animals of the night. But wait… the pumpkins are disappearing one by one. Whatever are they up to? Lift a host of intriguing flaps to find the pumpkins and discover a fantastic surprise ending. The picture perfect book to celebrate Halloween and all the fun of the autumn season!
(Templar Publishing, paperback, £7.99)
Where is the perfect pumpkin? Join two little children and their cheeky ghost friend as they search to find the BEST pumpkin ever in a delightfully spooky and fun-filled counting book from author Sarah Reid and illustrator Agnes Saccani. ‘We’re going to pick a pumpkin, and we’ll have a lot of fun! There’s so many to choose from, but I want the BIGGEST one!’ Is the perfect pumpkin in the garden or maybe the haunted house? Even better, could it be filled with tasty treats? Reid’s bouncy rhyming text is packed with Halloween fun while Saccani’s bold and vibrant illustrations feature pumpkins to count on every spread. Children will love exploring different locations in the hunt for the best pumpkin and with a fabulous countdown surprise at the end, this is the perfect bedtime read!
(Scholastic, paperback, £7.99)
Age one plus:
Watch little faces light up as they get hands on with this bold and colourful sound book from author Becky Davies and illustrator Mitch Miller which features five favourite Halloween characters. Join Ghost on a trick-or-treating adventure and when he disappears, help to find him. Simply press the sounds button on every spread in the interactive, chunky board book and wait for the giggles as they meet the friendly ghost saying ‘boo’, a bat flipping and flapping, a wacky witch cackling, a black cat meowing and a cheeky owl twitting and twooing! Ghost Goes Boo! is the first in a humorous new sound book series for toddlers, with modern art, a lively text and a refrain that children will love.
(Little Tiger Press, board book, £9.99)
There’s only one thing this baby loves to eat… pumpkin, pumpkin, pumpkin! Creamy mash, tasty pies, or fresh from the patch… every kind is delicious. Pumpkin, Pumpkin, Pumpkin! is the fifth book of Post Wave’s Yum, Yum, Yum! pre-school board book series which introduces tots to favourite foods and all the delicious ways they can be eaten. Written and illustrated by award-winning designer and illustrator Sarah Finan, these bright and bold books about the joys of eating nutritional foods feature a sweet rhyming text, vibrant artwork and clever peep-through holes on every page. With rounded corners and sturdy pages, the book is ideal for little hands and is a joy to read aloud. The perfect tasty treat for Halloween!
(Post Wave Children’s Books, board book, £7.99)
Age 6 months plus:
Join a witch who has a few tricks up her sleeve in this delightful slide-and-peek Halloween board book from Paris-based author and illustrator Hector Dexet. What autumn surprise is hiding for the bat tonight? Which animal will discover a cosy new pair of pyjamas? And can you guess what the witch has in store for the animals? This playful and colourful novelty book is packed with autumnal fun and spooky-sweet surprises. With every pull and slide of the tabs, little hands will discover the magical gifts the witch has conjured… but not all is as it seems! A cosy chair transforms into a monster, a jar of cookies wriggles into spiders, and an umbrella flaps into a bat. This enchanting Halloween board book includes big, satisfying sliders and Dexet’s joyful and colourful artwork. Total bewitchment for tiny tots!
(Post Wave Children’s Books, board book, £7.99)