There’s something about October that makes pulling out the seasonal books extra fun.
As soon as Halloween starts getting closer, I love swapping some of the kids’ everyday books for stories about pumpkins, ghosts, witches, bats, and all the other slightly spooky things that come with the season.
And when I say spooky, I definitely mean kid spooky.
Especially with little kids, I’m much more interested in cute ghosts and silly monsters than anything that’s actually going to scare them once the lights go out.
Over the years, we’ve collected quite a few Halloween books for kids, from sturdy little board books for babies and toddlers to longer picture books that are perfect for preschoolers and young kids.
If you’re putting together a Halloween book basket, looking for a few new October bedtime stories, or just want some not-too-scary Halloween books to add to your bookshelf, these are 15 of our favorites.
1. The Spooky Wheels on the Bus
If your kids already know The Wheels on the Bus, this one is an easy Halloween win.
The Spooky Wheels on the Bus takes the familiar song and gives it a Halloween makeover with a bus full of silly, spooky passengers.
This is one of those books where kids catch on really quickly because they already know the rhythm, which means it usually turns into everyone reading, singing, and making noises together instead of you doing all the work.
It’s especially fun for toddlers and preschoolers who love repetitive books.
Best for: Toddlers and preschoolers.
2. Ghost Afraid of the Dark
A ghost who is afraid of the dark is already a pretty adorable premise for a Halloween book.
Instead of Ghost being the scary one, he’s actually the one who needs a little reassurance. With the help of his friends, he slowly discovers that nighttime might not be quite as frightening as he thought.
I especially like Halloween stories like this for younger kids because they take something that could feel scary and completely flip it around.
It’s cute, funny, and has a sweet little message about facing your fears.
Best for: Toddlers and preschoolers.
3. Room on the Broom
Room on the Broom is one of those Halloween books that I genuinely don’t mind reading over and over again.
A friendly witch is flying through the sky when the wind keeps blowing away her belongings. Along the way, different animals help her find everything she’s lost and ask if there might be room for them on her broom too.
Of course, eventually that broom gets a little overcrowded.
It has rhyming text, a fun story, and just enough witch-and-dragon Halloween energy without actually being scary. I also love the underlying message about friendship and helping others.
Best for: Toddlers, preschoolers, and early elementary ages.
4. The Pumpkin Thief
The Pumpkin Thief follows Squirrel and Bird as they try to solve a very important fall mystery: who keeps stealing the pumpkins?
I love a children’s book with a little mystery built into it because it gives kids something to think about while you read instead of simply listening to the story.
The bright illustrations make this one especially fun, and the pumpkin theme feels perfectly October without making the story overly Halloween-specific or scary.
Best for: Preschoolers and young elementary-age kids.
5. You’re My Little Baby Boo
I have a soft spot for the sweet seasonal books that are basically just an excuse to tell your kids how much you love them. 🥹
You’re My Little Baby Boo is exactly that, but with an adorable Halloween twist.
It’s filled with cute ghosts, pumpkins, and other Halloween imagery without anything remotely scary happening, making it especially good for babies and younger toddlers.
This is also such a cute little bedtime book during October.
Best for: Babies and toddlers.
6. The Hallo-Wiener
The Hallo-Wiener is such a cute Halloween story, especially if your kids love books that are a little silly.
Oscar is a dachshund who already gets teased for being shaped like a hot dog, and things don’t exactly improve when his mom makes him a hot dog costume for Halloween. But when the other dogs find themselves in trouble, Oscar gets the chance to show them that being different can actually be a pretty great thing.
It has plenty of Halloween fun and humor, but I also love that there’s a sweet message underneath it about kindness, confidence, and not judging someone because they’re different.
And honestly, a wiener dog dressed as a hot dog for Halloween is enough to sell me on this one.
Best for: Preschoolers and early elementary ages.
7. Peekaboo Pumpkin
Peekaboo Pumpkin is perfect for the littlest kids on this list.
It’s an interactive board book with sliders and a mirror, so there’s something for tiny hands to actually do while you read.
For babies and toddlers, that can make such a difference. You don’t necessarily need a complicated Halloween storyline at this age. Give them a bright pumpkin, a cute spider, something they can move, and a mirror where they can find themselves and they’re pretty happy.
It’s a really cute first Halloween book and an easy one to add to a baby or toddler’s October book basket.
Best for: Babies and toddlers, especially ages 0–3.
8. The Goodnight Train Halloween
If your kids love The Goodnight Train, this Halloween version is such a fun seasonal addition.
The familiar bedtime train gets a spooky makeover as it travels through a Halloween-themed nighttime world filled with costumes, pumpkins, ghosts, and plenty of playful details to spot along the way.
I like that it still has that cozy bedtime feel even though the story is Halloween-themed.
Not every October book needs to be loud and silly. Sometimes you just want something festive that still helps everyone wind down before bed.
Best for: Toddlers and preschoolers.
9. Spooky Pookie
Pookie is getting ready for Halloween, but first there’s one very important decision to make: what should Pookie dress up as?
If you’ve ever tried to get a toddler to decide what they want to be for Halloween, you can probably already see where this is going.
Pookie tries out different costume ideas while getting ready for the big night, and the whole thing is simple, silly, and very relatable for little kids.
The board book format also makes this an easy one to keep out where toddlers can grab it themselves.
Best for: Toddlers and preschoolers.
10. The Crayons Trick or Treat
If you already love The Day the Crayons Quit, this little Halloween spin-off is a really cute addition to the collection.
The crayons are going trick-or-treating, but apparently knowing what to say when someone opens the door is harder than it looks.
The attempts to figure out proper trick-or-treat etiquette make this one especially funny, and I love that it can also help younger kids understand how trick-or-treating actually works before Halloween night.
Best for: Preschoolers and early elementary ages.
11. I’ll Love You Till The Bats Say Boo
This is another one for the sweet Halloween book category.
I’ll Love You Till the Bats Say Boo combines bats, pumpkins, nighttime skies, and other Halloween imagery with a story centered around just how much you love your little one.
It’s gentle and cozy rather than spooky, which makes it such a nice one to read at bedtime.
I especially like having books like this mixed into our Halloween collection because it balances out all the monsters, witches, and trick-or-treating with something a little softer.
Best for: Babies, toddlers, and preschoolers.
12. Happy Halloween, Biscuit!: A Halloween Lift-the-Flap Book for Kids
You really can’t go wrong with Biscuit around here.
In Happy Halloween, Biscuit!, Biscuit gets to join in on all the fun of Halloween, including costumes, pumpkins, trick-or-treating, and plenty of exploring along the way.
It’s simple, sweet, and familiar, which makes it a great choice for younger kids who might not be ready to sit through a longer Halloween story yet.
I also love books like this before a holiday because they help toddlers understand what’s about to happen. Reading about trick-or-treating before actually going trick-or-treating makes the whole thing feel a little more familiar.
Best for: Toddlers and preschoolers.
13. How to Catch a Monster
The How to Catch books are always fun if your kids like stories that are a little more energetic.
In How to Catch a Monster, the goal is exactly what the title suggests: figure out how you could possibly catch a monster.
There are traps, plans, plenty of imagination, and lots happening in the illustrations, so this is a good one for kids who like to really study the pages while you read.
It gives you the monster theme you want around Halloween without turning into an actually frightening monster story.
Best for: Preschool and early elementary ages.
14. Little Blue Truck’s Halloween
Little Blue Truck’s Halloween combines two things little kids tend to love: Little Blue Truck and lift-the-flaps.
Little Blue is heading to a Halloween party and picks up his animal friends along the way, but everyone is wearing a costume. Kids get to lift the flaps to discover who is hiding underneath each one.
It’s short, interactive, and really cute for toddlers.
If your child already loves the regular Little Blue Truck books, this is such an easy one to add to your October rotation.
Best for: Babies, toddlers, and younger preschoolers.
15. There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bat
If your kids like the There Was an Old Lady books, the Halloween version is just as ridiculous as you’d expect.
This time the old lady starts by swallowing a bat, and naturally things only get more absurd from there.
The repetitive format makes it really fun to read aloud because kids quickly figure out what’s coming and can start joining in.
It’s silly rather than scary, which is exactly what I’m looking for in a Halloween book for little kids.
Best for: Preschoolers and early elementary ages.
Choosing Halloween Books for Toddlers and Preschoolers
Just like with our fall books, I like having a mix of different kinds of Halloween books. I don’t want 15 stories that all basically do the same thing.
For babies and younger toddlers, board books are usually my first choice. Sturdy pages, bright illustrations, simple rhymes, lift-the-flaps, sliders, and other interactive elements make it much easier to keep their attention.
Books like Peekaboo Pumpkin, Five Little Pumpkins, Little Blue Truck’s Halloween, and You’re My Little Baby Boo are especially good for this age.
Once kids get into the preschool years, you can start adding Halloween picture books with longer stories and a little more humor. There are so many fun options once they’re ready to sit and follow an actual storyline. Some of our favorites are Room on the Broom, The Pumpkin Thief, There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bat!, and The Crayons Trick or Treat.
And personally, I pay attention to the kind of spooky too.
There is a pretty big difference between a book having a cute ghost on the cover and a story actually being frightening. Especially for younger kids, I tend to stick with silly monsters, friendly ghosts, pumpkins, witches, bats, and Halloween adventures that feel festive without introducing anything that’s going to suddenly become the topic of conversation at bedtime.
Make a Halloween Book Basket for Kids
This was one of my favorite parts of our fall book collection, and it works even better for Halloween.
Instead of keeping all of the Halloween books mixed in with the regular bookshelf, pull out five or six and put them in a basket somewhere your kids can easily reach.
You don’t even need to put all of them out at once.
Start October with a few pumpkin books, swap in some witches and monsters as Halloween gets closer, and rotate different library books through the basket throughout the month.
It keeps the books feeling new without actually requiring you to continually buy new ones.
And honestly, I think just seeing that little basket of Halloween books sitting out makes the house feel more festive.
Add a cozy blanket nearby, turn on the little pumpkin lights, and suddenly reading the same book for the 47th time feels slightly more magical. 😂
That’s really why I’ve come to love seasonal books so much.
Kids get so excited about holidays, and books give them another way to experience all of that anticipation. They can read about trick-or-treating before Halloween night, laugh about silly monsters, look for pumpkins on every page, and start recognizing all of those little traditions that come around every October.
Whether you’re looking for Halloween books for toddlers, Halloween picture books for preschoolers, cute Halloween board books, or not-too-scary Halloween books for kids, I hope you found a few new ones to add to your family’s October reading list.
And if your seasonal book collection somehow needs its own storage bin by the end of this… I fully support you. 😂📚🎃
Looking for more seasonal reads? Check out our favorite fall books for kids, and stay tuned because I’ll be sharing our favorite Thanksgiving books for kids next! 🦃📚
