Children's Books for Preschoolers: Halloween!

The Haunted Ghoul Bus by Lisa Trumbauer
This bus, is not the average school bus. It's the "haunted ghoul bus", filled with wacky, wild, and cool characters. A mummy for a driver? Monsters as passengers? What will they do when a little boy comes on board? This tale has quite the appeal with it's silly skeletons, bats, and pumpkins and a smooth-flowing rhyming text. Not even werewolves and witches can scare away readers! Much enjoyment is to be had when riding reading the Haunted Ghoul Bus! As a bonus activity, have children create their own Halloween character masks (monsters, witches, pumpkins, ghosts, bats, princesses, etc.) and then "board the bus" for a parade around the classroom, school, or even the house!

My Pumpkin by Lily Karr
Simple in content, but brilliant in character, My Pumpkin, delivers a fun experience for the younger preschool crowd. It serves as a great first introduction to Fall/Halloween activities such as pumpkin picking and carving, and dressing up in costumes. Little ones will love the sweet characters (monster, dinosaur, and dog, included), the bright colors, and the easy rhyming sounds in this adorable board book!

Monster Mash by David Catrow
"He did the mash, the monster mash! The monster mash, it was a graveyard smash." Singing yet? I hope so. We all remember this legendary song from Halloween parties past. Transformed into pictures and storybook pages, this tune now comes to life in a totally different way! Pages filled with crazy and fun illustrations will only further encourage the desire to dance along with all of the characters. What fun it would be to follow up a reading, with a monster-fied dance party to the one and only "Monster Mash"! This book could definitely be used to support music, movement, and literacy.

Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson
A witch and her cat set out on a flying adventure through the night sky. When the wind blows away her hat and her wand, she must figure out how to find them. Much to her hesitation she finds three very helpful and kind animal friends who help her out. In trade for helping her, they would love to go for a ride on the broom. Follow along with the rest of the adventure as the witch develops new friendships, experiences the kindness of others, and learns that teamwork may not be so bad. Help emphasize to little ones that every one has a good quality to share. Be ready to read this entertaining tale over and over!

The Night Before Halloween by Natasha Wing
The classic "Night before Christmas..." poem is jazzed up a bit for this fun Halloween tale. Follow friendly monsters, goofy goblins, ghosts, and others as they prepare for a Halloween celebration. See what transpires when these silly characters find human children trick-or-treaters at their doorstep. This story provides fun on every page. It could easily be used as a special read leading up to a fun Halloween party, or as a an "I spy" recognition and vocabulary building literacy activity. Enjoy reading it with little ones, and look forward to their excitement as they see and explore all of the different costumes! As an extension activity for the story, have party materials and dress up costumes available for dramatic play use, and allow children to create and decorate their own Halloween party!

Fancy Nancy: Halloween or Bust! by Jane O'Connor
Another classic Fancy Nancy adventure, complete with costume creating, party decorating, and fabulous Halloween hoopla! Why not enjoy some sweet candy treats while you channel your inner "fancy" and join Nancy for a little fun?! She'll put a smile on everyone's faces.