Earlier this month I published a post about Fall and Halloween Book Recommendations for Children, in which I mentioned some of my favorite fall books that I used when leading library storytime during my career as a children’s librarian. When wrote this list, it felt like I covered all the bases and listed my favorites. Recently though, I was reading a weird, but fun picture book aloud to my son that fell into the category of “charming books that I probably would not use for story time because it might make a parent uncomfortable, but it is still a real gem”.
Reading this book got me thinking about children and what we perceive as making them uncomfortable. I asked myself, “Are we worried they will become uncomfortable or is it that we are uncomfortable?” What I realized is that while this time of year is about costumes, parties, trick-or-treating, fun and friends, but it is also about dying and death. We can see it in the falling leaves and the yellowing corn fields. The grass around here starts to turn more yellow and we see less and less daylight.
During the period of time between the end of October and the beginning of November there are many different cultural and religious celebrations of the dead including: Halloween, Samhain, All Souls Day, All Saints Day, All Hallows’, and Day of the Dead. Some of these celebrations are reminders that death happens in the fall and winter and we need to have death in order to have new growth in the spring and summer.
I also realized that many of the books on my previous list primarily dealt with emotions like excitement, joy, and fun. This time of year also causes us to feel other feelings though too. I wanted to make a book list includes seasonal titles about the other emotions people experience at this time of year beyond joy and delight .
I often need to remind myself that it is okay to feel emotions other than happiness and joy. It is important to share these feelings with children because they might not be as uncomfortable as we are with their full spectrum of feelings,
I have read all the books on this list and they have all made an impression on me. All the books on this list say something about feelings that fall allows us to feel. This list includes some longer books than the last list including a novella and a book of short stories.***
1) Zombie in Love 2+1 by Kelly DiPucchio and illustrated by Scott Campbell. 
Married zombies Mortimer and Mildred are thrilled when someone leaves a box on their doorstep with a human baby. They are not as thrilled when their new addition refuses to sleep through the day, smiles at them, and does not want to eat brains. This book has lots of funny details to look for in each panel. A fun and unconventional picture book for the whole family about the challenges of a new baby.
2) Bone Dog by Eric Rohmann. After Gus’s dog Ella dies he does not feel much like doing much of anything, not even dressing up for Halloween. When he runs into a bunch of troublesome skeletons, Ella rescues him and also helps him deal with his feelings of sadness about her death. The illustrations in this books are beautiful and the story is engaging and thought-provoking. This book doubles as a Halloween story and “how to deal with a pet’s death book”.
3) Pumpkin Jack by Will Hubbell. Soon after Tim carves his jack-o-lantern, Jack, Halloween is over as his pumpkin is relegated to the garden. As the seasons change, Tim watches as Jack starts to decompose, freeze in the snow, melt, disappear into the ground, and eventually come back as a crop of new pumpkin plants the next year. This book is the story of the life cycle of a plant told under the guise of a fictional story about a boy and his pumpkin.
4) Coraline by Neil Gaiman. Coroline lives in a large house in England with her pre-occupied parents and a house full of tenants. However, life has become so boring that she has taken to counting doors and windows for entertainment. One day she discovers a door, that is sometimes blocked with bricks, that takes her to an alternate universe. On the other side of the door, there are exciting things like a man made out of live rats and parents who looks just like her parents except they have button eyes and they pay attention to her. But these parents aren’t perfect either and they are trying their best to keep Coraline on their side of the wall. Will she escape? I listened to this novella on audiobook 10 years ago and I found the story and the narration to be unforgettable for adults and children. The audiobook is read by the author, Neil Gaiman. Also listen to Gainman read his Newbery winning title The Graveyard Book.
5) Scary Stories to Tell In The Dark by Alvin Schwartz, illustrated by Stephen Gammell. I first encountered this book when I purchased it at my elementary school’s book fair in 4th grade. I was not a great reader at the time, but everything about this book captivated me. The illustrations are spooky and interesting. The stories are reminiscent of the ghost stories my sisters, friends, and I would tell each other around the campfire. I also liked the way this book was the size of the average paperback book but there was plenty of white space around the illustrations, songs, poems, and stories that I was not intimidated by the number of pages or the thickness of the book. It is still a classic today. Give it to a reluctant reader in your life!
6) The Widow’s Broom by Chris Van Allsburg. Witches’ brooms don’t hold their powers forever and on one cold autumn night a witch’s broom loses its power mid-flight and falls to the ground along with the witch. The witch flees before the morning comes but the broom is found by a lonely widow in need of help around her cottage. At first the broom seems rather ordinary but then it starts to sweep on its own. The widow, Minnie Shaw, teaches the broom to help her with chores around the house. Other town folk don’t understand the bond between the widow and her new broom friend and try to burn the broom. What will become of the widow and her broom? Written and illustrated by the creator of The Polar Express, this book is a great read aloud for children ages 5-10 and enjoyable for adults as well. The illustrations are fanastic and the story is robust enough for an upper elementary classroom.
7) Peepers by Eve Bunting. This book actually isn’t about Halloween but it is about fall. Jim and Andy help their father run his weekend leaf peeping tours of autumn foliage. They like to make fun of the tourists who “ooh” and “ahh” about the things they see. But this year they get a little caught up in looking at the beautiful leaves too and let down their guards a little. Part of the charm of this book is that Jim and Andy talk and act in an authentic way. I like this book for an elementary aged child who can grasp the subtleties of sarcasm.
Happy Reading!
How are you getting ready for Halloween at your house? What are you reading this season? Tell me in the comments section!
***This post contains affiliate links for Amazon. If you do decide to click on the links and purchase the books, a small percentage of the sales goes to me. However, you can go to your local library and check out these books, that is where I read them!
