Weekly Trip to the Library
Most of our nanny kids with be dressing up in costumes, walking in school parades, and trick-or-treating next week for Halloween. It’s always fun to help build anticipation for any holiday by reading books with children. Here are some of my nanny kids’ favorite Halloween books. You can purchase any of them by clicking on the links below.
In Creepy Carrots, written by Aaron Reynolds and illustrated by Peter Brown, Jasper Rabbit loves carrots. Especially the carrots that grow in Crackenhooper Field. Jasper just couldn’t get enough of carrots, until they started following him. By the end of the week Jasper sees creepy carrots creeping everywhere. Jasper creates a plan to make sure the carrots can’t escape Crackenhooper Field. But, as the sun sets, the carrots cheer and we learn their plan has worked, Jasper Rabbit would never get into that carrot patch ever again.
2. The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything
The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything written by Linda D. Williams and illustrated by Megan Lloyd includes fun opportunities for the kids to interact with the story. I won’t tell you the plot, but instead to encourage you to read it to 3-year-old children and up because it contains a great deal of repetition, which means that very young children can easily join in with the telling of the story when the book is read aloud to them.
Room on the Broom written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler is a rhyme with large, beautiful illustrations. This story follows a witch as she embarks on an eventful journey on her broomstick. The elements are against her and the witch loses her hat, bow, and wand. But, she makes new friends who help her find her belongings and when disaster strikes they save her from a witch eating dragon. To repay her friends the witch performs a magic spell and creates a magnificent new broom with room for all of them. This book shares the message of friendship and overcoming adversity. But, it is also incredibly fun. For this reason the book can be enjoyed by a large age range of children.
4. Pumpkin Jack
Pumpkin Jack, written and illustrated by Will Hubbell, is a great story about a boys love of his Jack O’Lantern. The first pumpkin Tim ever carved was fierce and funny, and he named it Jack. When Halloween was over and the pumpkin was beginning to rot, Tim set it out in the garden and throughout the weeks he watched it change. This book is a lesson in the pumpkins and the seasons. It is a perfect story for the child who hates to say goodbye to their Jack O-Lanterns after Halloween.
Click, Clack Boo! written by Doreen Cronin and illustrated by Betsy Lewin is an excellent Halloween story, especially If your nanny kids already love Doreen Cronin’s award winning books. My charge squeals every time I read it to her. In this story Farmer Brown does not like Halloween. So he draws the shades, puts on his pajamas, and climbs into bed. Farmer Brown gets scared during the evening only to discover by the end of the book that the animals were just inviting him to their Halloween party.
Too Many Pumpkins, written by Linda White and illustrated by Megan Lloyd, tells the story of an elderly lady who lived through the Great Depression when all her family had to eat were pumpkins. She grew up despising pumpkins. As an adult, she never ate or planted them. But when a pumpkin fell off the back of a truck, and the seeds take root in her front yard, she finds that she truly loves pumpkins. The colorful illustrations really make this story come alive.
7. Bone Soup
The second grader I care for loves Bone Soup, written and illustrated by Cambria Evans. The story is engaging and funny, with detailed watercolors. It is a Halloween take on the classic story “Stone Soup.” In this version, a cute little skeleton named Finnigan with a very big appetite manages to get all sorts of ghastly ingredients from the ghouls to make his magic “bone soup.”
Skeleton Hiccups, written by Margery Cuyler and illustrated by S.D. Schindler, is about a poor skeleton who is plagued with a case of the hiccups. He tries everything to get rid of the hiccups. At the end of the story, he scares himself by looking in the mirror at his reflection and the hiccups go away. While its Illustrated dark and spooky, the silly and simple story keeps it from being scary.
9. It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
It’s The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown by Charles M. Schulz is a Halloween classic book and movie. I think kids like it because they like the Peanuts characters created by Charles M. Schulz but I have always found this book a little sad. In the story Linus writes his annual letter to The Great Pumpkin, despite all his friend’s disbelief. Only Sally, stands by to support Linus. While all the friends go trick-or-treating and to a Halloween party Linus and Sally wait for the Great Pumpkin to arrive. Sally gets mad she missed all the festivities and leaves. At four o’clock the next morning, his sister Lucy realizes that Linus is not in his bed. She finds her brother asleep in the pumpkin patch, shivering and she brings him home. Charlie Brown attempts to console his friend, admitting that he has done stupid things in his life also.
Where’s My Mummy, written by Carolyn Crimi and illustrated by John Manders is about a Baby Mummy who wants just one more game of hide-and-shriek with Big Mama Mummy before bedtime. He runs outside to hide himself in the graveyard, but Mama Mummy doesn’t join him. The night is deep and dark, full of friendly creatures. A skeleton, a blob, and a vampire all greet the mummy and tell him to go to bed. The only time the youngster is truly frightened by a mouse, his mother is there to comfort him, take him home, and tuck him into bed.
11. Holidays Around the World: Celebrate Halloween with Pumpkins, Costumes, and Candy
Celebrate Halloween with Pumpkins, Costumes, and Candy by Deborah Heiligman is part of National Geographic’s Holidays Around the World series of nonfiction books. The book uses color photographs of children celebrating fall and Halloween in several different countries to illustrate the story of Halloween, its history and celebration. An afterword provides directions for a Halloween game, information about The Day of the Dead, a recipe for a Spooky Graveyard cake, a glossary, a map showing where the photographs were taken, a one-page essay by scholar Jack Santino about Halloween, and recommended books and web sites for readers eager to learn more about Halloween.
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