Books like Autumncrow — picked by fans

I love this book which teaches kids that scary things (like skeletons!) aren’t always as scary as they appear. Rebecca Evans, the author, is a friend of mine and does a lot of volunteer work to help other children’s book writers and illustrators, so I love supporting someone so involved and helpful! When I saw Rebecca read this book at an event, she had an adorable craft where kids could make skeletons out of gluing dry pasta to black paper—activity idea!

Short, hilarious, and sexy, this romance novella is the perfect way to spend an October night. Daisy has a thing for redheads. So when she meets a redheaded Irishman at a New York City party on Halloween night, is it meant to be?

From its funny opening pages to its thoughtful and romantic ending, this absolutely delighted me, and not just because it had the line, “If you want to impress me, you have to watch Golden Girls.”

This brilliantly constructed book features cut-out pages that, when turned, gradually build the scary parts of a monster into its full glory. But then, at midway, the narration reads, “… YOU DON’T SCARE ME! So GO AWAY,” giving the child the agency to turn the pages to make the monster gradually do just that. In my experience, younger kids are delightfully a little terrified at first and then master that fear as they turn the pages to make the monster recede, using lines like “GO AWAY big red mouth!” When reading this one online, I find that it works best to read the words and then zoom each image up close to the camera. This one always gets a lot of squeals and laughs! 

I’m fortunate enough to have contributed a story in this anthology too, along with the likes of Nicholas Grabowski (author of Halloween IV), Reyna Young (horror host Miss Misery), Tom Sawyer, Patrick James Ryan, Rey Otis, and more. What makes this horror anthology different from others is the depth of characters and emotion of the stories. Yeah, it’s dark, scary, and will leave you squirming in your seat. But it’s the depth of characterization that truly propels these stories and sets them apart from other horror anthologies.

It wasn’t long after beginning our family when we started collecting Chris Van Allsburg books, loving the moody feel of his detailed pencil illustrations, and this book, not as well known as Jumanji or The Polar Express, is one of my favorites. 

Losing its magical powers of flight, a witch’s broom ends up in the garden of widow Minna Shaw. While frightened at first, she comes to enjoy its quiet company and help around the farm. But after meting out well-deserved punishment to some children, the neighbor’s demand that she give up her companion, and it seems as if this unusual friendship will come to an end. A twist in the tale brings the story to a warm and satisfactory ending.

The Stitchers is the first book in the Fright Watch series and any one of them would be the perfect Halloween read. But let’s be real. Old people are scary.

Quinn knows there’s something off about her neighbors. The Oldies have lived in the neighborhood for as long as anyone can remember, and yet they never seem to get any older. If Quinn’s dad was still alive, she knows they’d be coming up with theories: Are they vampires? Aliens? Who knows! The answer is worse than she imagined. When Quinn sees one of the Oldies jogging, she knows she recognizes that leg…it was her dad’s.

I always loved Rod Sterling at Halloween and The Stitchers has such a great Twilight Zone vibe. It’s perfect for kids who lean towards the science fiction side of spookiness where normal things are just…wrong.

Trick or Treat takes the history of Halloween and brings it into the 21st century. The book chronicles the holiday’s long history—distant and more recent, misconceptions and globalization—and offers up similar holiday stories as well, such as chapters on Dias de Los Muertos and All Saints Day celebrations. Looking for something to read or watch or listen to? Here you’ll find a chronicle of Halloween’s literature through 2012, as well as recent movies and music that capture the holiday’s culture in our world today.

I loved this adventure for younger readers, and I think it would be perfect for ages 5-8 who want an introduction to creepy, spooky stories. Autumn wants to dance and is desperate to join a dance team.

The story explores friendship, dealing with tricky people, and fighting to achieve one's dreams. I really enjoyed it, and the cover is so cute that friends always borrow it for their children—especially around Halloween. 

I am from Baltimore, where famous spooky writer Edgar Allan Poe lived and died right outside a bar I used to go to in my twenties (a few centuries before I ever went there!). Our football team is even named after his famous poem, "The Raven," and its mascots are named Edgar, Allan, and Poe. So of course I love this adorable book about a tiny raven who just won’t go to bed! Stucki’s illustrations make a kind of scary animal—a raven—very appealing to little kids. And everyone can relate to a kid not wanting to go to bed! There is a whole series of books by this duo covering different Poe stories, if you want a very literary Halloween.

How to Catch a Monster is just one of the books in the How to Catch series.

It is a quick read for a bedtime story and very interactive and fun for little ones. The rhyming is catchy and the illustrations by Andy Elkerton are beautiful and colorful. All of the How to Catch books have personality and this one doesn’t disappoint.

The kids love the plotting and planning in order to catch the monster and as a parent, I enjoy watching the gears turn when I ask how they would catch a monster. It is a house favorite and gets the kids in the Halloween spirit.