Spooky Childrens Halloween Books That Aren’t Scary At All

My two boys absolutely love Halloween; however, one of them absolutely hates all of the scary ghosts and ghouls. It can really throw him into a spin.

I’ve located some seriously fun childrens Halloween books that have just the right amount of spooky without being scary at all. Happy reading! You can find these books at your local library or purchase through the affiliate links provided for your convenience.

Spooky Childrens Halloween Books That Aren’t Scary At All

Bone Soup: Known across the land for his infamous appetite, Finnigin is never seen without his eating stool, his eating spoon, and his gigantic eating mouth. When Finnigin finds himself in a new town on Halloween, he hopes to join a great feast with the creatures who live there. But not a body or soul will share any of their food with the ever-famished Finnigin. So what’s a hungry skeleton to do? Armed only with his wits and a special ingredient, will Finnigin be able to stir up a cauldron’s worth of Halloween magic?

Woggle of Witches (Aladdin Books): The witches are frightened by strange creatures on the night of their special celebration.

Miss Smith and the Haunted Library: Miss Smith’s students know to expect the unexpected when she reads from her magical book. This time, Miss Smith takes her kids to the eerie library down the block and introduces them to the weird librarian, Virginia Creeper. But per usual, storytime is never ordinary when reading from Miss Smith’s Incredible Storybook. And what starts out as a run-of-the-mill field trip soon becomes a full-out monster bash!

Frankenstein: This laugh-out-loud funny and devilish send-up of Ludwig Bemelmans’s Madeline is for little monsters everywhere. Frankenstein is the scariest of all the monsters in Miss Devel’s castle. He can frighten anything–animals, parents, even rocks. Until one night, Miss Devel wakes up and runs downstairs to find that Frankenstein has lost his head!

Bats in the Band (A Bat Book): A late-spring night sky fills with bats flocking to a theater, already echoing and booming with delightful sounds of music. Bat music—plunky banjoes, bat-a-tat drums, improvised instruments, country ballads, and the sweet cries of a bat with the blues. Join this one-of-a-kind music festival as the bats celebrate the rhythm of the night, and the positive power of music. Brian Lies’s newest celebration of bats and their dazzling, dizzying world will lift everyone’s spirits with joyous noise and cheer!

Flat Stanley and the Haunted House (I Can Read!, Level 2): Stanley can’t wait for the Halloween party at school. But when a bully picks on his friend, Stanley saves the day in no time flat!

Creepy Carrots!: Jasper Rabbit loves carrots—especially Crackenhopper Field carrots. He eats them on the way to school. He eats them going to Little League. He eats them walking home. Until the day the carrots start following him…or are they? Celebrated artist Peter Brown’s stylish illustrations pair perfectly with Aaron Reynold’s text in this hilarious picture book that shows it’s all fun and games…until you get too greedy.

Goodnight Goon: a Petrifying Parody: It’s time for bed, but one little goon still isn’t ready for sleep! With lively rhymes and cheeky art that’ll get readers howling, this hilarious take on the beloved classic will have a whole new audience saying, “Goodnight monsters everywhere!”

Splat the Cat: What Was That?:  Halloween should be a black cat’s favorite holiday, but Spat the Cat is nervous about visiting a creepy haunted house. He’s worried it will be too scary. Splat’s friend Spike tells Splat not to be a scaredy-cat—the haunted house is just for fun! Splat and Spike’s visit to the haunted house turns into a rescue mission when Splat’s pet mouse, Seymour, gets lost inside. Kids will relate to Splat’s apprehension about visiting a haunted house and they’ll enjoy the exciting surprises under every flap in the funny, spooky book.

The Dark (BCCB Blue Ribbon Picture Book Awards): Laszlo is afraid of the dark. The dark lives in the same house as Laszlo. Mostly, though, the dark stays in the basement and doesn’t come into Lazslo’s room. But one night, it does. This is the story of how Laszlo stops being afraid of the dark. With emotional insight and poetic economy, two award-winning talents team up to conquer a universal childhood fear.

Haunted Castle on Hallows Eve (Magic Tree House, No. 30): The bestselling, fan-favorite chapter-book series celebrates Halloween with this scarily affordable paperback! Jack and Annie have traveled all over the world in their magic tree house. But they’ve never been anywhere like this. In the distance, a haunted castle looms dark against the light of the moon. No candles burn in its windows. No laughter rings through its halls. What has happened to the castle and the people who lived there? Merlin the magician asks Jack and Annie to find out. But are they brave enough to brush the cobwebs aside and step through the creaking doors? And are they smart enough to solve the mystery of how the castle became haunted?

Zen Ghosts: It’s Halloween. The trees are ablaze in fiery reds. Excited children don colorful costumes. And there’s mystery and fun around every corner! When Addy, Michael, and Karl finish trick-or-treating, their bags are brimming with treats. But the fun isn’t over yet. Their good friend Stillwater the panda has one more special surprise in store for them. A mysterious visitor is about to tell them a spine-tingling story — one that will fill each and every reader with wonder.

The Nightmare Before Christmas: 20th Anniversary Edition: In this beloved picture book that could only come from the visionary mind of author and illustrator TIM BURTON, we meet Jack Skellington– a well-intentioned inhabitant of Halloweenland. Jack is bored of “the scaring, the terror, the fright….tired of being something that goes bump in the night”. And so, in an effort to bring to joy to his town, Jack kidnaps Santa and takes his place as the jolly old elf. But instead of bringing joy to the world Jack, who is a little more than a grinning skeleton, brings fear by delivering creepy toys and riding a sleigh carried by skeletal reindeer. Only through a number of things going horribly wrong does Jack learn the true meaning of Christmas.

Go Away, Big Green Monster!: Caldecott Award-winning author-artist Ed Emberley has created an ingenious way for children to chase away their nighttime fears. Kids can turn the pages of this die-cut book and watch the Big Green Monster grow. Then, when they’re ready to show him who’s in charge, they’ll turn the remaining pages and watch him disappear! This lavish reissue features dramatic die-cut eyes and sparkling foil on the cover.

You Read to Me, I’ll Read to You: Very Short Scary Tales to Read Together: Mary Ann Hoberman and Michael Emberley’s award-winning picture book featuring scary stories is now available in an affordable paperback edition – just in time for Halloween! With clear, color-coded type and clever illustrations, this fourth You Read to Me, I’ll Read to You book uses traditional teaching techniques to invite young children to read along with the text.

The I’M NOT SCARED Book: With his signature blend of playfulness and sensitivity, Todd Parr explores the subject of all things scary and assures readers that all of us are afraid sometimes.

Disney Scary Storybook Collection: The perfect treat for Halloween, the second edition of this spook-tacular storybook is sure to delight. Beloved favorites such as Mickey Mouse and Peter Pan as well as popular new characters from Cars, Toy Story, and Finding Nemo encounter everything from ghosts to haunted houses! With 19 scary stories and beautiful gilded pages, this is a great gift for boys and girls.

Tell Me a Scary Story…But Not Too Scary! (Byron Preiss Book): Everyone loves scary stories and award-winning comedy writer/director Carl Reiner invites readers to huddle close as he tells a young boy’s tale of the mysterious house next door. As the story becomes spookier and spookier, Reiner pauses to ask “Shall we turn the page- or is it too scary?” That’s for you to decide!

The Monsterator: Join Master Edgar Dreadbury as he discovers the Monsterator, a machine that changes people into monsters in this spooky Halloween adventure from Keith Graves. A Neal Porter Book!

Like these childrens Halloween books? Find even more engaging book lists for kids with more than 100 book-themed reading lists!

Keep the Halloween learning fun going with these educational affiliate links:

• Halloween Lesson Plan
• Skeleton Theme Home Preschool Lesson Plan
• Halloween Literacy Activities
• Halloween Math Activities
• Halloween Social Scripts
• Spider Theme Preschool Classroom Lesson Plans
• My Halloween Handwriting Packet
• Brain Breaks for Halloween
• Halloween Handwriting Activities
• Halloween Multisensory Handwriting Activities