The very best Halloween books for toddlers and babies

I’ve found that it’s relatively easy to find books about Halloween for preschoolers and older children but that it can be difficult to find age-appropriate books to include the youngest members of the family in the celebrations and fun. So I’ve compiled a list of really fun Halloween-themed board books for you to buy or to look for at your local library. (I also have a list of books about Samhain, the ancient Celtic festival from which many of our Halloween traditions are drawn.)

Of course, the concept of Halloween itself will be a bit abstract for small humans to understand. The aim of these books is to introduce them to the word ‘Halloween’ and to some of the things we associate with Halloween celebrations:

• • black cats;
  • dressing up;
  • trick or treating;
  • skeletons;
  • bats;
  • pumpkins;
  • ghosts;
  • witches;

So grab a few of these books from your library or bookshop and read them with your little one. As they’re board books, they’ll stand up to a bit of rough treatment so I also suggest leaving them around for your child to explore on their own. Handling and exploring their own books independently is an important part of raising a reader so I encourage you to do everything you can to allow it to happen, even if the books do end up looking a bit ragged around the edges.

Why share books about Halloween with little ones?

We know that reading aloud and sharing books with young children matters and we know that the younger we start doing this the greater the benefits for the child and for the parent-child relationship. Many, many studies over the years have shown this and continue to show it. 

Halloween isn’t celebrated as widely or with as much enthusiasm here in Australia as it is in the US but, when it comes to special celebrations like Halloween, it makes sense to incorporate reading into your family’s preparations and celebrations. 

Over the years, as a mum and as a teacher, I’ve found that it’s really easy to underestimate how much our babies and toddlers understand about what’s going on around them. The may not be able to say many words but they’re very much aware of our excitement and anticipation when special occasions come around and there’s unusual activity in the house. So why not tap into that awareness?

You may be surprised at how your little one engages with these Halloween books. Your child will almost certainly make connections between the pictures of pumpkins and ghosts in the books and the ones she’s seeing around her and making connections like this is what grows young brains.

And, as always, reading to small humans:

• shows them that books are important and a source of pleasure;
• helps them begin to understand that those squiggly black marks on the page mean something and that they’re connected to the words you say;
• helps to build a rich vocabulary;
• stimulates the development of their phonological awareness (an important pre-reading skill);

So here, in no particular order, is my list of the best Halloween board books for babies and toddlers.

My Top 10 Halloween Board Books

Amazon | Booktopia*

1. My First Halloween

This is a very sweet book which, as the name suggests, is great for introducing babies, toddlers and pre-schoolers to the concept of Halloween.

With simple text and illustrations, the book explains when Halloween is, how families decorate the house, the colours of Halloween (black and orange) and the crafts in which children often take part. Children are shown dressing up in their costumes, trick or treating and having a Halloween party afterwards.

Recommended for ages: 1-4 years

Amazon*

2. Five Black Cats

This cute rhyming text follows five black cats as they explore their neighbourhood. They hear a ghostly sound and find themselves being watched by jack o’ lanterns, discover a spooky house, encounter a bat and stumble upon some ghosts enjoying their Halloween party.

I love a good rhyming book and, as I mentioned earlier, rhyme stimulate the development of children’s phonological awareness. Phonological awareness is a critical pre-reading skill so any book that helps with that is a good book. The rhythm and rhyme in this cute book make it one of the best Halloween board books I’ve found.

Recommended for ages: 1-4 years

Amazon | Booktopia*

3. My Baby Loves Halloween

This is another very sweet rhyming book which follows a baby as she participates with her parents in the activities and rituals which surround an American autumn and Halloween. For example, she goes for a hay ride, dresses up and plays in a pile of leaves that have fallen from the trees. The baby shown in this story looks to be about one- or perhaps two-years-old and the family are people of colour, making this a good book if you’re looking to promote and normalise diversity in your home.

Recommended for ages: 1-2 years

Amazon | Booktopia*

4. Happy Halloween, Curious George

I’m a huge fan of the Curious George books because I think they do a great job of introducing concepts, places and things to young children in a way that’s accessible, relatable and fun. As with most of the Curious George books, this is a tabbed board book with each tab exploring a different aspect of Halloween. The first tab, for example, shows children playing in a pumpkin patch. They play, picnic and eventually choose a pumpkin to carve. The text rhymes (alway a winner with me if the rhyme is good) and the illustrations are cute.

Recommended for ages: 2-4 years

Amazon | Booktopia*

5. Pop-Up Peekaboo! Pumpkin

This is another cute rhyming book which follows Little Black Cat as she plays peekaboo with her friends. It’s a lift-the-flap book, which I always love (check out my Lift-the-Flap Books Gift Basket here) and which small humans also love.

The flaps in this book are large and easy for toddlers to open, making this book a big hit with 2-3-year-olds especially. When they do lift the flaps, little readers discover seven friendly Halloween characters who pop up from the pages – three little bats flying out from behind a cauldron, Smiley Ghost welcoming them into the spooky house and so on.

The lift-the-flap and pop-up elements, as well as the whole “who is hiding in here” thing are hugely popular with young children and help build a love of books and reading. All in all, I think this is one of the best Halloween board books for toddlers. 

Recommended for ages: 1-3 years

Amazon | Booktopia*

6. Boo! A Book of Spooky Surprises

This book follows Pumpkin and his friends on a rhyming adventure to discover who is playing Halloween tricks. With bright, appealing artwork, colourful characters and fun finger holes for little people to explore, Boo is a fantastic book for babies and young children. As with all the other books on this page, Boo! introduces all the characters and things we associate with Halloween: ghosts, witches, black cats, etc.

Recommended for ages: 0-3 years

Amazon | Booktopia*

7. Poppy and Sam’s Halloween Party

The Poppy and Sam books are a cute series written for toddlers and pre-schoolers. In this one, Poppy and Sam are getting ready for a  Halloween party – but where’s Rusty the dog? On every page, they think they’ve found him but what they see turns out to be something else. I’ve read this book with a number of children and they love the element of mystery and the search for Rusty. They also love looking through the peep-holes and following the fingertrails, spotting lots of the animals of Apple Tree Farm along the way. Finally, Poppy and Sam arrive at the party, only to find that Rusty has been there all along.

Recommended for ages: 1-3 years

Amazon | Booktopia*

8. Little Blue Truck’s Halloween

To be honest, this book initially looked pretty silly to me. The Little Blue Truck books seem to be quite well-known in the US but less so here in Australia. Anyway, I borrowed a copy of this Halloween board book after it was recommended to me by several mums who said it was their children’s absolute favourite and I have to admit that it’s quite sweet.

This is a rhyming story which starts with Little Blue Truck picking up his animal friends for a Halloween costume party. Each of the animals is wearing a mask and young readers can lift the flaps to find out who’s dressed up in each costume. 

The rhyme, repetition and illustrations in this book are lovely and it’s easy to see why the book is such a favourite.

Recommended for ages: 0-3 years

Amazon | Booktopia*

9. That’s not my witch …

This series of little books has been hugely popular here in Australia and it’s easy to see why. Continuing in the same form as the other books, That’s not my witch … features simple text which follows a well-known and repetitive arrangement and bright, simple illustrations, complete with a sensory element. Children love feeling the witch’s skirt, boots, hat and so on, all of which are described as ‘too’ something. Read this book for fun but it also has the advantage of enabling you to introduce ‘describing words’ – otherwise known as adjectives – as you enjoy the book together. There are two more titles in this series that are also great for Halloween: That’s not my bat … and That’s not my monster … 

Recommended for ages: 0-2 years

Amazon | Booktopia*

10. Find Spot at Halloween

My children loved Spot when they were young and the Spot series of lift-the-flap books have been huge favourites around the world for many years now.

This book starts with Spot getting ready for his Halloween party. His friends arrive, all dressed up, but where is Spot? Small humans love searching for Spot, lifting the flaps as they explore all the fun of Halloween.

Recommended for ages: 0-3 years

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I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about my favourite Halloween board books. If you’re on Instagram, please do come and share your favourites and tag me @thebookbasketco so I can see!

* This blog post contains affiliate links. If you click through and make a purchase, I will earn a small commission (at no extra cost to you). All the books I link to are quality texts I've read and enjoyed. In most cases I also use them in the classroom.

Over to you

Do you celebrate Halloween at your place?

Do you have any favourite Halloween board books?

I’d love to hear what you think so drop me a line in the comments.