Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing recently released some wonderful books for Halloween, for kids of all ages. Prepare yourself for tales of ghosts, ghouls, and perhaps even a haunted pair of underwear!
I don't know about you, but whenever the different holidays roll around, I love going through my girls' bookcases and pulling out books that fit that particular holiday's theme. Reading these books are a great way to get the girls excited about the holiday, but are also my excuse to get extra snuggle time on the couch or at bedtime reading to them, as both of my girls are reading on their own and would prefer to read on their own instead of having me read to them.
The kind folks at Simon & Schuster sent us the following three picture books for young children, ages 2-8...
For Ages 2-8, a heartwarming Halloween adventure to get little ones ready for trick-or-treating:
written by Sue Lowell Gallion & illustrated by Joyce Wan
“[I]mpossibly cute”—Publishers Weekly, starred review
“Delightful.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review
For Ages 4-8, picture books to get you in the Halloween spirit:
written by Rebecca Grabill & illustrated by Ella Okstad
“[C]aptures the mischievous fun of Halloween, without the accompanying terror.”
—Publishers Weekly, starred review
written by Aaron Reynolds & illustrated by Peter Brown
“This strikes the ideal balance between frightening and hilarious, and like the underwear itself, readers are guaranteed to keep coming back for this storytime platinum!”
—Publishers Weekly, starred review
Can you guess which book out of the three was my girls' favorite? Yep, the one about the underwear. Each and every time we read this book, the girls can't stop giggling.
CREEPY PAIR OF UNDERWEAR written by Aaron Reynolds & illustrated by Peter Brown
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers | ISBN 9781442402980
Pub Date: August 15, 2017 | $17.99 | Ages 4 to 8
"From the celebrated team behind Creepy Carrots!, Aaron Reynolds and Caldecott Honor winner Peter Brown, comes a hilarious (and just a little creepy) story of a brave rabbit and a very weird pair of underwear.
Jasper Rabbit is NOT a little bunny anymore. He’s not afraid of the dark, and he’s definitely not afraid of something as silly as underwear. But when the lights go out, suddenly his new big rabbit underwear glows in the dark. A ghoulish, greenish glow. If Jasper didn’t know any better he’d say his undies were a little, well, creepy. Jasper’s not scared obviously, he’s just done with creepy underwear. But after trying everything to get rid of them, they keep coming back! "
My youngest has even added glow in the dark underwear to her wish list for Santa as she thought they looked cool thanks to the recent children's book release. Now to find glow in the dark underwear -- never thought I would be looking for these. :-)
Savannah, my dog lover, is a fan of the Pug & Pig books, so was excited to add this book to her growing collection.
PUG & PIG TRICK-OR-TREAT written by Sue Lowell Gallion & illustrated by Joyce Wan
Beach Lane Books | ISBN 9781481449779
Pub Date: July 25, 2017 | $17.99 | Ages 2 to 8
"Pug and Pig are back for a heartwarming Halloween adventure in this adorable picture book that’s perfect for pet lovers of all ages.
Halloween night has come to Pug and Pig’s house, and the darling duo is sporting matching costumes. The costumes are cozy. They glow in the dark. And they have masks! There’s only one problem—Pug hates wearing his. So he decides to rip it up and stay home. But Halloween just isn’t any fun for Pig without Pug! Can Pug find a way to be a good friend and get back into the Halloween spirit?"
This cute children's series follows two unlikely best friends, a pug and a pig, and in this recent release we find it is Halloween and Pug can't find a costume to wear that is comfortable. Being a dear friend, Pig doesn't want to go trick or treating or enjoy Halloween without his friend Pug.
Kids and parents will love the adorable illustrations in this book. You can't help but feel for Pug when you find out he doesn't like his costume. And, you hope he finds something that will work, so that he and his best friend, Pig, can enjoy Halloween together. My girls and I found ourselves lingering on each page of this storybook to admire the illustrations. This book really helped my girls get excited about Halloween, thanks to the all the carved pumpkins, costumes and other fun Halloween details included in this book.
Savannah says this is a great book to share with little dog lovers. Now she wants a pug, while Bella wishes for glow in the dark underwear....good luck, Santa. :-)
The last book we were sent was Halloween Good Night, and has made for a great bedtime book for the girls. I choose a book each night to read to the girls and they get to choose 2, and this book usually winds up in my lap 4-5 days out of the week. The girls love counting down with the different monsters. Bella says, "Don't worry, they are aren't scary and just pretend."
HALLOWEEN GOOD NIGHT written by Rebecca Grabill & illustrated by Ella Okstad
Atheneum Books for Young Readers | ISBN 9781481450614
Pub Date: July 25, 2017 | $17.99 | Ages 4 to 8
"Count up to ten and back again with this sweet and clever Halloween bedtime story starring your favorite monsters!
Gliding through the moonlight
come the monsters big and small,
sliding up your stairway
and oozing down your hall.
They aren’t very scary,
in fact they’re rather sweet.
So snuggle into bed and let them whisper,
“Trick or treat!”
Halloween Good Night is a sweet and clever Halloween countdown to bedtime starring every child’s favorite monsters."
This was another book that the girls had me linger on each page to take in all the details of the amazing illustrations. The illustrator, Ella Okstad, really did an amazing job at bringing Rebecca's Grabill's countdown bedtime story to life. There was so much color to each page, that you couldn't help but admire all the work Ella put into her illustrations.
The story itself, while having longer text on each page than most children's books I read at bedtime, flowed smoothly and kept the girls engaged from start to finish. They had fun trying to guess which monsters would be on the different pages as they counted down to bedtime. Even though this book didn't lull my girls to sleep, it did make them smile and gave them ideas for future Halloween costumes. And, I see this book becoming a favorite for Halloween's to come.
And, if you have older children, here are some recent Halloween themed titles from Simon & Schuster perfect for them...
THE PECULIAR INCIDENT ON SHADY STREET by Lindsay Currie
Aladdin | ISBN 9781481477048
Pub Date: October 10, 2017 | $16.99 | Ages 8 to 12
Tessa Woodward isn’t exactly thrilled to move to rainy, cold Chicago from her home in sunny Florida. But homesickness turns to icy fear when unexplainable things start happening in her new house. Things like flickering lights, mysterious drawings appearing out ofnowhere, and a crackling noise she can feel in her bones.
When her little brother’s doll starts crying real tears, Tessa realizes that someone—or something—is trying to communicate with her. And it involves a secret that’s been shrouded in mystery for more than one hundred years.
With the help of three new friends, Tessa begins unraveling the mystery of what happened in the house on Shady Street—and more importantly, what it has to do with her!
When her little brother’s doll starts crying real tears, Tessa realizes that someone—or something—is trying to communicate with her. And it involves a secret that’s been shrouded in mystery for more than one hundred years.
With the help of three new friends, Tessa begins unraveling the mystery of what happened in the house on Shady Street—and more importantly, what it has to do with her!
A PROPERLY UNHAUNTED PLACE written by William Alexander & illustrated by Kelly Murphy
Margaret K. McElderry Books | ISBN 9781481469159
Pub Date: August 22, 2017 | $16.99 | Ages 8 to 12
From National Book Award–winning author William Alexander comes a wryly humorous story about two kids who try to save their town by bringing back its ghosts.
Rosa Ramona DÃaz has just moved to the small, un-haunted town of Ingot—the only ghost-free town in the world. She doesn’t want to be there. She doesn’t understand how her mother—a librarian who specializes in ghost-appeasement—could possibly want to live in a place with no ghosts. Frankly, she doesn’t understand why anyone would.
Jasper Chevalier has always lived in Ingot. His father plays a knight at the local Renaissance Festival, and his mother plays the queen. Jasper has never seen a ghost, and can’t imagine his un-haunted town any other way. Then an apparition thunders into the festival grounds and turns the quiet town upside down.
Something otherworldly is about to be unleashed, and Rosa will need all her ghost appeasement tools—and a little help from Jasper—to rein in the angry spirits and restore peace to Ingot before it’s too late.
Rosa Ramona DÃaz has just moved to the small, un-haunted town of Ingot—the only ghost-free town in the world. She doesn’t want to be there. She doesn’t understand how her mother—a librarian who specializes in ghost-appeasement—could possibly want to live in a place with no ghosts. Frankly, she doesn’t understand why anyone would.
Jasper Chevalier has always lived in Ingot. His father plays a knight at the local Renaissance Festival, and his mother plays the queen. Jasper has never seen a ghost, and can’t imagine his un-haunted town any other way. Then an apparition thunders into the festival grounds and turns the quiet town upside down.
Something otherworldly is about to be unleashed, and Rosa will need all her ghost appeasement tools—and a little help from Jasper—to rein in the angry spirits and restore peace to Ingot before it’s too late.
SUPER MAX AND THE MYSTERY OF THORNWOOD’S REVENGE by Susan Vaught
Paula Wiseman Books | ISBN 9781481486835
Pub Date: August 29, 2017 | $16.99 | Ages 8 to 12
It’s going to take more than a knack for electronics and a supercharged wheelchair for twelve-year-old Max to investigate a haunted mansion in Edgar Award–winning author Susan Vaught’s latest middle grade mystery.
Max has always been a whiz with electronics (just take a look at her turbo-charged wheelchair). But when a hacker starts a slanderous Facebook page for her grandpa, Max isn’t sure she has the skills to take him down. The messages grow increasingly sinister, and Max fears that this is more than just a bad joke. Here’s the thing: Max has grown up in the shadow of Thornwood Manor, an abandoned mansion that is rumored to be haunted by its original owner, Hargrove Thornwood. It is said that his ghost may be biding his time until he can exact revenge on the town of Blue Creek. Why? Well, it’s complicated. To call him a jerk would be an understatement. When the hacking escalates, suddenly it looks to Max like this could really be Thornwood’s Revenge. If it is, these messages are just the beginning—and the town could be in danger.
Max has always been a whiz with electronics (just take a look at her turbo-charged wheelchair). But when a hacker starts a slanderous Facebook page for her grandpa, Max isn’t sure she has the skills to take him down. The messages grow increasingly sinister, and Max fears that this is more than just a bad joke. Here’s the thing: Max has grown up in the shadow of Thornwood Manor, an abandoned mansion that is rumored to be haunted by its original owner, Hargrove Thornwood. It is said that his ghost may be biding his time until he can exact revenge on the town of Blue Creek. Why? Well, it’s complicated. To call him a jerk would be an understatement. When the hacking escalates, suddenly it looks to Max like this could really be Thornwood’s Revenge. If it is, these messages are just the beginning—and the town could be in danger.
BAYLOR’S GUIDE TO DREADFUL DREAMS by Robert Imfeld
Aladdin | ISBN 9781481466394
Pub Date: October 31, 2017 | $16.99 | Ages 10 to 14
Boy medium Baylor Bosco enters the dream world with his ghostly twin Kristina to discover what has happened to a bunch of missing kids in this second spooky novel in a new series that James Patterson called “a fun ride with chills galore.”
With assistance from a powerful amulet, Baylor Bosco, boy medium extraordinaire, finds himself with a dazzling new ability: he can walk through dreams. Not only his own, but those of other people! Using a starry, otherworldly portal called Loved One’s Lane, Baylor tumbles through the dreams of his friends, family—even his cranky aunt.
But with Baylor, nothing’s ever as easy as it seems! Soon Baylor is dream-walking through a terrifying reality: two teenagers, Archie and Helena, who are stranded at sea. The kids have been missing for over a week and Baylor is the only person who can reach them.
The only problem is, Baylor has no way of telling where Archie and Helena are outside of his dream world. And time is running out. Not to mention that a group of wandering demon spirits, The Lost Souls, are after Baylor, too. Can Baylor find the missing kids—and escape the clutches of the Lost Souls—before it’s too late?
With assistance from a powerful amulet, Baylor Bosco, boy medium extraordinaire, finds himself with a dazzling new ability: he can walk through dreams. Not only his own, but those of other people! Using a starry, otherworldly portal called Loved One’s Lane, Baylor tumbles through the dreams of his friends, family—even his cranky aunt.
But with Baylor, nothing’s ever as easy as it seems! Soon Baylor is dream-walking through a terrifying reality: two teenagers, Archie and Helena, who are stranded at sea. The kids have been missing for over a week and Baylor is the only person who can reach them.
The only problem is, Baylor has no way of telling where Archie and Helena are outside of his dream world. And time is running out. Not to mention that a group of wandering demon spirits, The Lost Souls, are after Baylor, too. Can Baylor find the missing kids—and escape the clutches of the Lost Souls—before it’s too late?
BOOK OF SHADOWS by M. Verano
Simon Pulse | ISBN 9781481492027
Pub Date: September 19, 2017 | $17.99 | Ages 14 and up
In the tradition of American Horror Story and The Craft, a young girl discovers a magical spell book and dives headfirst into the occult—but this powerful book comes with a dangerous warning: OPEN AT YOUR OWN RISK.
All Melanie wants is a blank book to keep a journal of her private thoughts. One day while browsing in a used bookshop, she finds the perfect blank book—smooth black leather with strange symbols in gold embossing. But once she gets home, Melanie finds herself too intimidated by the heavy vellum pages to write her trivial thoughts on them. Her Wiccan friend Lara tells her it’s better suited to be a magical spell book, called The Book of Shadows.
Melanie doesn’t know much about that stuff, but Lara, her boyfriend Caleb, and his friend Lucas, get her started by writing their own made up spells inside the book’s tempting pages. What they didn’t expect was a new spell showing up inside the book—and in handwriting none of them recognize.
Soon they discover that the spells suggested by The Book of Shadows itself do work—but not without wreaking havoc on the lives of the four teenagers.
All Melanie wants is a blank book to keep a journal of her private thoughts. One day while browsing in a used bookshop, she finds the perfect blank book—smooth black leather with strange symbols in gold embossing. But once she gets home, Melanie finds herself too intimidated by the heavy vellum pages to write her trivial thoughts on them. Her Wiccan friend Lara tells her it’s better suited to be a magical spell book, called The Book of Shadows.
Melanie doesn’t know much about that stuff, but Lara, her boyfriend Caleb, and his friend Lucas, get her started by writing their own made up spells inside the book’s tempting pages. What they didn’t expect was a new spell showing up inside the book—and in handwriting none of them recognize.
Soon they discover that the spells suggested by The Book of Shadows itself do work—but not without wreaking havoc on the lives of the four teenagers.
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There are only 11 days left until Halloween. Why not order some of these new releases from Simon and Schuster for bedtime reader, or to get into the holiday spirit of ghosts and goblins, etc. My girls loved all the three of the books we were sent, and continually ask me to read them at bedtime. The "Creepy Pair of Underwear" is a favorite of theirs...I wonder why...the sillier the better. :-)
To learn more about any of the above new releases, or to see what other books will be releasing soon from Simon and Schuster, visit http://www.simonandschuster.com today.
Disclosure: I was sent review copies from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All views shared are mine and mine alone.
Great list! And of course I'm delighted you're enjoying Halloween Good Night. ;-) I couldn't agree more about Ella's illustrations - they're absolutely adorable!
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