Halloween Diverse Books Round-Up

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I’m collaborating with my good friend, Tenikca of Hits with the Mrs, again for a Halloween diverse books round-up. You should definitely head to her page if you are a hardcore Halloween fan. She’s been posting great ideas for boo baskets, themed breakfasts, and more!

While we’re not really into Halloween (we did not celebrate it growing up), I know many of you may be interested in books you can read this month leading up to the holiday. For those who are more like us and tend to focus on all the Fall season brings, we’ve included several pumpkin-themed books that aren’t centered around Halloween. You can shop for all of these books, or add them to your library holds, using this Bookshop list!

1. Los Gatos Black on Halloween by Marisa Montes is a beautifully illustrated book that takes us through Halloween night. Black cats, carved pumpkins and witches, oh my! They join some other ghouls and at the haunted mansion they converge for a monstrous ball! This bilingual book provides great Spanish vocabulary and includes a Spanish/English glossary. 
2. Monster Trouble by Lane Fredrickson is a cute rhyming tale that follows little Winifred on a quest for a good night’s sleep. She loves ghouls and thinks monsters are cute but when it comes to bedtime, she still can’t sleep. Fed up and tired, Winifred finds a gentle way to keep the monsters at bay. 
3. Samurai Scarecrow: A Very Ninja Halloween by Rubin Pingh follows two siblings on Halloween night. It can be rough always being followed around or copied by a younger sibling and it can be tougher being told you aren’t welcome. That doesn’t stop these two from showing each other love on Halloween night. 
4. Shake Dem Halloween Bones by W. Nikola-Lisa is a jazzy tale of Halloween Night. As the city gets dark and quiet, it’s not time for the ghouls to come out and prank. It’s time for the music to crank! Join your favorite classic fairytale characters at the Halloween Ball. Written to a lively beat and poured with diverse illustrations, your kiddos will be grooving all the way to Halloween. 
5. Día De Los Muertos by Roseanne Greenefield Thong breaks down this special Mexican Holiday for you and your littles. Removing lots of the culturally appropriated propaganda, this book allows the whole family to learn why this celebration is special and important. 
6. Pumpkin Day by Candice Ransom is the perfect read before going to the pumpkin patch. The simple, rhyming text describes a family’s trip to the patch to find the perfect pumpkins. I love all of the adjectives used throughout the book, as they can be reinforced in daily conversations and activities.
7. Runaway Pumpkins by Teresa Bateman is a new release that just came out in August 2020. A bumpy ride back to school after a class trip to the pumpkin patch causes a latch to open on the bus causing all of the pumpkins to fall out. The only one left is a huge pumpkin strapped to the top of the bus. While disappointed, the students make the best of it by coming together to decorate the lone pumpkin. Just like the saying, make lemonade out of lemons, neighbors came together to make pumpkin pie (and other goodies) out of the smashed pumpkins that fell from the bus. 
8. Pumpkin Countdown by Joan Holub is a good book to get your little ones counting. It features another field tril;p to the pumpkin patch, but this time, the class counts everything in sight! Lots of number practice on each page as you try to identify all of the things counted by the class.
9. How Big Could Your Pumpkin Grow by Wendell Minor will take readers on a fantasy ride! Little readers will learn lots of synonyms for big, while reimagining what some of the country’s landmarks would look like if enormous pumpkins were involved.
10. Super Spooked by Gina Bellisario is a part of the Ellie Ultra chapter book series. Ellie is invited over to a friend’s house for a Halloween sleepover. Everyone is having fun until the lights go out and Fairy Frightmare sprinkles nightmare dust all over them. You’ll have to read this one to find out if Ellie can conquer her fears to help save her friends. 

How do you celebrate this time of year? Are you all in for Halloween or do you stick to fall festivals? Either way your family leans, there are great books to read this season! Let us know some of your favorites in the comments!