Tuesday, October 25, 2011

H is for Halloween: Favorite Halloween Storytime books

Halloween Week!!!

I'm so excited.  This is just the week for a Creepy Susie like myself.  Really, it feels like every one of my programs could be Halloween related, but it's exciting when I have an excuse to do more.

You know, sometimes holiday books are just terrible, trying to shoe-horn in too much at a time.  I find Halloween books suffer the least.

These are my Favorite Halloween Storytime books, which could be mixed and matched with some of my Monster Storytime books.

Boris and Bella by Carolyn Crimi, Ill. by Gris Grimly



I adore everything Crimi does, and the illustrations of Grimly.  This is actually the only book that mentions the word Halloween.  Bella Lagrossi is the grossest ghoul on the block.  She's neighbors with Boris Kleanioff, who is an obsessed grime-fighter.  They, of course, hate each other.
This book is about as long as I ever go for a Preschool Storytime, but it's just so often.  I love the names (which will get a laugh from parents) and the illustrations.

Three Little Ghosties by Pippa Goodhart, Ill by. AnnaLaura Cantone



Three Little Ghosties, sitting on posties, eating burnt toasties and telling big boasties!
Love this story.  Love the repetition, the sound, and of course, plenty of opportunities to yell "BOO!" works great at a storytime.  Never actually mentions Halloween, so could be done all year round in theory.

The Curious Demise of a Contrary Cat by Lynne Berry and Luke LaMarca



A story about a cat who refuses to help with the witch's dinner party.  Black and white illustrations, which I adore but I think get mixed results from kids.  The repetition of this book, however, is so wonderful that the kids can help you read half of it.  Also doesn't have Halloween mentioned specifically, so you could use it for a cat Storytime.

Honorable Mentions:

Alpha Oops: H is for Halloween by Alethea Kontis and Bob Kolar



A great, funny little Halloween Alphabet book.  Only trouble, I find it a little difficult to present books like these with a lot of sound bubbles.

Sipping Spiders through a Straw: Campfire Songs for Monsters by Kelly Dipucchio, Ill. by Gris Grimly



Another beautifully illustrated Grimly book on here?  Shocking.  I love songs in a storytime, so some of these would be good to use.  However, many are a little two complicated to teach a preschool.

There you go!  My favorite Halloween stories for kids.  Any you would add to the list?

No comments:

Post a Comment