Spooky Picture Books for Kids chosen by Shan

Picture of a Pumpkin - the Spooky Books List icon
Every child has their own level of spooky and scary they can handle, so I’ve tried to pick a range of books here for the Halloween and October season.




3 Flavors of Scary:
Very Mild
Slightly Spookier
Spookier Still!

**all ratings from GoodReads


Very Mild:

bookcover of Go Away Big Green Monster!  By Ed Emberly
Go Away Big Green Monster!
By Ed Emberly

4.18 avg rating — 7,415 ratings

A masterful book for toddlers and pre-k kids that allows them to construct, then deconstruct a monster’s face. They get to be in control and assert they’re not afraid!

The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything by Linda Williams—For the very young, this is a nice repetitive text as the woman encounters various items of clothing along the road that follow her. Never becomes too scary because, well, this little old lady is not afraid of anything. Has a cute ending too. Ages 3-6.
Lexile: AD550L

in Spanish!
Fuera de aqui, horrible monstruo verde!


bookcover of Leonardo the Terrible Monster  by Mo Willems
Leonardo the Terrible Monster
by Mo Willems

**Starred Review** SchoolLibraryJournal
4.24 avg rating — 5,966 ratings

What happens when a monster just can’t scare anyone? This adorable little tale of what it takes to be a monster—and what it takes to be a friend, isn’t likely to scare anyone, but it’s worth a few chuckles. Ages 3-8.

Reading Information:
Word Count: 263
Page Count: 48
Accelerated Reader: 2.3 / points: 0.5
AR quiz: 88782
Lexile: AD670L


bookcover of Boogie Knights  by Lisa Wheeler
Boogie Knights
by Lisa Wheeler
pictures by Mark Siegel

**Starred Review** Kirkus
**Starred Review** SchoolLibraryJournal
**Starred Review** ALA BookList

3.74 avg rating — 155 ratings

The knights of the castle are awoken by the sounds of the madcap monster ball going on in the castle. At first a bit alarmed, they finally join in the fun. Ages 3-8.
Lexile: AD440L


bookcover of The Squeaky Door  by Margaret Read MacDonald
The Squeaky Door
by Margaret Read MacDonald

3.93 avg rating — 188 ratings

Not so much spooky as hilarious as a squeaking door scares a little boy and the grandmother keeps trying to remedy the situation with more and more sleeping companions (a cat, dog, pig, etc.). Worth a read and great for those who really don’t like books with monsters or other spooky stuff.

Word Count: 862
Page Count: 40
Accelerated Reading level: 1.7 / points: 0.5
AR quiz: 105562
Lexile: AD250L


bookcover of A Dark, Dark Tale  by Ruth Brown
A Dark, Dark Tale
by Ruth Brown

3.83 avg rating — 180 ratings

You’ve probably heard a version or two of this tale before. It gets repetitive and is best read allowed in a slightly eerie voice. The dark, dark, wood leads to a dark, dark, house . . . and so forth. Everyone waits for the surprise at the end, which in Ruth Brown’s tale is very tame and adorable. Ages 3-6.
Lexile: 400L


bookcover of Cinderella Skeleton  by Robert San Souci
Cinderella Skeleton
by Robert San Souci

**Starred Review** Kirkus
3.93 avg rating — 624 ratings

A rhyming version of the Cinderella story, but with skeletons! Not really all that spooky, but I thought it deserved a mention here. Ages 5-8.

Word Count: 1,139
Page Count: 32
Accelerated Reader: 5.2 / points: 0.5
AR quiz: 51023
Lexile: NP


bookcover of There’s a Nightmare in My Closet  by Mercer Mayer
There’s a Nightmare in My Closet
by Mercer Mayer

4.20 avg rating — 7,913 ratings

A young boy decides to confront the monster in his closet. Adorably illustrated and told in classic Mercer Mayer style! Ages 3-6.

Word Count: 153
Page Count: 32
Accelerated Reading level: 2.3 / points: 0.5
AR quiz: 5545
Lexile: AD670L


Slightly Spookier

bookcover of The Teeny-Tiny Woman  by Paul Galdone
The Teeny-Tiny Woman
by Paul Galdone

3.84 avg rating — 182 ratings

Another story that’s got plenty of retellings out there. A teeny-tiny woman finds a teeny-tiny bone and winds up with more than a teeny-tiny haunting for her trouble. The last line is a great one for some chuckles. Ages 6-8.
Lexile: NC880L


bookcover of The Funny Little Woman  retold by Arlene MoselThe Funny Little Woman
retold by Arlene Mosel
Blair Lent (Illustrator)

**1973 Caldecott Winner**
3.92 avg rating — 1,268 ratings

The folk tale of a woman who chases her dumpling that falls into a crack in the floor and winds up facing a family of Oni demons. Now she must escape the Oni and return home! Ages 6-9yrs.

Word Count: 845
Page Count: 40
Accelerated Reading level: 3.6 / points: 0.5
AR quiz: 7568
Lexile: 570L


bookcover of The King of the Cats by Paul Galdone
The King of the Cats
by Paul Galdone

4.10 avg rating — 21 ratings

An old irish tale that Galdone retells here of a gravedigger who has a chilling encounter with cats. Spooky and atmospheric without every being truly frightening, it’s a great one for reading aloud and storytelling on a dark evening. Ages 6-12 yrs.


bookcover of A Big, Spooky House  by Donna Washington
A Big, Spooky House
by Donna Washington

4.25 avg rating — 20 ratings

An old ghost story revisited where progressively larger and larger cats ask the visitor to the house “are you gonna be here when John gets here?” This great retelling leaves the ending a bit open, so your readers can decide who “John” is. Deliciously spooky. Ages 8-12.


bookcover of The Dancing Skeleton  by Cynthia C. DeFelice  The Dancing Skeleton
by Cynthia C. DeFelice
illustrated by Robert Andrew Parker

3.83 avg rating — 24 ratings

An ornery man who dies refuses to stay in his coffin when a fiddler comes to pay respects to his widow. A fun and creepy tale to tell aloud. 6-12.

Word Count: 837
Page Count: 32
Accelerated Reader: 3.2 / points: 0.5
AR quiz: 110866


Spookier Still!

bookcover of Fergus and the Night Demon --an Irish ghost story by Jim Murphy
Fergus and the Night Demon
--an Irish ghost story 

AND HERE
by Jim Murphy
illustrated by John Manders—

3.83 avg rating — 35 ratings

Fergus, the laziest boy in town encounters a demon one night who declares his time has come. But our clever lad figures a way out of certain doom—and learns his lesson! Ages 8-12.

Word Count: 1,460
Page Count: 32
Accelerated Reading level: 4.8 / points: 0.5
AR quiz: 110644


bookcover of The Tailypo  by Joanna and Paul Galdone
The Tailypo
by Joanna and Paul Galdone

 4.19 avg rating — 150 ratings

A bit scarier than King of the Cats! In this story a man cuts off the tail of a strange beast and eats it for dinner, only to have the beast come back, looking for it’s tail! Nicely Chilling. Ages 8-12.

Word Count: 922
Page Count: 40
Accelerated Reading level: 3.5 / points: 0.5
AR quiz: 6500
Lexile: AD880L


bookcover of Nightmares: Poems to Trouble Your Sleep  by Jack Prelutsky
Nightmares: Poems to Trouble Your Sleep
by Jack Prelutsky

4.21 avg rating — 102 ratings

Master children’s poet Jack Prelutsky penned this creepy poetry collection back at the beginning of his career—and also pennedThe Headless Horseman Rides Tonight. These poems are ghastly, grim and gross—delightful fare for the Halloween season! Ages 8-12

Lexile: NP
Reading Counts!: 6.3 / points:2.0


bookcover of The Ghost of Sifty-Sifty Sam  by Angela Shelf Medearis
The Ghost of Sifty-Sifty Sam
by Angela Shelf Medearis
illustrated by Jacqueline Rogers

4.17 avg rating — 29 ratings

A cook desperate for the money reward offered takes up the challenge to stay at a haunted house overnight. Sifty-Sifty Sam comes calling and our hero finds a way to satisfy a hungry ghost. Ages 8-12.

Word Count: 1156
Page Count: 32
Accelerated Reading level: 4.4 / points: 0.5
AR quiz: 18676


bookcover of THE SPIDER AND THE FLY by Mary Howitt
The Spider and the Fly
based on the poem
AND HERE
by Mary Howitt
illustrations by Tony DiTerlizzi

4.19 avg rating — 4,711 ratings

You might be familiar with this creepy poem, but DiTerlizzi’s illustrations are brilliant in helping convey the mood and providing for an eerie counterpart. Fun to read with older kids! Ages 9-12.

Word Count: 692
Page Count: 40
Accelerated Reading level: 4.8 / points: 0.5
AR quiz: 64285
Lexile: NP


See also,
More Spooky Books for Middle-Schoolers




compiled by Shan
updated by Pam - October 2013