spooky picture books Archives -Imaginations Running Wild-

Witch Stories

October 3, 2022October 5, 2022 Jennifer

It’s spooky season and young children want to get in on the fun! Here are eight fantastic witch-themed stories that are not scary, but add a fun, spooky element to reading time. Grab your broom and be prepared to read these over and over again! Be sure to check your public library for these books. My son and I also made lists of our favorite MONSTER stories, SKELETON books, and BAT stories to share too!

Eight Witch Stories:

1. Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson–

This is one of my favorite books! My son and I love this rhyming story about a kind witch who keeps losing things as she flies through the night. She repeatedly has to stop and look for her missing things. While searching for her belongings, she also finds new friends. Soon her broom is full as the witch, a cat, a dog, a frog, and a bird soar through the night. Suddenly a hungry dragon appears and captures the witch! It looks like this might be the end for the witch, but her friends come to her rescue and chase the dragon away 🙂

2. Ghosts in the House by Kazuno Kohara —

A girl and her cat move into a haunted house! Turns out this little girl is actually a witch and she knows exactly what to do with ghosts! This is a fairly short book, with not a lot of text per page. The illustrations are done in orange and black and really capture the reader’s attention. Your preschooler will enjoy studying the pictures and seeing the witch’s creative uses for ghosts.

3. There’s a Witch in Your Book by Tom Fletcher–

Tom Fletcher’s “Who’s in Your Book” series is so much fun! Each book is interactive and filled with super cute illustrations. My son really enjoys these stories and we read them over and over again! In this book, the little witch has landed in your book and she is making a huge mess. Stop her! Oh no, now she cast a magic spell! Help defeat the spell by using your finger as a wand. Follow the steps to save your book!

4. Lulu Goes to Witch School by Jane O’Connor–

Author Jane O’Connor of the Fancy Nancy series introduces you Lulu the witch. Lulu is so excited to start school! Her first day goes great — she loves her teacher (Miss Slime) and her broom flying lesson. She likes all of other witches in her class, except for one. Sandy Witch does everything better than Lulu and Lulu is feeling frustrated. A rivalry ensues until both little witches come down with lizardpox. Lulu and Sandy both return to school covered with spots, afraid their classmates will make fun of them. Sandy and Lulu bond over their spots and become friends afterall.

5. Humbug Witch by Lorna Balion–

This is a cute story about an imaginative little girl. While it is an older story, my son still likes it! In the book, this little witch has a problem — she just can’t get her spells to turn out right! She looks the part–she has a black witch hat, and a witch nose, and pointy witch shoes, and a cat–but no magic. Turns out the reason little witch can’t do magic is because she’s really a girl playing dress-up.

6. 10 Busy Brooms by Carole Gerber–

I love counting books! They are a fun way to incorporate math into preschoolers’ learning. Preschoolers will love the pictures of the witches flying past other “spooky” creatures like skeletons and mummies. The illustrations are bright and cheerful without being scary. Examine each picture closely and try and find the owl and cat hidden in every scene!

7. Mrs. Blackhat by Mick Inkpen–

Mrs. Blackhat is a witch who loves the color black so much that everything she has is black. Along comes an orange cat. What is Mrs. Blackhat supposed to do with a cat that isn’t black? She tries to cast a spell (with hilarious words like “toilet trouble”), but nothing works. Find out what happens to the cat by checking out this fun, rhyming story from your library!

8. How to Catch a Witch by Alice Walstead–

The “How to Catch” series is wildly popular with young children with their rhyming stories and bright illustrations. In this book, a real witch comes to the neighborhood on Halloween night to steal all of the candy. Oh no! The Catch Club kids set all sorts of zany traps to try and catch her before all of the candy is gone. Each trap-gone-wrong will get your child giggling as the witch escapes. I love that the kids use household items like cardboard boxes, so anyone reading this book can get ideas to make their own traps and continue the fun at home!

Disclaimer:

Check your library for these and other witch-themed stories. To help cover the costs of this site, I joined Amazon’s Affiliate program. If you buy a book through one of my links, then I get a small percentage of the sale (at no additional cost to you). Thank you for your support! Happy Reading 🙂

Fall, Halloween

Ghost Stories

September 30, 2021October 1, 2022 Jennifer

At ages 3-4, my preschooler loved what he called “spooky” books — they were books that had ghosts, monsters, and creepy drawings, but they weren’t actually scary. Here’s a list of 6 not-so-scary ghost stories for your preschooler to enjoy:

The Little Ghost Who Lost Her Boo! by Elaine Bickell and Raymond McGrath–

In this rhyming story, a young ghost is in search of her missing “boo.” She meets many animals that make sounds similar to “boo,” but they just aren’t quite right. Preschoolers will love mimicking the sounds they hear in the story and will enjoying McGrath’s fantastic illustrations. Check your library for this book to see if the little ghost ever finds her missing “boo.”

Leo, a Ghost Story by Mac Barnett with illustrations by Christian Robinson–

Friends come in different shapes, sizes, and forms, including ghosts. A ghost is looking for a friend, but he accidently scares people away with his attempts at making friends. When he stumbles across a little girl who can see him and who isn’t afraid, Leo is excited to finally have someone to play with. However, his friend thinks he is imaginary, not a ghost. Not wanting to scare her away with the truth, Leo doesn’t tell he is actually a ghost. When a robber breaks into the girl’s home during the night, Leo springs into action, leaving the little girl to wonder how an imaginary friend was able to help capture the bad guy. It is the moment of truth: will the girl be afraid of a ghost or will they stay friends? Read this one to find out 🙂

The Scariest Book Ever by Bob Shea —

My son LOVES this story about a ghost who is scared of the dark woods surrounding its home. The ghost refuses to leave his house and comes up with all sorts of silly excuses as to why it needs to stay home, rather than admit that it is scared. The reader, however, isn’t scared and goes out to investigate. Turns out the woods are not so scary after all! Can the ghost be convinced that it is safe to venture out and enjoy the fun? A funny and clever “spooky” story.

Ghosts in the House by Kazuno Kohara —

Gustavo, the Shy Ghost by Flavia Z. Drago —

Gustavo really wants to make friends with the other ghoulish monsters, but he is too shy to talk to anyone. This book really shows the struggles that shy people go through and how they sometimes feel invisible. Determined to make friends, Gustavo invites his classmates to attend his violin concert. They all come out in support of him! From here out, they all become friends 🙂

Ten Timid Ghosts by Jennifer O’Connell —

This is a cute, preschool counting book featuring ghosts! A mean with moves into the ghosts’ home and causes them to flee. Preschoolers can help count the ghosts as the flee and gather in the woods. The 10 ghosts form a plan to retake their house by Halloween night! Get this one from you library and find out if the ghosts’ plan works 🙂

Check out my other posts for book recommendations and fall activities to enjoy with your little one: FALL-THEME post and APPLE post.

Uncategorized

Happy Frankenstein Day!

August 30, 2021September 29, 2021 Jennifer

Enjoy 5 preschool and kindergarten appropriate Frankenstein-themed books to read in celebration.

Frankenstein-themed books for preschool and kindergarten

Today is Frankenstein Day, so to celebrate, let’s read some stories featuring Dr. Frankenstein’s monster. Did you know that scientist is actually named Dr. Frankenstein and the monster is simply called “monster?”

Speaking of monsters, The Monsters’ Monster by Patrick McDonnell, is a not-scary monster book starring 3 little monsters who love causing trouble and wreaking havoc! They decide to create the biggest, baddest monster ever to help them carry about their sinister plans. However, instead of carrying out trouble-filled ideas, the big monster that they bring to life teaches them an important lesson about gratitude and saying “thank you.”

Frankenstein Doesn’t Wear Earmuffs by John Loren. —

This a hilarious story about a little boy who dresses up as Frankenstein’s monster for Halloween. It’s a cold night and his mom wants him to bundle up. She gives him boots, a scarf, and earmuffs, among other stuff. Finally, the little boy is so loaded down that he throws off the stuff his mother gave him and proclaims, “Frankenstein doesn’t wear earmuffs!” He storms outside to trick-or-treat and realizes that it is really cold. Too bad he doesn’t have any earmuffs…. He sees his friends wearing their warm clothes over their costumes and realizes that you can expand your vision for your Halloween look to include warm clothes. This is a lesson that we can apply to lots of situations, and it is a good one for little kids to learn — it is ok to change our minds and rethink our vision. The illustrations are fantastic and really bring to life the little boy’s imagination! The rhyming, funny text will keep readers’ attention and they will giggle along with the story.

Moldilocks and the Three Scares by Lynne Marie. —

In this monster-filled take on the classic Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Moldilocks stumbles onto the home of a monster family. She tries 3 bowls of gross soup, sits in 3 spooky chairs, and tries out 3 monster beds before falling fast asleep. The 3 nice monsters return home, and to Moldilocks’ surprise, they welcome her into the family and all live happily-ever-after. My son really likes this book! It has the “spooky” elements that he loves and features a loving, parent-child relations that he enjoys in stories.

“The House that Monsters Built” by Steve Meztger

The House the Monsters Built by Steve Metzger — Steve Meztger’s books are favorites among the preschool crowd! This book, a spooky version of The House that Jack Built, explores all of the monsters’ house-building contributions, complete with rhymes, spooky sounds, and humorous illustrations by Jared Lee. I have read this one so many times at library preschool storytime and to my own son. Preschoolers and kindergarteners love this book!

Bonaparte Falls Apart by Margery Cuyler. —

This is a cute story about a skeleton named Bonaparte who keeps losing his bones. He is literally falling apart and is nervous about starting school with his condition. His monster friends, including Franky Stein, try and help ease his fears by coming up with creative ways to keep Bonaparte’s bones together, but all of their attempts are unsuccessful. Finally the friends come up with a great idea — a service dog! The dog fetches Bonaparte’s bones and brings them back to him. This enables Bonaparte to participate in all of the fun activities his friends are doing at school.

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