Halloween is already right around the corner! Our Halloween books in the Young Readers’ Room are so popular, they barely hit the shelves before they’re snatched up. Here are a few of my favorite scary children’s books for you to hunt down here at Smiley Library.
I adore pop-up books. It’s amazing how much the added dimension can craft a completely new experience out of a familiar story. We have only a select few circulating here at Smiley Library – they’re delicate, and tend to get damaged easily. One is The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe, a creepy classic presented in this form by David Pelham and Christopher Wormell. It opens to a scene of our narrator lifting a book to his face, already looking grim with anguish as he begins his lament. You can find this book displayed in our Poetry section in the Young Reader’s Room today. Scare-o-meter level: 8/10.
Scary, Scary Halloween is a story in rhyme for a younger audience by Eve Bunting, illustrated by Jan Brett. Four pair of glowing emerald eyes peek out from their mask of darkness to issue warnings of monsters roaming the streets on Halloween night. But thanks to some Scooby Doo-esque reveals, nobody is actually as scary as they initially seem… Scare-o-meter level: 4/10.
What’s your favorite scary monster? The Atlas of Monsters and Ghosts identifies mythical creatures of lore, both familiar (Chimera, Yeti, La Llorona) and unfamiliar (Smok Wawelski, Humbaba, Yara-Ma-Yha-Who) by region. It is a wonderfully atmospheric experience, reading this book – it has a similar feel to the Dragonology and Wizardology books, sure to have children imagining that they’re monster hunters dusting off some enormous, long-forgotten volume to get to the bottom of a case… with an introduction written by none other than Van Helsing. Scare-o-meter level: 5/10.
Halloween A B C is a series of poems by Eve Merriam, each paired with an illustration by Lane Smith. Smith is known for his collaborations with Jon Scieszka — most popularly, The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs. His illustrations have such depth and texture that spawn an unsettling, intriguing aura: they’re bizarre in the best, most hypnotizing way. Paired with Merriam’s poems, you’ll turn the page haunted with questions more often than not. Scare-o-meter level: 7/10.
One last pop-up book for your consideration: Haunted House by Jan Pieńkowski. It truly feels like a campy carnival ride: skeletons are jumping out of closets, cockroaches are hiding in the cabinets, bats are swooping down from the attic. Treat yourself and explore this 1970s neon-infused fever dream of a haunted house with silly, spooky surprises at every turn. Scare-o-meter level: 3/10.
Celebrate with us at Smiley Library this Halloween! Choose a few scary books and show off your costume to Miss Kristina and me in the Young Readers’ Room — we will be also be dressed up in the Young Readers’ Room on Friday, October 31! ~Miss Emily