The Best Halloween Picture Books of 2020
This is my favorite list of the year hands down. Researching all of the new spooky and Halloween-themed picture books is a true pleasure. My love of spooky children’s books is well-documented, and I very much look forward to the time of year that Halloween books start to hit the shelves.
Of course the hard part can be narrowing down which books make the list, and then deciding which book to crown as the best Halloween book of the year. And this year was no exception. In fact, there turned out to be so many great Halloween books that we expanded our list to 15 new books that we definitely think deserve your attention.
As always, some of the books on this list are genuinely spooky, and some feature a much more lighthearted Halloween theme. The actual spooky books always hold a special place in my heart, and I’ll definitely point them out so you can better make your decision - based on the age of your kids and whether or not they like being scared a little!
But picture books that actually scare kids are still unfortunately a rare beast - so you’ll see that the majority of this year’s crop of Halloween books aren’t spooky at all. A good deal of them are actually quite funny. And they all do a fantastic job of capturing the love of the Halloween season.
Hopefully our list will help you find some great new books to celebrate this Halloween with all of the little Halloween fans in your life. It’s not too late to go browse the Halloween displays at your favorite local bookshop, or put all of the books below on hold at the public library. There’s just no better way to celebrate the season than with a great spooky story!
Disclosure: Some of the links in this article are affiliate links. Clicking on these links will lead you to view the books’ listings on websites like Amazon or IndieBound.
15. When Pumpkins Fly
Written by Margaret Lawrence and Illustrated by Amanda Sandland & Margaret Lawrence
When Pumpkins Fly is a fascinating exploration of Halloween in the fly-in community of Sanikiluaq, Nanavut. Pumpkins flying refers to the fact that pumpkins for Halloween actually have to be flown in on airplanes every year. It’s truly a great eye-opening kind of story for children - with a sweet little glimpse at how Halloween is celebrated in the Arctic Inuit community.
I have to admit, my personal favorite part of this book is the tunnaat - ancient, wise, scary beings that come to visit the community at nighttime to find things that they need. Quite frankly their appearance in the book came out of nowhere, and I relish the unexpected, spooky flavor they brought to the whole thing. And the artist’s interpretation of their creepy shadow is just perfect.
14. Runaway Pumpkins
Written by Teresa Bateman and Illustrated by Stephanie Fizer Coleman
Runaway Pumpkins tells the tale of the time-honored tradition of a school field trip to a pumpkin patch. Fall field trips make for a great setting in a book, because so many people can relate to that happy feeling. We certainly have a favorite pumpkin patch in our family that we visit every year, and I can picture the feeling it gives me quite well.
The story takes an unfortunate turn of events when all of the pumpkins on the school bus accidentally come pouring out onto the street on the way back to school - but it all turns out well. The illustrations do a great job capturing the feel of autumn - and my very favorite spread depicts the kids imagining what kinds of jack o’ lanterns they’re going to build. And on the last page you’ll get a bonus gift: a real recipe for caramel frosted pumpkin cookies.
13. How to Build a Haunted House
Written by Frank Tupta and Illustrated by Kyle Beckett
How to Build a Haunted House is framed around rhyming text that introduces you to various monsters in the town as they work together to build a house for the newest residents moving in. The highlight of the book for us is the great art by Kyle Beckett that gives the whole thing a colorful, wacky, zany Halloween vibe - a lot like watching the movie Hotel Transylvania. It’s classic monsters acting like completely normal citizens.
The pieces of poem on each page are short - giving Beckett a lot of room to play with his quirky artistic interpretation and decide what the characters are doing. And I think it’s actually very fair to say that if your kids like Hotel Transylvania, they’re probably going to enjoy meeting the characters in this book quite a bit. A quick glance at Frankenstein and The Wolf Man on the cover really captures the fun spirit of the book quite well.
12. We’re Going on a Goon Hunt
Written and Illustrated by Michael Rex
The creator of the very popular Goodnight Goon parody has done it again with We’re Going on a Goon Hunt - a spooky parody of the family-favorite We’re Going on a Bear Hunt. Our kids absolutely adored We’re Going on a Bear Hunt and memorized every word growing up - so this spooky parody is a very big hit for us. The moment of realization when our 4-year-old noticed what this book was parodying was just adorable.
Keep an eye on the little one dressed up like a pink unicorn. It’s hilarious that he or she is the only one in the family not terrified of all the spooky things they encounter. The book is truly a lot of fun, and some of the pictures of the monsters are actually a little scary. Especially the spooky surprise ending that was definitely NOT in We’re Going on a Bear Hunt.
11. I Love My Fangs!
Written and Illustrated by Kelly Leigh Miller
Little Dracula has lost one of his fangs - and he’s pretty upset about the whole thing. He doesn’t quite get the idea that his fang was only a baby tooth and will be replaced by a larger and stronger fang very soon. Instead he tries to stick the tooth back in his mouth. Maybe he can tie it or tape it back in there?
This book is really very funny. And the terrific art brings out a lot of the humor. I like the style of this book a lot and it’s very inviting to kids. Perhaps the funniest moment is when the Tooth Fairy comes and Dracula fights her for his fang. It reminds us a lot of how our son doesn’t want the Tooth Fairy to take his teeth either - he just wants her to leave money AND his tooth behind. Surely we aren’t the only ones who can relate with that?
10. It’s Halloween, Little Monster
Written by Helen Ketteman and Illustrated by Bonnie Leick
This book captures the feeling of going trick-or-treating for the first time so well. Little Monster has a little bit of trepidation about the whole thing - mostly because of all of the scary costumes out there. But the truly hilarious thing is that all of the characters in the book are actual monsters - and Little Monster (also an actual monster) is scared of the spooky costumes the other monsters are wearing.
I really love to see artists tackle trick-or-treating. Oftentimes you’ll see that Halloween books will give 1 page to trick-or-treating, but this one is completely dedicated to it. It’s full of costumes and decorations - and Leick has put together some incredible two-page spreads. And that pure, spooky, Halloween joy shines through.
9. She Wanted to be Haunted
Written by Marcus Ewert and Illustrated by Susie Ghahremani
This one is built on a funny concept - a cute house is sad because she actually wanted to be a spooky haunted house. How do you come up with this stuff? Her mom is a witch’s hut and her dad is a gloomy castle, but she’s a small, cheery, pink house. It’s very funny with clever and well-timed humor, and it should make kids laugh out loud quite a few times.
In something that’s a bit of a trend in this year’s crop of Halloween books - there’s also a lesson to be found here about finding happiness while being true to yourself. You don’t necessarily have to follow in your parent’s footsteps, or become overly worried with your outward appearance in any way. And I have to say the funny ending with a surprise appearance from a unicorn actually wraps the story up quite well.
8. Vampires of Blinsh
Written by Daniel Pinkwater and Illustrated by Aaron Renier
What to say about Vampires of Blinsh? It’s kind of like if vampires were introduced to the Busytown world of Richard Scarry. What really stands out is not necessarily any kind of plot - but the the highly-detailed illustrations packed with various townspeople. People are bitten by vampires, but that fact is very much downplayed to completely normalize the fact that vampires living in this town is just a way of life.
This is one of the few books on this list that I would say are primarily for slightly older kids - kids who will appreciate a little bit of dark humor and aren’t scared too much by vampires biting someone. With that out of the way, there is so much fun to have with this book. As far as I’m concerned, a touch of spookiness is always a plus. It’s such a quirky and creative look at how vampires are just misunderstood individuals. And you and the kids could truly spend several minutes looking at the details on every single page.
7. That Monster on the Block
Written by Sue Ganz-Schmitt and Illustrated by Luke Flowers
On the surface it’s a funny picture book about monsters and a fish-out-of-water situation involving a clown that moves to town. But it’s also very clearly about accepting those who are different than us. It turns out to be a very useful tool for teaching kids about discrimination and judging others. And it’s all wrapped up in a beautiful, colorful Halloween bow.
The illustrations are done by Luke Flowers who is a big favorite of ours. I can’t stress enough how much personality he injects into his work. It’s always a pleasure to pore over his books and enjoy the details together. His characters always have such amazing personality and the aesthetic just fits us very well. And when empathy and Halloween collide - what’s not to like?
6. The Little Kitten
Written and Illustrated by Nicola Killen
The Little Kitten was an instant hit with both my 4-year-old daughter and my 8-year-old son. We just adopted 3 cats into our family and they’re pretty obsessed with all things cats rights now. So this story of a little girl dressed in a cat costume, playing outside with her cat, and finding another lost kitten along the way, was obviously a sure-fire success story waiting to happen.
I have no doubt that everybody is going to love what they discover inside this book. It’s crafted so beautifully - with shiny, metallic leaves and little cut outs on the pages to peep through. It’s a book of adventure and discovery - like tumbling down the rabbit hole in the deep dark woods on a fall day. It’s a beautiful celebration of childhood and autumn and cats and Halloween. And the discovery of who the lost cat belongs to is perfectly subtle and brilliant.
5. Monsters 101
Written and Illustrated by Cale Atkinson
Cale Atkinson followed up his funny and informative Unicorns 101 with the equally enjoyable Monsters 101 this year, and it’s been quite the hit with our son. This formula of explaining a topic such as monsters in over-the-top detail like you’re sitting in a classroom is really a lot of fun.
Atkinson breaks the lessons into sections such as biology, history, diet, and fears. And the entire book is dripping with clever humor and Atkinson’s signature art style - quite creative and full of fun details. It’s very much worth pointing out that Atkinson is definitely one of our favorite illustrators out there. And I have no doubt that every little monster fan out there will enjoy the lessons Monsters 101 - and be proud of the diploma they’ll earn at the end.
Make sure to check out our interview with Cale Atkinson as well, when we chatted about his other amazing Halloween book - Sir Simon: Super Scarer.
4. Frankenstein Doesn’t Wear Earmuffs!
Written and Illustrated by John Loren
I think it’s clear that Frankenstein Doesn’t Wear Earmuffs! is the funniest Halloween book of the year. In fact, it’s probably going to end up one of the funniest books of the year period. It features a boy who is not exactly happy about spoiling his Frankenstein costume with all of the gloves, scarves, rain boots, and earmuffs that his mom wants to add for the weather.
And the genius of the book is the fact that the children in the book are repeatedly represented by the realistic interpretations of their costumes in their imaginations - much like the way that kids in Costume Quest transform into their costumes. And the way that Loren depicts this beautiful display of childhood imagination is what transforms this one from a quality funny picture book into a very special tribute to Halloween. The side-by-side of the kids in costume and what they look like in their heads is just masterful.
3. Poesy The Monster Slayer
Written by Cory Doctorow and Illustrated by Matt Rockefeller
Poesy The Monster Slayer is the undisputed winner of the “spooky picture book of the year” competition. If you’re in the market for a book that’s actually a little bit scary and not just a light-hearted interpretation of Halloween - this is the one for you. My 8-year-old son and I absolutely adore this book about Poesy, who feels a little bit like a young Buffy the Vampire Slayer in charge of defeating the evil hiding in her bedroom.
The illustrations and the lighting in this book are truly magnificent - and the monsters are very cool and very scary. It feels to me like a slightly more mature picture book - absolutely perfect for our graphic-novel obsessed 8-year-old. For instance, Poesy actually removes Frankenstein’s head and attaches it to the body of a teddy bear. It’s dark and the perfect amount of spooky - and Poesy is like an awesome, empowered little super hero out to empower kids not to be afraid of nighttime. We are completely in love with Poesy over here.
2. Gustavo, The Shy Ghost
Written and Illustrated by Flavia Z. Drago
Gustavo has immediately earned himself a spot on our list of favorite ghosts of all time. It’s absolutely impossible not to love this little guy. He finds it hard to talk to people and make friends, a feeling that the author points out was inspired by her own feelings in kindergarten. Gustavo is also an artist, and he loves nothing more than playing his violin.
Drago’s art style is absolutely delightful. It makes us so happy to look at. The spooky characters are magnificent, and the details of her illustrations are just the very best kind of quirky you can imagine. There’s no doubt at all that we are going to greatly anticipate anything she works on in the future.
You are going to be rooting for Gustavo in this book, and his search for companionship is going to bring you a lot of joy. And you’re also going to be left with a very good lesson about being yourself and doing what you love. This is a special one.
1. The Little Ghost Who Was a Quilt
Written by Riel Nason and Illustrated by Byron Eggenschwiler
Our favorite Halloween book of the year is The Little Ghost Who Was a Quilt - and I don’t think it will take you long to see why it’s such a well-deserved honor. A mere glance at the cover art will even give you a good idea of how well-constructed this picture book is. Everything from the endpapers to the choice of font is spectacularly manicured making for a wonderful work of art.
And obviously the story and the illustrations themselves completely back up the reason for the attention to detail that this book received. I can’t overstate the magnificence of the art inside this book. The dark, gray color-scheme and the Halloween details capture the mood and the season remarkably well. And they go a very long way in making you fall in love with The Little Ghost.
Unlike the other ghosts who are made of plain white sheets, the main character here is made from a big, heavy, patched quilt. And the story itself turns out to be a wonderful lesson about feeling different and dealing with bullying - and ultimately loving yourself for who you are. And the entire concept is just a spectacularly creative idea. Somehow the book just exudes autumn and comfort and love - and my goodness does it look good.
For more Halloween picture book ideas, make sure to check out:
The Best Halloween Books of 2019
The Best Halloween Books of All Time
Have you read any of our new favorite Halloween books yet? Have you discovered any other new favorites? Let us know in the comments! And Happy Halloween!
