The Best Halloween Picture Books of 2022
Every single year we gather up all of the spookiest new picture books and the best celebrations of Halloween and rank them in our annual list of the best Halloween picture books of the year. I also very much enjoy our annual Christmas book list, but there’s a special place in my heart for Halloween, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t look forward to this list the most.
Throughout the years, I’ve actually put a lot of thought into what constitutes a Halloween picture book. I used to wonder if I should be strict about the mentioning of Halloween itself for a book to qualify for this list. But that would rule out dozens of picture books featuring witches, vampires, and other monsters that are very obviously perfect for the Halloween season.
As a big fan of scary picture books for kids, I’ve decided to officially make our interpretation as lax as possible - while always maintaining the wonderful, spooky Halloween spirit this annual list is meant to celebrate. So, what makes a Halloween picture book? You know it when you see it. Monsters? Check. Scared of what’s hiding in the dark? Check. Trick-or-treating? Double check.
The one thing I’ll say is that overt mentions of Halloween are always going to get bonus points from me on this list. I’m nothing if not a sucker for a beautifully-illustrated, two-page spread of kids trick-or-treating. But, first and foremost, this is a list of books perfect for reading during the Halloween season. It’s the best opportunity of the year to celebrate all of the new quirky monsters and all of the new spooky stories.
This year we’ve compiled a perfect top 10 list - the top 10 Halloween picture books of 2022. And we’ve tossed in a couple of bonus books at the end as well. They didn’t technically qualify for the list for different reasons (one isn’t a picture book and one is a re-release) - but they absolutely deserve your October attention nonetheless!
Picking the winner of our Halloween list is a big deal. We have a trio of major annual picture book lists on Dad Suggests - Halloween, Christmas, and Best of the Year. And the winners tend to be quite special. They’ll certainly go down in history and be remembered for a long time - at least in our family! I’m excited to announce this year’s Halloween winner, and I hope you enjoy counting down with us.
I’d like to thank all of the authors and illustrators who still make scary picture books, and still use their imaginations to think up new monsters for us to love - whether they’re endearing or terrifying. And I’d like to thank the publishers of every book on this list. So many kids love Halloween, and so many kids legitimately adore being scared a little. Thank you for creating those memories for them! And Happy Halloween, everybody!
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10. The Scariest Story You’ve Ever Heard
Written by Ron Keres and Illustrated by Arthur Lin
This new spooky book has been compared to The Book with No Pictures because it uses primarily text only to tell a good old-fashioned scary story in the oral tradition - complete with lots of creepy sound effects that the reader is in charge of. And it pulls it all off quite effectively!
It’s not completely pictureless, because the final page is fully illustrated, and I actually like the illustration style of Arthur Lin quite a bit! For that reason it’s a bit of a shame it’s the only illustration in the book, but it’s important for the point of the story that the listeners are using their imaginations the entire time. You want them to be imagining what the scary noises in the house could be right along with the characters in the book.
When we first got The Scariest Story You’ve Ever Heard in our home, my 9-year-old son immediately picked it up independently, and read through it quickly while standing by the table. I think he was drawn in by the title, and he was most certainly pulled along to the end by the spooky text and a desire to figure out the source of the scary noises.
9. Trick-or-Treat Alistair Gray
Written by Lindy Ryan and Illustrated by Timea Gazdag
I love this original Halloween story about a boy named Alistair Gray, and I’d love to see more content like this every year - from someone who clearly loves the holiday. Alistair is disappointed with the lack of scares on Halloween, and he’s not happy when he sees how many other kids are wearing non-spooky costumes like fairies and doctors and astronauts. He thinks Halloween is supposed to be scary!
That’s when he bumps into a very scary creature that teaches him that Halloween can be a mix of fun and frights. This creature, much like a scarecrow monster with a jack-o-lantern head, is a terrifying creation. In fact, I’m very impressed that this picture book does not shy away from spooky illustrations. Not only does it deliver on the spooky imagery that Alistair Gray craves, but it comes with a great message that there’s more than one right way to celebrate Halloween.
8. How to Catch a Witch
Written by Alice Walstead and Illustrated by Megan Joyce
This book belongs to the series of “How to Catch a…” books. And this is without a doubt my favorite of the series that we’ve read so far. The series seems to have a book for every holiday and every creature you can imagine, and, let’s be honest, it’s probably a lot harder to make something interesting out of St. Patrick’s Day than Halloween.
Halloween turns out to be a great setting for this series. You can earn a lot of good will by having handsome illustrations of kids trick-or-treating in a variety of costumes. I’m a sucker for that kind of stuff. And my kids really like the concept of the booby traps in these books. The funniest one this time is probably a stand of free bristles for making brooms. Will the witch fall for that one?
7. Countdown to Halloween
Written and Illustrated by Greg Paprocki
Another series that specializes in all of the holidays is Greg Paprocki’s series of board books. I love every single one of them. I think his art is fantastic. Our kids have probably outgrown to the target audience, but I can’t stop buying them. There’s so much detail on the pages and they really capture the spirit of the holidays every single time.
This board book is a classic countdown from 10 to 1 - and each page also is a seek-and-find for hidden objects. The settings bounce from a corn maze, to a haunted house, to a school carnival, and more. There’s even a page dedicated to watching a scary movie together. It always strikes me that Greg Paprocki is an expert at pinpointing the little moments that make the holidays special and memorable, and it’s always a real pleasure to explore a new one.
6. If Your Babysitter is a Bruja
Written by Ana Siqueira and Illustrated by Irena Freitas
This book bounces back and forth between English and Spanish, and serves as a great way to learn a little bit of new vocab in a second language. The Spanish is tossed in in a very effective way, where kids will often understand what the word is using only context clues from the text and the illustrations. Plus, it has some fantastic Halloween atmosphere to boot.
The story is a lighthearted warning about the possibility that you might have a babysitter who is a witch. If it’s close to Halloween, and you get a new babysitter, look out! Some of the story focuses on how to get rid of her, but soon we find out that having a witch babysitter might not be as bad as it sounds. It’s a really fun, original story for Halloween, and it’s beautifully illustrated as well. All in all it’s a very charming new Halloween book that won’t soon be forgotten.
5. The Crayons Trick or Treat
Written by Drew Daywalt and Illustrated by Oliver Jeffers
I like the Crayons books from Drew Daywalt and Oliver Jeffers. It’s a clever concept and they always make me laugh. The only complaint I have about this one is that I really can’t understand why it’s so tiny. It seems like such a strange decision to me and I’ve never seen such a small new hardcover like this - roughly the size of a board book or maybe even smaller. But of course that has no effect at all on the quality of the story and illustrations.
The crayons are dressed up for Halloween and they are out trick-or-treating, but they can’t get it quite right. Purple keeps giving them instructions like be more polite or be spookier, but it’s just not working out. The rest of the crayons are pretty clueless, and it’s very funny stuff. Like I said, these crayons always make me laugh a lot. I’m also happy to say that they are joined by a ghost friend in this one, and he’s pretty good at helping the hapless crayons with the spooky part of Halloween.
4. The Most Haunted House in America
Written by Jarrett Dapier and Illustrated by Lee Gatlin
I didn’t know what to expect from a book about a haunted White House. I wasn’t sure what the point of the setting was when I heard about it. Was this going to be an educational book? Well, the answer is mostly no, unless you count the author’s note in the back. It explains how some historians consider the White House to be the most haunted house in America, and other details, like how Mary Todd Lincoln once held a seance in the Red Room.
But the book itself is a perfectly spooky fictional tale about a skeleton band that is invited to play at the White House by the Obamas. And room by room we follow them around as they are joined by the absolute coolest collection of Halloween creatures I’ve seen in a very, very long time. These illustrations are absolutely incredible. If you love spooky creatures and are searching for something that effectively captures the Halloween spirit, you absolutely have to check out this book. I can’t say enough positive things about the art from Lee Gatlin. Just wow.
3. Emi Isn’t Scared of Monsters
Written and Illustrated by Alina Tysoe
At this point, now that we’re in the top 3 best Halloween picture books of the year, I think it’s safe to say we’ve gotten into the part of our list where big decisions have to be made. I think I could have made a case for any one of the top 3 to be the best Halloween picture book of the year, and Emi Isn’t Scared of Monsters is most certainly no exception. Every year there seems to be a scary picture book that really surprises me and captures my heart in a big way, and this year that award goes to Emi Isn’t Scared of Monsters.
This is a masterfully constructed picture book - with truly beautiful art often organized into panels like a graphic novel. Emi is easy to fall in love with, and so is her dog cookie. Together they stay up late at night in her room and try to catch monsters - while safe under the covers. But then cookie runs off after a ball and Emi has to bravely venture into the dark to find her friend.
This book has absolutely everything we could possibly want. It’s cute, it’s scary, it’s funny, it’s endearing. Emi Isn’t Scared of Monsters is undeniably an instant classic in the genre of bedtime and being scared of the dark.
2. Creepy Crayon!
Written by Aaron Reynolds and Illustrated by Peter Brown
The uninformed observer might underestimate the Creepy Tales series featuring Jasper Rabbit (and I don’t think the fact that they made the second one about underwear helped with that very much). But, as we all know by now, true connoisseurs of Halloween and scary stories would be missing out tremendously if they passed on these books. Aaron Reynolds is clearly a fan and student of the structure and art of classic suspense, and it’s a true pleasure to share them with the kids.
Creepy Crayon! follows the well-known structure of an innocuous friend that turns out to be much more nefarious than you first imagined. Jasper finds a purple crayon that only seems to help. It even does his homework for him and he gets all A’s. But his relationship with the crayon quickly turns into a suspenseful tale of obsession. One morning Jasper Rabbit wakes up to see “YOU NEED ME” scribbled in purple on his mirror. It’s really wonderful stuff and, quite frankly, essential reading for introducing children to the joys of suspense.
1. Leila the Perfect Witch
Written and Illustrated by Flavia Z. Drago
Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night in a pool of sweat, freshly awoken from a nightmare where I failed to pick Gustavo the Shy Ghost as the best Halloween picture book of its year. Give me a break - it was a really strong year - but I won’t make that mistake again! Flavia Z. Drago has proven that Gustavo was no fluke, and that she is truly an expert in crafting page after page of quirky, endearing Halloween characters.
I don’t even care what the story is, I could look at Drago’s creations all day. And it’s not just the main characters. Every single background character is a delight. The judges of the cake contest, the other competitors, the friends, the frog sidekick, the paintings of relatives. They’re all amazing.
The story itself is also very sweet. Leila wants to win the cake contest, because she comes from a long line of experts in the Dark Arts of Patisserie. And her friends come to the rescue to help her in her time of need. It ends up being a great lesson in placing pressure on yourself, and in what’s really important in life. Plus, we get a surprise cameo from Gustavo the Shy Ghost himself. And my goodness is it all just the most heartwarming art ever.
Bonus Halloween Books!
Hocus Pocus: The Illustrated Novelization
Written by A. W. Jantha and Illustrated by Gris Grimly
Gris Grimly is the king of spooky art for kids, and I couldn’t imagine a better person to illustrate this special edition of Hocus Pocus. There are unbelievably beautiful 2-page spreads inspired by the famous movie in this book. I have a lot of nostalgia for that movie, and it brings me a lot of joy to see it treated with such care. And the only thing that kept it off of this top 10 list is the fact that it’s a novel.
The illustrations are magnificent, but they’re not on every page. The book is oversized, however. Almost as big as a standard picture book. I love that choice, because it’s a great way to show off how special it is. It reminds me of semi-illustrated novels like Warren the 13th. And, just like those books, Hocus Pocus is truly the perfect October read-aloud for me and the kids.
Scary Stories
Written by Tony Johnston and Illustrated by Tomie dePaola
Scary Stories was originally published in 1978, and it was republished in 2022. I considered adding it to this list, but I felt a little funny about it, and decided on adding it as a bonus title. I can’t believe I never heard of this one before - considering the fact that I love scary stories and Tomie dePaola, but perhaps it’s because it’s been out of print for a while.
One thing to know about this collection of 4 scary stories is that they really aren’t very scary at all. This is definitely a spooky book with very young children in mind. Despite the fact that it stars little monsters - an imp, a goblin, and a scalawag - their tales are extremely innocent. It’s a good introduction to the general idea of sitting around a fire and trying to scare each other, without the nightmares. And, of course, Tomie dePaola’s art brings it to another level and makes this book very special indeed.
For more great Halloween picture books, make sure to check out all of our past lists:
The Best Halloween Picture Books of 2021
The Best Halloween Picture Books of 2020
The Best Halloween Picture Books of 2019
The Best Halloween Picture Books for Kids
And, if your kids really liked to be spooked, check out:
The Best Scary Picture Books for Kids
The Best Scary Stories for Kids
