Storytime Theme: Spooky, Not Scary

Today’s storytime is a great foray into “spooky” stories for our youngest readers! While not the super scary stories you read as you get older, for youngsters looking for spooky tales around Halloween, these nine books are sure to fit the bill. Always make sure to read a book before sharing it with a storytime group, or classroom, or even your own kids. You can usually get a good idea of whether or not kids are ready for what you’re reading, but it’s always nice to know exactly where the story is headed.

You can also make these books lighter or creepier depending on how you end up reading them, lower the lights and add some sound effects to make them even spookier, or talk through the storyline as you read to help kids prepare for the “scary” part.

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Storytime Theme: Spooky, Not Scary

Books

• The Baddies by Julia Donaldson, illustrated by Axel Scheffler
• Creepy Carrots! by Aaron Reynolds, illustrated by Peter Brown
• The Doghouse by Jan Thomas
• Hardly Haunted by Jessie Sima
• I Will Read to You by Gideon Sterer, illustrated by Charles Santoso
• In the Dark by Kate Hoefler, illustrated by Corinna Luyken
• The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything by Linda Willimas, illustrated by Megan Lloyd
• The Scariest Book Ever by Bob Shea
• There’s a Nightmare In My Closet by Mercer Mayer

Songs & Rhymes

• The Monsters Stomp Around the House – Jbrary
• Halloween Sounds – Laptime Songs
• If You’re Scary and You Know It – Stratford Library

Crafts & Activities

• Coffee Filter Monsters – One Little Project
• Mummy Paper Plate Lacing – Our Kid Things
• Upcycled Can Ghosts – Real Creative, Real Organized