The nights are drawing in; the temperature is dropping; spooky season is upon us. This autumn has delivered a wealth of stories to send shivers down your spine and make you hide underneath your blankets.
Trick or Treat? by Catherine Emmett & Laura Brenlla (Oxford University Press)
Trick or Treat? is a delightfully vibrant picture book that invites children to play with language as they explore a witchy theme. Brilliant description, wonderful alliteration and all the Hallowe’en vocabularly you can imagine will hold young readers under a spell as they anticipate what will happen to a little girl who knocks on the wrong door when trick or treating.
Everyone wears a costume on Hallowe’en, don’t they? That’s what this little girl assumes when she visits a creepy, creaky house in search of a treat. Impressed by all the “decorations” and the witch’s “costume”, she happily goes inside. Before long, she’s been tricked into climbing into the cauldron and becoming the final ingredient in a very special potion. But perhaps, this little girl has a trick of her own…
Colin’s Castle by Holly Swain (Farshore)
A vampire with big dreams and charming green duck who won’t leave him alone – Colin’s Castle is a wonderfully funny picture book that will have readers giggling with each page and trying to guess where the duck will turn up next.
Colin the vampire has just moved into his very own castle. It’s everything he’s ever hoped for until the duck shows up! No matter what he tries. he can’t make his castle a duck-free zone. The duck is in the bath, in the garden and even in his popcorn on movie night! What will it take for Colin to send this duck packing?
The illustrations of Colin and his duck are delightful and the details of the castle are brilliant! Who wouldn’t want a drawbridge controlled by a switch or a tiny castle snowglobe? This is definitely a book to enjoy together in the autumn term.
Isadora Moon Makes a Wish by Harriet Muncaster (Oxford University Press)
Isadora Moon is back! With a fairy mum and a vampire dad, she is never short on magic or adventure. In Isadora Moon Makes a Wish, this grumpy girl goes on a picnic with her family. When she wanders off and comes across a magical wishing well, the nymph who lives inside grants Isadora’s wish to enjoy the picnic and feel super happy, even though things aren’t going right. At first everything is great but soon Isadora realises she has a range of emotions for a reason and laughing all the time isn’t always the best thing. With the help of her mum, Isadora discovers true happiness and genuine emotion.
The Isadora Moon series is perfect for young readers ready to extend their reading with beautifully illustrated chapters. Charming characters, relatable situations and super fun magic make them so appealing!
Mirabelle and the Baby Dragons by Harriet Muncaster (Oxford University Press)
The Mirabelle series is absolutely charming and everything young readers want as they make the leap into longer chapter books. In Mirabelle and the Baby Dragons, wonderfully purply Mirabelle – half witch / half fairy – has the chance to visit a dragon sanctuary (taking her own baby dragon, Violet, with her)! It’s a dream come true!
There’s so much to learn and do at the dragon sanctuary. Caring for baby dragons is much more difficult than Mirabelle expected. It’s one “whoops” after another as things go wrong. But all the hard work is worth it when she gets to see the baby dragons back with their mother. This is a conservation story with a twist that could be easily related to the protection of regular animals too!
Ivy Newt and the Vampixies by Derek Keilty & Magda Brol (Scallywag Press)
The whole Ivy Newt series is just the thing for October! Ivy is such a delightful young witch. In her fourth magical adventure with her shape-shifting pal Tom, they travel to a faraway volcano in search of spell ingredients. Along the way, they come across a monster AND magic-sucking Vampixies who want to drain all the magic out of Miracula. There’s no way this wonderful pair will let that happen!
The Ivy Newt series is absolutely charming and so engaging. The detailed illustrations really help children to imagine these new friends who will stay with them forever!
Check out the rest of the series in some past blog posts:
The Story Shop: Creepy Capers! by Tracey Corderoy & Tony Neal (Little Tiger)
Creepy Capers is a “Fang-tastic” adventure for younger readers this autumn! Join Rex the lion cub as he visits The Story Shop – an unusual store that sells actual adventures! Anything could happen!
Three short stories break this fun book into manageable chunks. The Ghost Gang, Castle Chaos! and Yeti Trouble will have children racing through the pages, facing a vampire castle, trapdoors and mountain monsters!
There’s a whole series of fantastically illustrated The Story Shop books meaning children can return again and again to this predictable and super satisfying structure.
The Shop-Witch’s Quest by Aisha Bushby & Patri De Pedro (Barrington Stoke)
The Shop-Witch’s Quest is a gorgeous new book from the brilliant Aisha Bushby. Published by Barrington Stoke, it’s a super accessible, extra fun story for everyone to enjoy.
Laurel works in her parents’ magic shop. They provide all the supplies heroes need to go out and complete their quests – including extra fluffy pillows for a good night sleep. I love the sound of an all-weather tent enchanted to fold up small. My son needed that for his Scout camp this weekend! The shop is doing well until a big shopping centre opens up nearby. Business slows and they must do all they can to keep their customers happy. When the super-strength armour is out of stock, Laurel has to go on her own quest to find it and save the shop.
Kevin the Vampire: A Fanged and Fearsome Fiend by Matt Brown & Flavia Sorrentino (Nosy Crow)
Kevin the Vampire is a super-cool, super-nice young vampire with a fantastic pet called Dog, who isn’t actually a dog. In Kevin the Vampire: A Fanged and Fearsome Fiend, Kevin is invited for his ‘Gloaming’ – a test all 11 year olds have to take. If he can perform three key vampire skills, he’ll be presented with his vampire cape. The trouble is, Kevin’s not sure he’s going to pass. Will he be able to master the skills in time?
This book is perfect for kids who want to know the inside secrets for becoming a vampire. Highlights from the Big Vampire Book of Rules will keep them on their toes!
The Addams Family: Wednesday’s Library (Harper 360)
Nothing says Hallowe’en quite like the Addams Family. Wednesday’s Library celebrates all things creepy, kooky and peculiar. Overflowing with poetry and quotes that will give the most gothic fans chills, it is ideal for dipping into throughout the dark autumn months. This grusomely beautiful hardback opens with Edgar Allen Poe’s The Raven, setting the tone for classic quotes from Shakespeare, Grimm’s Fairy Tales, Charlotte Bronte, Bram Stoker, Robert Louis Stevenson and so many others. Wednesday’s Library is an absolute goldmine for any gothic literature topic.
Lockett & Wilde’s Dreadfully Haunting Mysteries: The Ghosts of the Manor by Lucy Strange & Pam Smy (Walker Books)
The Stitchwort Curse by Alexandra Dawe (Uclan Publishing)
The Stichwort Curse couldn’t be more perfect for the spooky season. An eccentric family, a centuries old curse and the notebooks of explorer ancestors come together to create a mysterious, enchanted tale of escape and finding a new life.
Etta always thought nothing ever happened at Stitchwort – the decaying, cobwebbed estate where she and her family live. That is, until unknown extended family arrive fleeing the Nazis and questions about who they are. Together Etta and her cousin, Felix, must find a way to break the curse and find safety for their family.
The Boy Who Cried Ghost by Ian Eagleton (Scholastic)
Witchspark by Dominique Valente (Usborne)
Whispering Hollow by Rachel Burge (Welbeck)
Whispering Hollow is the perfect book for snuggling down under a blanket on a cool autumn evening while the wind whistles through the trees. When Pippa visits her grandfather at his home in the forest, she’s sure something is watching them. A dark figure, a dark magic, a dark force that wants to harm them. Is there anything she can do to bring peace to her grandfather and this beautiful place?
This is a brilliantly magical story of hidden folk who make themselves known whether Pippa’s brother Jed wants to believe in them or not. The power of the faeries proves to be stronger than any of them imagined.
Midnight Treasure by Piers Torday (Hachette Children’s)
Midnight Treasure is an epic fantasy adventure that will have readers gripped from the very first page. This is a story of trust, truth and what it means to be mortal. With stunning world building, unforgettable characters and a quest with the highest of stakes, this is story not to be missed.
Many years ago, Tibor (a young werewolf) and Roza (a vampir who has been transformed into an Alsation dog) were adopted by a powerful vampir baron. As Spectre Night approaches – the time when Tibor will be fully grown and can finally transform fully – he struggles to keep his inner wolf at bay. Learning he has a unique gift which allows him to find the location of the most desired treaure in the entire world launches them both into a perilous journey of discovery.
Ghost Tide by Jim Cockin (Eye Books)
Mallory Vayle and the Curse of Maggoty Skull by Martin Howard (Nosy Crow)
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