It’s almost time for the zombies over there to break out of the ground, Frankenstein’s monster to be electrified into life, and witches to be soaring over the moon (forget the cows! 😉 )! I love this time of the year! I am imagining all the CANDY I will be getting in a couple of days. I have to admit, I have no plan if the person picks “trick” over treat. I mean when kids say “trick or treat,” does anyone actually choose “trick?” 🙂 (Actually, someone did that once. I scared them so much with my horrible singing, I got twice as much candy! Try that at home someone else’s house! 😉 )
Enough with that silliness! I have some fun Halloween books I have recently read to tell you about!
First up is –
My Weird School Special: It’s Halloween, I’m Turning Green!
by Dan Gutman
illustrated by Jim Paillot
age 7+ – 144 pages
Published by HarperCollins on July 23, 2013
AJ and his Weird School friends are all ready to go trick-or-treating. Things don’t turn out quite as expected when a monster steals all their candy and the kids find out the monster is after Mrs. Yonkers’s (their technology teacher) machine that makes everything giant (the kids want to use the machine to make their candy giant). Can the kids keep their candy safe or will Halloween be ruined?
I am a fan of Dan Gutman books. His Weird School series is always guaranteed to be a fun read. I love Mr. Gutman’s humor and I think he writes this series really well for younger kids. This is a perfect book if you are looking for a fun Halloween story that isn’t super scary but has a lot of mystery and fun in it. I like that there are Halloween-themed games and puzzles included in the book. It is a nice addition.
Four out of five book worms for this silly Halloween story!
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Here is a cute picture book –
A Monster Ate My Kittens
The Koller Boys
Illustrated by Nic Koller
Published by Last Resort Press on October 15, 2013
ebook reviewed – ages 5+
Available as an ebook click HERE.
A little boy and his dog are sure that a monster ate their kittens! The three kittens can’t be found and obviously it has to be the work of a kitten craving creep! The boy and his dog plan on what they will do when they come face to face with the monster.
This book had me at the title! I really liked the story in this book. I love the twist at the end of the story (you’ll have to read it to find out 😉 ). The illustrations are cute and brightly colored.
This is a perfect Halloween book if you are looking for a monster-theme but don’t want anything too scary (and FYI the kittens really didn’t get eaten so don’t worry 😉 ). The story is simple and easy enough for a kid to read by himself (or herself).
To learn more about this book, please visit the Monster Book website by clicking HERE!
Four out of five book worms for this cute monster story any kid can enjoy!
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Here is a spooky one!
One Dark Halloween Night!
by John Kohlbrenner
283 pages – ages 9+
Available as an ebook – click HERE
Published by 7S Publishing on September 13, 2013
Autumnville, the town Jason and his friends live in, is in danger! The unbelievable has happened, Halloween creatures have formed a huge army and are getting ready to attack! Jason and his friends are afraid to tell anyone about this sinister plot they uncovered because they think no one will believe them. The monsters feed on fear and there is plenty of that around except for around Jason. He has a condition where he feels no fear so he is not afraid of them. It is up to 12-year-old Jason and his young friends to stop them before it’s too late!
This book is a good read for middle graders. There are some characters that get eaten by a monster, but there is nothing graphic, it just hints at most of it. I am not a huge fan of horror, but I really enjoyed this story because it is suspenseful and had some humor mixed in at the right places. I liked the plot of the story and it kept me turning the pages to see what happens next. I did find several punctuation and other editing errors in the text. Overall, I liked Mr. Kohlbrenner’s writing style and am glad he wrote a scary book that is appropriate for middle grade readers.
Check out the creepy-cool trailer for the book!
To learn more about this book, please visit the official website HERE!
If you are looking for a scary read for Middle Grade readers, this one is for you!
Four out of five bookworms for One Dark Halloween Night
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How about a Halloween Seek-n-Find?
Rumpus on the Run! A Monster Look-N-Find Book
Written and Illustrated by Jess Smart Smiley
38 pages – ages 5+
Published by Mascot Books October 15, 2013
Available in hardcover click HERE
Forget about finding Waldo – where has the Rumpus gone? The Rumpus is a funny, evil, green monster that has gotten loose and is going to cause lots of trouble if you don’t find him (along with other items) hidden in some pretty zany settings like the Monster Art Show and the Turtle Derby!
I really like seek and find books. I thought this one was done very well. It was hard for me to find a couple of the items, so it’s good that it isn’t too easy. I especially liked how Mr. Smiley made the Rumpus a different color on each page, making it harder to find him. I thought the pictures and themes of the pages were fun. There is definitely a lot to look at on each page. There is a section at the back of the book that gives you more things to go back and find after you get done.
To learn more about this and other books by Mr. Smiley, please visit his website HERE.
Five out of five book worms for the very fun Rumpus on the run!
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Finally, a Halloween Super-Hero!
All Hallows Eve in the 21st Century!
By David Eveleigh
Published on Smashwords Oct. 12, 2013
20,940 Words – ages 8+
Available as an ebook HERE!
A super-heroine from the future (The Pink Pineapple) is teleported back into the 1950s (the time that the All Hallows Eve stories take place) by a super-villain. The Pink Pineapple tries to steal a newly invented time machine to get back to the future. Eve stops her, thinking that The Pink Pineapple was a bad-guy (girl), but realizes she has to help her return to the future. Eve teams up with her and they both travel to the future (October 31st 2013 to be exact) to stop a group of evil super villain calling themselves “The Unjust Deserts” from taking over the world. Eve also finds a surprising truth about herself that will change her thoughts about being All Hallows Eve.
What is better than Halloween? Halloween with a new story about my favorite pumpkin wearing super-heroine! Mr. Eveleigh’s comic novellas and comics about Eve are a favorite of mine. There is a bunch of humor in this story and I think Eve is a believable teenage character even though she has super-powers. Mr. Eveleigh’s writing style is good for kids and adults and he makes his stories a fun read. I really like the twist at the end of the book!
Five out of five bookworms for my favorite Halloween super-heroine!
Happy Halloween, Erik! Great reviews! When I was a kid, in my building kids had punch bowls with grape juice and plastic eye balls that they used to “trick” the little kids into thinking it was blood. You could hear the shrieks, ewws (sp?) and giggles all the way down the hall.
That is an AWESOME trick Ms. Newman! 😀
Wow! What a great roundup of Halloweenie books!
When kids come trick or treating I sometimes say, “trick,” and they have no idea what to do. No one wants to earn their candy these days. A song or a joke, maybe?
Hmmmm, I see that you’re up to 139 points. Way to go!
What’s your favorite kind of candy? I always liked Krackle or Crunch. Anything chocolate, basically. 🙂
HA! I’d love for someone to actually tell me they want the trick! 😀 My favorite candy is Twix bars and then Kit Kats are next and pretty much anything chocolate. My favorite treat is a caramel apple (does that count as candy?).
I have a new update for Reading for Renn tomorrow! 😉
You have quite a variety of books for Halloween! Which to choose? I always have to do tricks for my treats. Singing and playing dead are my most requested. One time at a hospital we had one of the patients sing and then I dropped dead. She thought that was funny and I got lots of treats.
Ha ha! I love your trick Rhythm! 🙂
Thank you for the great reviews, Erik! I’ll have to check these books out. I laughed at your “trick” of singing. Ha Ha! Happy Halloween! 🙂
Thank you Ms. Secomb! You should hear me sing, then you’d agree! 😉
Great variety of Halloween book reviews, Erik. I like your first choice! Great idea for a book. I haven’t read one Halloween book. We don’t even get trick-or-treaters in our neighborhood. No kids.
Thank you Ms. Tilton! Dan Gutman has a great sense of humor and is a terrific writer. We have that same problem at our house. We don’t get any trick-or-treaters because we live out in the country. we usually go into town to get our candy! Happy Halloween! 🙂
Well, you made me think. I can’t let Halloween go by without a book review. So I pulled up and revised a review I wrote of a favorite old book before very few people knew my blog. Will run it tomorrow.
Cool! I’ll have to check it out! 🙂
I’m not a fan of kittens, but I would not want them to be eaten by a monster! That is extreme. You chose a great variety of Halloween books, E. I wish there was a nonfiction book called Cupcake Eats a Bellyful of Candy….
Love and licks,
Cupcake
Hmm… Maybe the writer lady you’re posing with in the picture can write that? 🙂
Ack! The Monster Ate My Kittens? Ewww, I don’t think that one would go over well in this house – even if they didn’t really get eaten. 🙂 Now we are big fans of those Look-n-Find type books. Great list, Erik. Thanks for sharing.
~Cool Mom
PS – Way to go on the Reading for Renn points. We can’t wait to see what you end up with in a few days.
Thanks Cool mom – and no kittens were injured in the making of this post. 🙂
Thanks again for another glowing review, Erik. I hope you and your sister have a safe and fun Halloween 🙂 What are you going to be dressing as this year?
And don’t worry, Eve will be back.
I shall be going as – ERIK THE RED – the plundering terrible viking! Josie is going to be the bride of Frankenstein. 😉
For Halloween I’m reading Nancy Drew and the Clue of the Velvet Mask. The cover looks scary. You have a fine collection of Halloween books listed here.
I haven’t read that one! I like Nancy Drew – I’ll have to check it out!
I thought the customary response was to throw your dirty socks at someone and pants them!
Hmm that is a good trick although I am not sure what “pants them” is… and I am not sure want to find out! 😉
“If you don’t, I don’t care, I’ll pull down your underwear!” The song still goes that way, no?????
OH – UNDERpants! 😉 “Trick or Treat, smell my feet! Give me sumthin’ good to eat! If you don’t, I don’t care – I’ll pull down your underwear!” 🙂
We’ve got that first one but haven’t read it yet. Never heard of the rest, cheers Erik!
Check them out! You may find one you like! 🙂
Now I know what I’m missing out by way of halloween-themed books, most of these are e-books! AHA. My kindle fire is sadly under-utilized, my husband simply uses it to listen to the radio (it has better audio than our iPad) – but other than that, I don’t get to use it at all. The cover of that David Eveleigh book looks cool. Will check it out using my kindlefire. 🙂
I LOVE Mr. Eveleigh’s All Hallows Eve series! I hope you like them!