Halloween 2025 Reading List
As Seen on CTV Your Morning
Halloween is my favourite season! Here are eight Canadian books for kids and teens, ranging from silly to spine-tingling, and perfect for the BEST time of year. This list was originally shared on October 20th on CTV Your Morning. You can watch here at the 1.20.08 mark.
Picture Books
The Witching Hour reimagines the concept of ‘the witching hour’ as the period of time in which a baby will not fall asleep, something all parents can relate to. The two witches in this book try all sorts of methods, both magical and mundane, to get their baby to sleep. This bedtime book is full of playful language and luminous art, perfect for bedtime. Beverly, Bat Your Service introduces readers to the sweetest, most well-intentioned bat Beverly, who loves to host. Unfortunately Beverly’s methods prove a bit frightening for his new human house guests. But never fear, Beverly’s wish comes true (in un unexpected way) in the end. Kelly Collier excels at creating enthusiastic characters (like Skunk from The Imposter) who overcome initial disappointment to find their true community. Presented as a ‘true’ story, Vampire Jam Sandwich addresses the reader directly, warning them to be on the lookout for a sandwich who was turned into a vampire and now stalks kitchens and pantries everywhere. This spoof of a scary story is a particularly great read aloud. When Pumpkins Fly explores how Halloween is celebrated in a Northern Inuit community where pumpkins must be flown in. This community story thoughtfully weaves local ancestor traditions with Halloween rituals.
Novels
Teddy vs the Snuggly Menace is the third book in the Secrets of Ravensbarrow series, featuring a boy who lives next to a wood full of monsters and creepy beings. In this adventure, Teddy must venture into the forest to rescue his beloved cat, leading to a series of adventurous that lean more humourous than horrifying. Short chapters, art, and other design elements made this an ideal read for ages 7-10. The wonderfully titled Free Piano (Not Haunted) is a middle grade graphic novel about an aspiring tween songwriter who discovers an old synthesizer only to find it is haunted by a 1980s pop star who was on the rise before her untimely death. The two team up to create music and become unlikely allies . In the YA novel Songs for Ghosts, Adam distracts himself from a recent break up by reading a series of letters he finds in an old wooden box written by a Japanese woman in 1911. Things get real quickly when the ghost of the letter writer compels Adam to finish her story, leading him to Japan on a journey of personal discovery. Songs for Ghosts is a rich ghost story that blends history and cultural identity. The Dark Cove Theatre Society is a gothic thriller that takes place an elite boarding school on a remote island off the coast of BC. Legend has it that every year a member of the elite secret-ish Theatre Society goes missing. Featuring a diverse cast of teen characters, this YA novel is just as much about teens tackling relatable personal demons as it is the supernatural.