Spooky Reads 2023
Halloween is just around the corner. Here are 8 spooky reads for kids and teens, as shared on CTV Your Morning on October 25, 2023.
Picture Books, Ages 3-7
First up, two classics in the making. The Little Ghost Who Was a Quilt is about a ghost who envies all the sheet ghosts out there. Made of a quilt, he feels slower, heavier, and generally more clumsy than his lighter friends. But is exactly this difference that captures the eye of a little girl on Halloween who brings him home and the Little Quilt finds himself on an exciting new adventure. Stumpkin is another misfit tale- this time a little stemless pumpkin watches all the other pumpkins around him get selected to go home and be transformed into a Jack-o-lantern. As Halloween night approaches Stumpkin worries he will never be a jack-o-lantern, but the store owner has a very special job for him.
Chapter Books, ages 5-9
For emerging readers, Boo! Hiss! is a sweet and silly graphic novel about a snake and a ghost who don’t agree on much, but decide to team up to scare their home’s new human residents away. Crimson Twill: Witch in the Country is a charming chapter book with a cozy, old fashioned feel. Crimson invites her new city friends to her countryside home for a visit. Kids will be charmed by the inventiveness and world-building in this series, which also incorporates familiar childhood anxieties such as impressing friends.
Middle Grade, Ages 9-12
Mythical Monsters of Greenland: A Survival Guide is a compendium for kids who love facts and mythology featuring 21 mythological creates from Inuit culture. Each creature is illustrated and accompanied by descriptions of typical encounters and their habitat, so young survivalists can be ‘prepared.’ Monster vs Boy is told from two perspectives, a boy who believes there is something strange living in his closet, and the monster who is actually living in his closet. There are some spooky moments, but this is a poignant story about family that will appeal to sensitive readers.
Teens, 12+
Mall Goth doesn’t include any ghosts, vampires or supernatural instances but is a loving tribute to all things goth, including the clothes, attitudes and music. Liv is the new girl in town and worried that she won’t be accepted at her new school, but she soon finds a job at the mall and a new group of friends who are accepting of her style and bisexuality. Set in the early 2000s, this coming of age story tackles relationships, identity, and power dynamics, especially when Liv’s English teacher’s attentions become suspect. The Grimmer is a horror novel with a great sense of humour. Vish is not looking forward to a summer at home but a chance encounter with a soul-collector in a bookstore leads to an incredible summer trying to save Kelowna from a sinister, ghoulish invasion. The Grimmer has a great magical system based in math and science and is an unexpected love letter to bookstores.