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The witch has grown the biggest pumpkin ever, and now she wants to make herself a pumpkin pie for Halloween. But the pumpkin is so big she can’t get it off the vine.

Clifford loves holidays, especially Halloween. What will Clifford be for Halloween?

Mitzi is a witch who likes creepy things. So when she decides to get a pet, she wants the creepiest pet possible. But the bats she tries are too batty, the toad does nothing but eat bugs, and the warthogs … well, that’s a whole other story. Mitzi is in despair. She wants a creepy pet that is fun—and that will share her secrets. It seems too much to hope for, until one rainy night when something unexpected scratches on her door… . With gentle humor and a touch of magic, Arthur Howard reveals how true friendship sometimes turns up in the most surprising places.

This anthology of twelve short stories features the work of Newbery award-winning authors. Beverly Cleary, Madeleine L’Engle, and Paul Fleishman, to name a few, have contributed to this volume spooky and fun stories that are great Halloween read-alouds for older children.

All the glorious, spooky, swoopy delights of Halloween congregate on one street for one perfectly bone-chilling night in Caldecott Honor artist Denise Fleming’s splendid Pumpkin Eye. Gorgeous, thick pulp paintings depict jack-o’-lanterns, bats, dragons, and toothless hags, while clever, memorable rhymes capture the very essence of Halloween: “Trick or treat, pounding feet, wretched witches roam the street.”

What will happen when the sheep go trick-or-treating? Could there be wolves lurking in the woods, hoping to waylay them as they return home with their bags full of goodies? In crisp verse and whimsically eerie pictures, Nancy Shaw and Margot Apple tell the lively story of a remarkable Halloween adventure. Simple sentences, rhyming text, and a humorous tone make this the perfect treat for beginning readers.

When two mice fall in love with the same pumpkin, it gets twice as much care! With one mouse taking care of it by day, and another taking care of it by night, it soon becomes the biggest pumpkin ever. They discover what is happening one night and decide to work together to enter their pumpkin in a contest.

The story gets under way when the lonely widow Minna Shaw finds a wounded, sky-fallen witch in her vegetable garden. The witch disappears before dawn, but leaves her old, presumably defunct broom behind. Minna begins to use it around the house and finds that “it was no better or worse than brooms she’d used before.” However, one morning, Minna sees the broom sweeping by itself! Opportunistically, she trains it to chop wood and fetch water.

The big Green Monster gradually appears on dye-cut pages with its big yellow eyes, a long nose, and a big red mouth with sharp teeth and more to create a “big scary green face!” But readers are in control as they turn the pages making the monster “GO AWAY” feature by stylized feature. Young children will be empowered by this carefully conceived and brightly colored book.

Awful Ogre’s day is much like anyone else’s, but with an ogre-ish twist. He uses onion juice as a mouthwash with just a dab on his chin, writes love letters to a delightfully disgusting ogress and more. The clever rhyming verse and dark-lined illustrations are filled with humor and visual jokes that will make this collection of poetry awfully popular.

Have you ever wondered what a small red puppy might do on Halloween? Read this story about young Clifford to find out.

From “one tall scarecrow standing on a hill” the countdown of creepy Halloweenish creatures continues until ten tiny mice scare them all with a loud “BOO!” The countdown begins again from ten until “one tall scarecrow stood all alone.” The rhyming count is illustrated by carefully composed, highly expressive black & white scratchboard illustrations.

Meet Annabelle, Zelda, and the 24 lively green goblins in between, all dressed in zany costumes gleaned from an attic trunk. The language is alliterative and may stretch readers (and listeners) though well-crafted, brilliantly hued illustrations brimming with verve and humor provide visual cues and clues. This sophisticated, slyly humorous alphabet book merits numerous re-examinations.

Miss Moody loves storms. They wash up many surprises, which she always uses in her sturdy little seaside house where she lives with Captain Kidd, her cat. One day, Miss Moody and Captain Kidd find a bottle washed up on the beach. When they ignore the warning not to open it, they release a mean, evil, genie-like creature. Undaunted, Miss Moody and her cat outsmart and defeat the monster. Dramatic illustrations are both comforting and appropriately spooky in this satisfying story in folktale tradition.

On her way home one windy autumn night, a fearless old lady notices a pair of shoes following her (clomp clomp!). Then she sees and hears the pants, shirt, and the rest of the outfit, but she’s not afraid — that is until she sees a large pumpkin head! And run she does to the safety of her own home. This engaging story, based in traditional literature, is illustrated with crisp, humorous illustrations and encourages listener participation.

A long time ago, an old man who lived in a rustic cabin in the woods ate the tail of mysterious critter. That night, the critter came back to get his tail saying, “Tailypo, tailypo, all I want is my tailypo.” Getting that tailypo makes for a satisfyingly spooky tale bound to make readers or listeners jump. Galdone’s cartoon-like illustrations add humor to a creepy yarn drawn from the oral tradition.

Contrary to what these children thought, not all witches are wicked. They find this out when they get to know their new neighbor: the friendly, off-beat witch next door.

Realistic, colored pencil drawings and a straightforward text tell how Jamie plants a seed, watches a pumpkin grow, harvests it, and is sure to save a seed for the following year. The large format and bold typeface create a memorable book that can be read independently.

Ugly ogre parents make an even uglier ogre son named Shrek. Of course Shrek seeks (on the back of a donkey) and finds a bride — an ogress even uglier than he! Enjoy the rich language used in the now 20-years-old and still-funny picture book that inspired a movie adaptation.

You know what they say: “If the wolves come out of the walls, it’s all over.” So, when Lucy hears wolves crinkling, crackling, sneaking, creeping, and crumpling in the walls, she futilely attempts to warn her family. Once out of the walls, the wolves proceed to dance “wolfish dances up the stairs and down again” until Lucy, with the help of her pig-puppet, bravely leads her family to confront their fears. Gaiman crafts a tale of surreal and sinister adversaries who are bested by a young girl’s determination to set things right. The slyly deadpan text, rich in language and wordplay, never doubts Lucy’s capacity to manage the chaos, but McKean’s illustrations take the day, creepily animating the world inside Lucy’s walls.

While growing up, Rebecca Estelle ate so much pumpkin in so many ways she grew to hate them. When she buried the pumpkin that accidentally fell into her yard to be rid of it, the humorous results benefited the entire community in many ways. Lighthearted illustrations add comic detail.

When rude roosters continue to disturb the other farm animals, only Clarissa the cow and Sophie the pig take action to stop the raucous fowl. Their tale creates lots of laughs for readers.

This collection of spooky stories and poems by well known writers such as Ogden Nash, Jack Prelutsky, and Jane Yolen has been illustrated with wit and verve in Marc Brown’s signature style. The effect is to provide young readers with slight shivers along with chuckles.

Ole Scamp learns to like himself better once he’s changed by a peculiar witch. This wacky story uses comic illustrations to convey a positive message in a lighthearted, Seussian way.