Not-So-Spooky Halloween Books from DIESEL
/Discover some of fun, spooky, and clever Halloween children's books specially selected for you by Clare Doornbos at DIESEL, A Bookstore, Marin Country Mart, Larkspur Landing. Happy reading!
For kids aged 2 and up
Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson
This classic rhyming picture book follows a sweet-tempered witch on a stormy night as she loses her hat, her wand and her broom. Thankfully she makes some animal friends who help her find her lost items and then save her from a dragon.
Ghosts in the House by Kazuno Kohara
A beautiful book with collage illustrations in just white, black and orange about a witch who knows how to tame the ghosts in her haunted house.
For Kids Aged 4 & Up
Mummy Cat by Marcus Ewert
Mummy Cat searches through a pyramid tomb for his Egyptian Queen, as he prowls the rooms he finds artifacts that teach the reader some ancient Egyptian history, but also the story of what happened to his beloved owner. A great off-beat picture book for anyone who could not stand to be parted from their pet.
Funny Bones – Posada and his Day of the Dead Calaveras by Duncan Tonatiuh
A picture book biography of the Mexican artist Jose Guadalupe Posada. Posada was a political cartoonist whose cartoon of La Calavera Catrina is the origin of the skeletons in costume at Dia de Los Muertos celebrations. Tonatiuh's own illustration style is reminiscent of ancient Mexican art, and it sits comfortably alongside reproductions of Posada's work in the book. The result is playful but still packed with history and cultural detail.
Good Night Baddies by Deborah Underwood
All fairy tales have a bad guy; an evil witch, a hungry wolf or an angry giant. But what if being a bad guy is just a day job? When they get together in the evening for dinner, what would they talk about? What is their side of the story? I love this book, because preschoolers especially are often obsessed with bad guys and good guys. In Good Night Baddies we get to see a complex mix of both in some characters the reader will easily recognize.
Books for older readers aged 8-12
Jack Death by M L Windsor
A darkly comic fantasy about a couple of kids who are not quite human in a world that divides the magical from the mundane in a drastic way. There are plenty of monsters in this book, although not all of them are supernatural. Wry humor, a fast pace and lots of wordplay with a surprisingly philosophical theme.
Ghosts by Raina Telgemeier
Cat's family are moving to a small and foggy town on the California coast because her sister Maya has cystic fibrosis and the damp air will help with her breathing. Cat is not happy about it, but she loves her sister and worries about her, so she tries to make the best of it. Everything changes when the girls discover that the town is a portal where friendly ghosts can cross into the real world and come to the Dia de Los Muertos celebrations. Maya makes friends with the ghosts and Cat learns that living your life is more important than worrying about death. This graphic novel from middle grade powerhouse Raina Telgemeier is funny, moving, smart and emotionally mature. It's already a huge hit with our regular readers and rightly so.
