Choosing Halloween books for children starts with the kind of reading they enjoy. Some want to join in, move the book and help a character out of trouble. Others want to settle into a story and return to the same characters the following evening. Witches and monsters can fit both kinds of reading.
Two collections offer useful starting points: Tom Fletcher’s Who’s In Your Book stories and Jill Murphy’s The Worst Witch. Here is what each set contains, how the formats differ and what to consider before choosing an autumn read.
Start with the reading experience
Think about a book your child already asks for. Do they like joining in with instructions, watching you act out a scene or taking charge of turning the pages? An interactive picture story may be a good next choice. If they enjoy following a character through several adventures, a series gives you something to return to.
Also consider how you will read. A book chosen for sharing aloud can be different from one a child wants to read independently. Let their interest and comfort guide the choice, and look through the individual stories before making one part of bedtime.
For joining in: Tom Fletcher’s Who’s In Your Book
The Tom Fletcher six-book collection includes witches and monsters alongside other visitors to the page. It is a mixed-format set, containing:
- There’s a Unicorn in Your Book — board book
- There’s a Dragon in Your Book — board book
- There’s an Alien in Your Book — board book
- There’s a Witch in Your Book — paperback
- There’s a Superhero in Your Book — paperback
- There’s a Monster in Your Book — paperback
In There’s a Witch in Your Book, the reader is invited to help deal with a messy witch. There’s a Monster in Your Book asks children to follow instructions such as tilting, spinning and shaking the book. Those invitations give you a practical way to share the reading: one person reads, while the other responds.
The witch and monster stories provide a seasonal starting point, while the other four titles give you different characters to choose afterwards. Check the format list when buying, particularly if you are looking specifically for sturdy board books: three of these six books are paperbacks.
For a continuing adventure: The Worst Witch
The eight-book Worst Witch collection by Jill Murphy introduces Mildred Hubble and Miss Cackle’s Academy for Witches. Spells, broomsticks and mistakes at school make it a natural option for readers drawn to magical adventures.
The set contains:
- The Worst Witch
- The Worst Witch Strikes Again
- A Bad Spell for the Worst Witch
- The Worst Witch All at Sea
- The Worst Witch Saves the Day
- The Worst Witch to the Rescue
- The Worst Witch and the Wishing Star
- First Prize for the Worst Witch
Our suggested starting point is the first title, so a new reader can meet Mildred before continuing through the collection. If you are buying for someone who already follows the series, compare this contents list with their shelf to check for duplicates.
Choose a way to share the stories
For the interactive books, leave room for the child to respond to the instructions. You could take turns being the reader and the person who helps the character. For The Worst Witch, agree a comfortable stopping point and pick the story up again another day. Neither approach needs a reading challenge or a fixed number of pages.
If witches or monsters make a child uneasy, preview the story together and let them decide whether to continue. A seasonal theme should fit the reader. There is no need to finish a book simply because Halloween is approaching.
Choose the Who’s In Your Book collection for participation and a variety of characters, or explore The Worst Witch for a magical series to return to. Both product pages include the set details to help you make your choice.
