Dino-Halloween
By: Lisa Wheeler
Reviewed by: Mary Lanni

Leaves are falling, and the days are getting shorter and colder—Halloween is coming soon! The Dino friends are very excited for the Halloween season. They go together to select the perfect pumpkins from the pumpkin patch; some find their pumpkins right away, while others agonize over the myriad options. Then, the dinosaurs brave the haunted house, with its spooky inhabitants and hair-raising scares. As Halloween gets closer, the dinosaurs work together to assemble their perfect costumes in time for the big Halloween bash. Finally, it is the time everyone has been waiting for: trick-or-treating! Striking out together, the Dino friends traverse the neighborhood, collecting treats of all kinds throughout the evening. Emptying their bags of candy into their bellies, they somehow find themselves thinking about the next delicious holiday – Thanksgiving! Fans of the Dino holiday books will enjoy this Halloween addition. Like the others, this book is written in rhyming couplets interspersed with truncated names of the featured dinosaurs. These dinosaur names are typed in differing colors and bold text to help readers distinguish them from the other words. Preschool and young elementary school-aged readers will appreciate the sing-song rhythm of the story, despite the occasional hiccup in pacing. Richly-colored, digitally-created illustrations form the backdrop of each page, mirroring the illustrative style of the other books in this series. Viewing beloved dinosaurs in familiar human experiences makes the story accessible to young readers, especially those who love dinosaurs already. Children will want to read this book frequently, and it will no doubt inspire ideas for Halloween-themed activities as the holiday approaches. This is a fun and friendly addition to Halloween read-aloud collections for young children.
 

Get the kids ready for Halloween with these fun read-alouds. Perfect for classrooms, libraries, and homes.
Contributed by: Shelley Oakley

	Halloween Hustle By: Charlotte Gunnufson Illustrated by: Kevan Atteberry Skeleton is dancing his way to a Halloween party, but as he grooves across town, he keeps stumbling, tumbling, and falling apart.
	No Such Thing By: Ella Bailey One cool day in late October, when Georgia notices odd things happening around the house, like things disappearing and objects being moved, she is sure the explanation is not ghosts. Now, some people may have wondered (especially at this time of year) if this was the work of something spooky? But not clever Georgia here! She has all the explanations and not a single fear!
	The 13 Nights of Halloween By: Guy Vasilovich A Halloween version of “The Twelve Days of Christmas” featuring macabre gifts such as icky eyeballs, demons dancing, and thirsty vampires.
	Black and Bittern was Night By: Robert Heidbreder Illustrated by: John Martz When skeletons take over a small town, the grown-ups call off trick-or-treating, but the kids in town vow to save the day. What ensues is a fun, spirited fight to the finish, as naturally the children outwit and out-frighten the old SKUL-A-MUG-MUGS so the trick-or-treating can commence once again!
	Bone Soup By: Cambria Evans Known across the land for his infamous appetite, Finnigin is never seen without his eating stool, his eating spoon, and his gigantic eating mouth. When Finnigin finds himself in a new town on Halloween, he hopes to join a great feast with the creatures who live there. But not a body or soul will share any of their food with the ever-famished Finnigin. So, what’s a hungry skeleton to do? Armed only with his wits and a special ingredient, will Finnigin be able to stir up a cauldron’s worth of Halloween magic?
	Scaredy Squirrel Prepares for Halloween By: Mélanie Watt A quirky safety guide combines practical tips with step-by-step instructions featuring an anxious Scaredy Squirrel, who prepares himself for the worst during the spookiest night of the year.
	Los Gatos Black on Halloween By: Marisa Montes Illustrated by: Yuyi Morales Easy to read, rhyming text about Halloween night incorporates Spanish words, from las brujas riding their broomsticks to los monstruos whose monstrous ball is interrupted by a true horror.
	The Three Bears Halloween By: Kathy Duval Illustrated by: Paul Meisel It’s finally Halloween, and Baby Bear is trick-or-treating with Mama and Papa Bear. The door is open at the very scary house. Maybe they should go inside. But is that a TEE-Hee-Hee coming from being a bush? Could it be that the three bears are in for a Halloween trick? Is it a witch or a blonde little girl hiding in the bushes of the spooky house?
	We’re Going on a Spooky Ghost Hunt By: Ken Geist Illustrated by: Guy Francis Text bubbles and activities invite readers to make connections and draw conclusions from the story about a group of children who set out to find a ghost.
	Halloween Night By: Marjorie Dennis Murray Illustrated by: Brandon Dorman Loosely based on “The Night Before Christmas,” this rhyming story tells of a group of animals, monsters, and witches who prepare such a frightening Halloween party that their expected trick-or-treaters all run away.
	Halloween night: twenty-one spooktacular poems By: Charles Ghigna Illustrated by: Adam McCauley An illustrated collection of Halloween poems about wild monster pets, two-headed ghouls, ghosts, haunted houses, and other spooky topics.
	Click, Clack, Boo!: A Tricky Treat By: Doreen Cronin Illustrated by: Betsy Lewin Farmer Brown does not like Halloween or the spooky sounds of a Halloween night, so he draws the shades, locks the door, and goes to bed, but when the animals hold a Halloween party in his barn, Farmer Brown is in for a big surprise.