13 Best Halloween Read Alouds for 1st and 2nd Grade Kids

The month of October is my favorite time of the year and I bet a lot of your students would agree. In just a few weeks, they’ll be in full-on spooky-silly mode. Costumes being debated at recess, someone humming “spooky, scary skeletons” during centers, and advice about where to get the best candy haul being passed around. It’s also prime time for Halloween read-alouds. I love them because not only are they fun – they also help you sneak in a lot of reading skills: modeling fluency, predicting, tracking order of events, and chatting about how the main character changes – without a single worksheet.

.

.

Today I want to share my list of the best Halloween read alouds for 1st and 2nd grade – 13 of my favorite books that are just-right spooky, full of giggles, and zero nightmares. For each pick, I’ll give you a quick plot overview, why both kids and teachers love it, and a few easy teaching points.

So, grab your favorite mug of pumpkin spice, call everyone to the rug, and let’s dive into some read-alouds your kids will beg to hear again tomorrow. 

.

Fun Halloween Read Alouds for 1st and 2nd Grade

This list of Halloween books may contain affiliate links. If you purchase through them, I may receive a small commission—at no extra cost to you. 

1) How to Make Friends with a Ghost by Rebecca Green

Plot: Structured like a little “how-to” manual, this cute story is a guide to making friends with a little ghost – inviting it in, offering snacks, and caring for your new friend through the seasons—right up to growing old together. 

Why kids love it: The handbook style feels secret and special—like they’ve discovered a real guide for life with a ghost. The tiny captions and funny side notes add lots of little details to discover, and the ghost is friendly, not frightening—perfect for first and second graders.

Why teachers love it: It’s a wonderful mentor text for procedural writing and text features—headings, numbered steps, diagrams, labels

Easy extension: 

• Writing: Have students write a three-step “How to Welcome a New Classmate” with labeled drawings.

.

See the book: How to Make Friends with a Ghost

.

2) Jasper Rabbit’s Creepy Collection by Aaron Reynolds

This is actually a set of three books – Creepy Carrots!, Creepy Pair of Underwear!, and Creepy Crayon! – because I can’t choose just one. They will definitely become some of your students’ favorite Halloween read-alouds!

Plots:

• In Creepy Carrots!, Jasper Rabbit “borrows” too many snacks from the carrot patch and becomes convinced the creepy carrots are following him.
• In Creepy Pair of Underwear!, Jasper buys glow-in-the-dark underwear that just won’t stop glowing—no matter how he tries to ditch it.
• In Creepy Crayon!, a mysterious purple creepy crayon starts “helping” Jasper with school…until it won’t let him help himself.

.

Why kids love them: These books are laugh-out-loud hilarious as Jasper’s attempts to solve his problems keep escalating. They will have your kids rolling on the floor.

Why teachers love them: This author study checks so many instructional boxes: inference, problem/solution, theme (“respect other people’s things,” perseverance, honesty), and main character change. The consistent tone and structure across all three make comparison lessons easy.

Easy extensions:

• Comprehension skills: Build a three-part chart (Problem → Attempts → Solution) for each story, then compare the patterns.
• Creative writing prompts: “What if an object in our classroom was secretly alive?” 

.

See the books: Jasper Rabbit Collection

.

3) Pumpkin Jack by Will Hubbell

Plot: After Halloween, Tim puts his jack-o’-lantern in the garden and watches as Pumpkin Jack decomposes over time, sending pumpkin seeds into the soil and sprouting new vines.

Why kids love it: Watching the full life cycle from old to new pumpkins is really interesting and the illustrations make the science concrete.

Why teachers love it: Presents grade-level science content in the context of a really fun story.

Easy extensions:

• Comprehension: Pair it with Gail Gibbons’ nonfiction book, The Pumpkin Book, to compare informational texts on the same topic. 
• Science: Set up a pumpkin decomposition observation jar 
• Science: Plant pumpkin seeds and track their growth
• Opinion writing: “Is is better to use a pumpkin to make a jacko’-lantern or for baking pumpkin pie?”

.

See the book: Pumpkin Jack

👉 Learn how to do a decomposition jar in your classroom in this blog post: 11 Fun Pumpkin Science Experiments and STEM Activities

.

4) Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson

Plot: A kind witch offers a seat on her broom to a dog, bird, and frog. When a dragon arrives, they band together to save her.

Why kids love it: Irresistible rhyme and repetition

Why teachers love it: A great book to tie into your poetry unit. Lots of prediction; reinforces concepts of cooperation and community.

Easy extension:

• STEM: Build a “broom” out of paper and straws or craft sticks long enough to hold all the characters (cap erasers)

.

See the book: Room on the Broom

.

5) Big Pumpkin by Erica Silverman

Plot: A witch grows a big pumpkin to make delicious pie, but she can’t pull it off the vine. One by one, a ghost, vampire, and mummy try—and fail—until a tiny bat offers a new idea. Teamwork saves the day, and everyone gets a slice of pie in the end.

Why kids love it: Repetition, rhythm, and a big payoff in the end. It’s a great story that kids can chant along with.

Why teachers love it: Perfect for sequencing and the theme of cooperation. 

Easy extensions:

• Comprehension: Chart the characters’ attempts to get the pumpkin and identify the moment the plan changes.
• STEM mini-challenge: move a mini-pumpkin using only string and craft sticks (teamwork task).
• Writing: Bring it some pumpkin pie for a yummy tie-in. Have students create a poster with descriptive words or write about their favorite kind of pie.

.

See the book: Big Pumpkin

.

6) The Bad Seed Presents: The Good, the Bad, and the Spooky by Jory John & Pete Oswald

Plot: The Bad Seed loves Halloween but can’t find a costume that feels right. Frustration snowballs until Seed learns that being together matters more than finding the perfect outfit.

Why kids love it: The costume dilemma is super relatable.

Why teachers love it: A great base for a lesson about perfectionism, flexibility, and empathy. Also great for talking about the main character’s feelings and how they change.

Easy extension: 

• Opinion writing: “Is the best costume funny or scary?” or a narrative about “A Time I Felt Frustrated”

.

See the book: The Good, the Bad, and the Spooky

.

7) The Bumpy Little Pumpkin by Margery Cuyler

Plot: young witch finds the perfect pumpkin—except it’s bumpy and small. With the help of some animal friends and a little creativity, it becomes the perfect jack-o’-lantern.

Why kids love it: It’s a cute story about seeing potential where others see flaws.

Why teachers love it: Great for discussing growth mindset and descriptive language. 

Easy extensions: 

• Science: Pumpkin observation lab to compare different pumpkins and their physical properties (color, texture, size, shape, weight)
• Writing: Descriptive writing prompt “My perfect pumpkin is…”

.

See the book: The Bumpy Little Pumpkin

.

8) Hardly Haunted by Jessie Sima

Plot: An old house worries it might be haunted and tries to quiet its creaks and rattles. But then a windy night and little surprise changes its mind.

Why kids love it: The house as a main character is really fun and the theme of self-acceptance is really relatable.

Why teachers love it: Quick, fun, and a great example of “show, don’t tell” descriptive writing; full of onomatopoeia and personification. 

Easy extension:

• Writing: Two diary entries from the house’s perspective showing how its feelings change

.

See the book: Hardly Haunted

.

9) Gustavo, the Shy Ghost by Flavia Z. Drago

Plot: A little ghost loves playing the violin, but is so shy he’s almost invisible to the other little monsters. After several attempts to say hello, he invites everyone to a special Day of the Dead concert. His music finally lets them see him, and he discovers the best way to make friends is to just be yourself.

Why kids love it: The sugar-skull colors and sweet little monsters make this a very not-scary, fun Halloween book. Shy students can see themselves in the main character, and everyone cheers when his big moment arrives.

Why teachers love it: SEL gold for younger grades – perfect for discussing courage, friendship, plus character traits and problem/solution.

Easy Extensions: 

• Art: Have students cut out little papel picado squares and hang them as a class friendship banner.
• Social Studies: Ties in nicely to National Hispanic Heritage Month and a discussion of Mexican cultural traditions.

.

See the book: Gustavo, the Shy Ghost

.

See the book: Gustavo, the Shy Ghost

10) There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bat! by Lucille Colandro

Plot: A hungry old lady swallows a bat (and other Halloweeny things), building on the classic cumulative story most everyone knows

Why kids love it: A silly book that encourages call-and-response participation

Why teachers love it: Instant retell practice and fluency. Use picture cards so students can “feed” the old lady in sequence—perfect for small-group rotations.

Easy extension: 

• Writing: Have students create their own version of the story using items from your room (markers, erasers, sticky notes). Great for second grade writers who need structure. They will love reading their versions aloud to a partner!

.

See the book: There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bat!

.

.

11) Bone Soup by Cambria Evans

Plot: Finnigin arrives in a town of nervous creatures who refuse to share their food—until he starts a cauldron of “bone soup” and invites everyone to contribute. Soon, the whole town shares a delicious meal.

Why kids love it: It’s a funny story with a feel-good ending. 

Why teachers love it: Perfect for community and generosity themes; ideal companion to Stone Soup. Great for exploring how illustrations deepen meaning and for practicing predictions.

Easy extensions:

• Fun tie-in: Make your own “Bone Soup” in a crock pot using safe, pre-packaged contributions
• Comprehension: Chart what each character adds and analyze how the soup changes—tie to story sequencing.

.

See the book: Bone Soup

.

12) The Scariest Book You’ve Ever Heard by Ron Keres

Plot: A narrator dares your class to just listen as the “scariness” ramps up through whispers, creaks, bumps, and dramatic pauses—no monsters in sight, just sound doing all the work. Page by page, the tension builds and the audience becomes the “main character,” until a playful, noisy ending proves there was nothing to be scared of at all.

Why kids love it: It’s an interactive book that makes them part of the action—anticipating, echoing silly noises, and predicting what will happen next. The build-up feels suspenseful, but stays in safe, funny story territory.

Why teachers love it: Instant engagement with zero prep and a perfect vehicle for modeling fluency—pace, volume, and expression. It’s also great for comprehension skills like making predictions.

Easy extension: 

• Vocabulary: Teach students the word “onomatopoeia” and let them work in pairs to list as many as they can think of.

.

See the book: The Scariest Book You’ve Ever Heard

If you use this book to teach onomatopoeia, I suggest checking out this one too: The Little Old Lady Who Wasn’t Afraid of Anything by Linda Williams.

.

13) A Spoonful of Frogs by Casey Lyall

Plot: A witch hosts a cooking-show and tries to add the final ingredient… but the frogs refuse to cooperate. Hilarious chaos ensues.

Why kids love it: Read-aloud theatrics and laugh-out-loud sight gags.

Why teachers love it: It’s built for performance. Use it to model voice, pacing, and expression. Excellent mentor text for procedural writing (that goes comically wrong.)

Easy extension: 

• Writing: Have students write their own “how to make…” recipe and illustrate the steps.

.

See the book: A Spoonful of Frogs

.

---

.

Why these Halloween read alouds for first and second grade work so well…

• They’re just right for younger kids with a little suspense and a lot of fun and laughter.
• They support comprehension skills. You can hit prediction, inference, sequencing, and character change while enjoying a fun read.
• They’re easy to extend. Plenty of opportunity to work in cross-curricular activities and science concepts.
• They build classroom culture and address social situations that are important at this age.

.

October with 1st and 2nd graders is such an amazing time of year. Whether you’re winding down from a Halloween party, returning from a field trip to the pumpkin patch, or just relishing a crisp, fall day, a great read-aloud brings everyone together.

Did I miss one of your favorite Halloween books? Let me know! I’m always looking to add to my classroom library!

.

---