By our Smarty friends at the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library
From pumpkin patch visits to trick-or-treating, October inspires loads of family fun. There’s one activity in particular families can do together throughout the month to get them in the festive “spirit” and, best of all, it’s completely free! Checking out spooky stories from Charlotte Mecklenburg Library is an easy (and eerie!) way to embrace Halloween. We’ve listed four spooky stories below appropriate for young readers ages 3 to11.
How To Scare A Ghost by Jean Reagan
Recommended for ages 3 to7
Usually it’s the ghost in the story who’s scaring us, but in How To Scare A Ghost, the author flips the script to learn step by step how to attract a ghost, how to tell if it’s real, how to scare a ghost and how to calm back down if he or she’s feeling too scared. This charming and funny role-reversal tale will be a favorite for little ones this Halloween.
Sir Simon: Super Scarer by Cale Atkinson
Recommended for ages 3 to9
Meet professional ghost Sir Simon, the “ghostest with the mostest.” He even has a business card! However, haunting houses is more work than most people know. When Simon meets a child named Chester, they decide to learn from each other. Simon isn’t the best at being a kid, and Chester hasn’t yet mastered the art of ghosting, but they have a lot of fun along the way. The adorable illustrations and quippy language brings this story alive as Simon and Chester become lifelong friends.
Bone Soup: A Spooky, Tasty Tale by Alyssa Satin Capucilli
Recommended for ages 3 to 9
Naggy Witch, Craggy Witch and Scraggy Witch are hungry, but there’s nothing to eat in the house except a single bone. “Only a bone, you say? Piff-Poof!” The three sisters decide to make the most bone-chillingly delicious Halloween treat of all: bone soup! This retelling of the classic folktale Stone Soup is appropriate for even the youngest of trick-or-treaters. Kids will love any parent who serves bone soup (or any soup with the same title) on a chilly night in October to bring this tale to life.
Mother Ghost: Nursery Rhymes for Little Monsters by Rachel Kolar
Recommended for ages 5 to 11
Kolar rewrites classic Mother Goose nursery rhymes and songs with a spooky twist and pairs them with creepy illustrations by Roland Garrigue. Our personal favorite is Zombie Miss Muffet, which is about a zombie version of Miss Muffet who eats worms and dirt…but eats the spider for dessert! The book contains, fittingly, 13 rhymes, songs and short stories. It will be difficult for your child not to giggle and sing along with the eerie but catchy revisions.
Charlotte Mecklenburg Library also has educational and fun programming to celebrate the season. Wear your costumes and stop by one of these spooky programs at the Library on Oct. 31:
– Baby Storytime: Halloween Party at the Hickory Grove branch for ages 0 to 3 at 9:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.
–Science Spooktacular at the Independence Regional branch for ages 3 to11 at 2 p.m.
– Haunted Library Escape Room at the University City Regional branch for ages 5 to18 at 2 p.m.
Happy Halloween from Charlotte Mecklenburg Library!
P.S. The fun continues after Halloween as EpicFest returns to the Library on Nov. 3! EpicFest is an extraordinary, free literary festival that joyfully connects children, teens and families with books and the people who write them through activities that encourage a love of reading and learning.
Read more about EpicFest here.
