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I've also included some teaching ideas for each book AND a FREEBIE at the end of the post that can be used for ANY Halloween read aloud!
#1 Frankenslime
If your students love slime (and honestly, there aren't many kids who don't), they will love this book about a slime scientist named Victoria Franken who has a slime creature come to life one night!
Besides the slime aspect, this book is totally relatable to today's kids right from the beginning when it says that Victoria's curiosity about slime was sparked when she stumbled upon a video of the slime making process.
It goes through her scientific process of trying to make the perfect slime which is a great way to help students learn about both perseverance and the scientific method!
There are also many example of figurative language which I always love to have the students recognize. This is also a great mentor text for showing a problem/solution form of narrative.
Teaching Ideas:
🎃 The book has several recipes for slime. Have your students create one or all of them.
🎃 You could also have students write about a time when they made a mistake and how they solved it.
If you love the book Crankenstein, then you will love this follow-up book! Halloween is normally Crankenstein's favorite holiday, but this year it has gone rotten! He goes through costume disasters, pumpkin carving nightmares, and a toothache on the worst possible day ever!
It's a great book for teaching about how some days might not always go as planned.
Teaching Idea:
🎃This book reminds me a lot of Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day. It would make a great lesson to have students compare and contrast the two stories!
This book features a house on a hill who is a little worried that she might just be haunted since no one lives inside of her. She is very lonely and wants nothing more than to have her own family. So, she tries very hard to be on her best behavior so that no one will notice how spooky she is.
But, she can't change who she is, and she realizes that she doesn't have to! Maybe she likes being haunted after all. Soon the perfect family decides to live inside her.
Teaching Ideas:
🎃 This book is also full of figurative language starting with the title (alliteration)! Have your students identify the different type.
🎃Hardly Haunted is about a book that is for sale. Have your students draw a picture of their own haunted house and then write up a real estate description trying to sell their house to the perfect ghostly family. Bring in some examples of real estate magazines or have them search Zillow.
I had to share these two books together because they make the perfect pair! They are both written by Mo Willems and feature the same characters.
Leonardo the Terrible Monster is about a monster who is terrible at being a monster. One day he meets the most scaredy-cat kid in the whole world, Sam. Will he be able to scare him, or will he do something even better?
Sam the Most Scaredy-Cat Kid in the Whole World continues the story from Sam's perspective. He is a little boy who is scared of anything and everything, well besides his friend, Leonardo. What happens when Leonardo introduces him to someone new? Well, at first he is of course scared, but he learns to like another new friend.
Both books have tons of onomatopoeia and are filled with tons of adjectives and adverbs for students to find!
Teaching Idea:
🎃 Have students write essays on what makes the perfect friend.
# 6 Pig the Monster
Pig the Monster is for all of you Pig the Pug fans (myself included)! Similar to the other Pig the Pug books, Pug gets a bit carried away on Halloween. He steals candy and destroys houses on his Trick or Treat journey. But, he learns his lesson by the end of the book.
This book is full of so many amazing vocabulary words: lurch, rampage, resisted, stingy, miffed, vengeful, vented, and tormented to name a few!
Teaching Ideas:
🎃 Use some of the amazing vocabulary words in the story for students to use in their own stories.
🎃 You could also have students create drawings that define one or a few of the words.
Room on the Broom has been one of my favorite Halloween books for awhile now. I love the rhyming and the story of mishaps that just keep happening to the witch on the broom. It's also a great book to teach character traits with!
Teaching Ideas:
🎃 Have your students use the same rhyming pattern to write their own poem or short story.
# 8 Vampenguin
What happens when Baby Dracula and his family visit the zoo? He switches places with a baby penguin. Will the family realize in time? One thing is for sure, the Dracula family will never forget their trip to the zoo, and neither would the penguins!
The illustrations in this book are so adorable, and there are some great vocabulary words throughout!
Teaching Ideas:
Have students write about their own trip to the zoo. What animal would they swap places with?
If you are a fan of the Bad Seed, you will love this Halloween version! It is Halloween and the Bad Seed is in a bad mood because he doesn't have a costume yet. He takes that bad mood out on everyone else around him which could ruin Halloween. Will he learn in time?
This book is filled with great vocabulary words and would also be great for teaching about prefixes!
Teaching Ideas:
Have your students write a persuasive essay about what they think the Bad Seed should wear for Halloween. Have them draw pictures as well, and you will have a great bulletin board!
When a little boy gets the role of a Ninja in his school play, he becomes extra brave, brave enough to catch the monster in his closet!
Teaching Ideas:
This book is a great mentor text for having students write their own How to book or paper.
# 11 10 Spooky Pumpkins
10 Spooky Pumpkins is a fun rhythmic countdown. It also features a ton of Onomatopoeia.
Teaching Ideas:
Have students write their own countdown book.
Freebie:
I have created this Halloween themed retelling activity that can go with ANY Halloween read aloud!
I hope you found this list helpful with new ideas for Halloween Read Alouds! What is your favorite Halloween Read Aloud? Let me know in the comments!
