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Are you looking for the BEST Halloween read aloud stories?
Your students are going to LOVE these stories (all Amazon Affiliate links to follow).
This list of Halloween read alouds is spooky, fun, and perfect for your elementary classroom!
Read alouds are always fun, but they are somehow even more fun when a holiday is coming up 🙂
Keep reading for my complete list!
Have you ever read the folktale Stone Soup?
This book is a delightful Halloween-y version of it!
Finnegan is a BIG eater – and when a town learns that he is on the way, they are not happy about it.
Hide the jar of eyeballs. Hide the toenail clippings. Or else Finnegan might eat it!
Finnegan throws a bone in a pot, and the intrigued ghouls and werewolves of the town start bringing additional ingredients for his soup.
This book is super fun and has great pictures – your students will definitely enjoy it!
Classroom Activity Idea: Pair Bone Soup with the traditional folktale Stone Soup! Have students use a Venn diagram to compare the characters, settings, and events in both stories. Discuss how the authors use similar story elements to create two very different versions.
Discussion Question: What is the biggest similarity between the two stories?
Jasper the Bunny feels like carrots are following him EVERYWHERE that he goes.
What does one do when a carrot is creepily following you along?!
Jasper takes matters into his own hands to stop the creepy carrots.
Your kids will get a kick out of this one – very silly and entertaining.
Aaron Reynolds also has a fun book called Creepy Underpants that will make your students laugh!
Classroom Activity Idea: This silly Halloween story is perfect for practicing making inferences! Pause throughout the book and ask students to use clues from the text and illustrations to figure out what’s really happening. Have students record their predictions and the evidence that supports them.
Discussion Question: Are the carrots really following Jasper? What clues support your thinking?
Here’s a not-so-scary Halloween story 🙂
With a positive message, of course!
Oscar, a sweet dachshund, is often made fun of due to his weiner-like looks.
For Halloween, his mom gets him a hot dog costume.
Oscar is embarrassed about his costume, and his friends tease him.
However, ultimately he realizes that his differences make him special.
Your students will absolutely love this silly book, and be rooting for Oscar!
Classroom Activity Idea: Use Oscar’s story to practice identifying character traits! Have students describe Oscar at the beginning and end of the book, using evidence from his actions and words. Discuss how Oscar responds to being teased and what students can learn from his kindness.
Discussion Question: What do Oscar’s actions tell us about his character?
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OH. MY. GOODNESS.
This book. Is so stinking cute.
The first time I read it I literally could not stop smiling.
A little ghost is a quilt, unlike it’s sheet family members.
It’s tough to fly when you’re a heavy fabric.
On Halloween night, the little ghost learns that its differences can truly be wonderful.
This story will put an ear to ear smile on your face – truly a beautiful book.
Classroom Activity Idea: This sweet story is perfect for teaching theme! After reading, ask students to think about what the little ghost learns about being different. Have students write the story’s message and support their answer with two details from the book.
Discussion Question: What does the little ghost learn about being different?
Chris Van Allsburg makes beautiful and magical books (Jumangi, The Polar Express, Two Bad Ants… and SO many more good ones!), and this book is no exception.
A witch’s broom eventually stops working – sometimes midflight.
A witch falls from the sky one autumn night with her broom.
A kind woman finds her and nurses her back to help.
The witch vanishes, but the broom remains.
But this is not ordinary broom – it sweeps all day and night. It plays the piano. It chops wood.
After the neighbors see what the broom is up to, fear sweeps the neighborhood (HA… see what I did there?!).
Your kids will be on the edge of their seats while you read the story, and it has a fantastic ending.
Classroom Activity Idea: Practice cause and effect with this mysterious Halloween story! Have students identify important events and explain how one event leads to another. Students can create a simple cause-and-effect chart to show how the neighbors’ fear influences what happens to the broom.
Discussion Question: How do the neighbors’ feelings about the broom affect their actions?
Like many books… this one made me cry.
But hey… what doesn’t?
It’s so sweet, I love it.
A little pumpkin looks a bit different.
Why? Because he doesn’t have a stem, he just has a stump.
He watches all the other pumpkins get picked up to be jack-o-lanterns.
Will it ever be his turn?
I mean, you can probably guess the ending (of course someone picks him up).
But it’s so heartwarmingly beautiful, happy, and sweet.
Please read this one, it truly is a wonderful piece of work.
Classroom Activity Idea: Use Stumpkin to explore how characters’ feelings change throughout a story! Have students track Stumpkin’s emotions as the other pumpkins are chosen. Students can create a beginning, middle, and end chart with text or illustration evidence to explain his changing feelings.
Discussion Question: How do Stumpkin’s feelings change from the beginning to the end of the story?
Make Halloween learning fun with this 3rd Grade Math & Reading Bundle! Includes worksheets, digital pixel art, and a Jeopardy game to practice multiplication, division, reading comprehension, and context clues.
Halloween read-alouds are a fun way to bring a little seasonal excitement into the classroom while practicing important reading skills! Whether you’re looking for a silly story, a not-so-spooky adventure, or a book that sparks great classroom discussions, these Halloween picture books are sure to be a hit.
Pair your favorite stories with some fun Halloween math and reading activities for an October full of learning and fun!
