Halloween Picture Books For 1st and 2nd Grade
Halloween is upon us! It is always fun to incorporate the seasons and holidays into our classroom and learning environment. Today I will share my favorite Halloween read alouds, along with writing prompts to go with each one. I hope you enjoy this list of Halloween books and add some to your classroom library! I’ve also included writing prompts for each book to add to your writing lesson plans!
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1. Creepy Carrots By Aaron Reynolds
Creepy Carrots is one of my all-time favorite books to read and not just in the month of October. It’s a great story about Jasper Rabbit, who loves carrots! He especially loves the carrots from Crackenhopper Field! However, one day he notices they are popping up everywhere he goes! They seem to be following him.
Writing Prompts To Use With Creepy Carrots
1. What would you do if you saw carrots everywhere you went?
2. Jasper Rabbit ate a lot of carrots. What is something you eat a lot of? What would you do if you randomly started seeing that food everywhere you went?
Looking for another activity to use with Creepy Carrots? I love to use this book for teaching setting of a story! Crackenhopper Field is such a fun setting to a story. In first grade, we would discuss the when and the where of Creepy Carrots and then make this fun project! You can get this as part of our Setting Of A Story Reading Unit.
Purchase the Setting Of A Story Reading Unit on TPT.
Purchase the Setting Of A Story Reading Unit on Missing Tooth Grins.
2. Creepy Pair Of Underwear by Aaron Reynolds
Another favorite, and a sequel to Creepy Carrots, is Creepy Pair of Underwear. Jasper Rabbit is not afraid of the dark, but when he turns off the lights his underwear glows a green ghoulish glow! He keeps trying to get rid of his underwear, but they keep coming back! They are very creepy!
Writing Prompts To Use With Creepy Pair Of Underwear
1. What is something you are afraid of?
2. Write a story where the creepy underwear goes on a new adventure after leaving Jasper’s house. What other creepy or funny things might it encounter, and how does it get into new situations?
3. Creepy Crayon by Aaron Reynolds
The last of the Creepy Tales series is Creepy Crayon. I will admit that I absolutely adore each of the books from the Creepy Tales, mainly because I adore Jasper Rabbit. In Creepy Crayon, Jasper Rabbit is not doing very well in school. He is not getting good grades on his spelling or math tests. However, one day he finds a purple crayon that seems excited to see him. The crayon ends up doing all his work for him and doing it all correctly! But then, the crayon wants to do everything and Jasper Rabbit cannot get rid of this creepy crayon!
Writing Prompts To Use With Creepy Crayon
1. If you had a crayon that could do your work, would you want it to? What color would you want the crayon to be?
2. Write a story about what happens when the creepy crayon gets into other art supplies. How does it cause trouble, and how do the other supplies react?
4. Room On A Broom by Julia Donaldson
Room On A Broom is such a classic Halloween story! It definitely makes the list of one of my top 5 favorite Halloween read-alouds! In this story, the witch and her cat are happily flying on her broom across the night sky. However, the wind picks up and blows off her hat, bow, and wand! Three animals help her find these items and then want a ride on the witch’s broom. Will they all fit and will they be able to save the witch from the dragon?
Writing Prompts To Use With Room On A Broom
1. Imagine flying through the air on an object, like a broom (but does not have to be a broom!). What item would you choose and why?
2. Would you have saved the witch in the story? Why or why not?
5. The Legend Of Spookley The Square Pumpkin by Joe Troiano
Spookley the Square Pumpkin is about a pumpkin named Spookley, who is unique because he’s square instead of round like the other pumpkins in the pumpkin patch. At first, Spookley is teased and feels like he doesn’t belong. However, when a storm strikes the patch and the round pumpkins start to roll away, Spookley’s square shape saves the day by preventing the pumpkins from being swept away. It has a great message of learning to embrace differences, self-acceptance, and how our unique qualities can be strengths.
Writing Prompts To Use With The Legend Of Spookley The Square Pumpkin
1. What is something that makes you unique?
2. Imagine you visit a pumpkin patch and discover something unusual. Write a story about your adventure in the patch and what you find.
6. The Little Ghost Who Lost Her Boo by Elaine Bickell
The Little Ghost Who Lost Her Boo is about a young ghost who has lost her “boo” and sets out to find it. She searches high and low, asking various animals like the owl, bat, and frog if they have seen her “boo.” Each animal makes its own unique sound, but none of them have what she’s looking for. As she becomes more discouraged, the little ghost wonders if she’ll ever get her “boo” back. In the end, with a little patience and persistence, she regains her “boo” and learns the power of perseverance.
Writing Prompts To Use With The Little Ghost Who Lost Her Boo
1. What is a word you say a lot? What if you couldn’t say it anymore? How would you feel?
2. How would you help the little ghost find her boo?
7. Bone Soup by Cambria Evans
Bone Soup is a Halloween-themed retelling of the classic story Stone Soup, featuring a hungry skeleton named Finnigin. Finnigin is known throughout the land for his enormous appetite, but when he arrives in a town full of monsters on Halloween, he finds that no one is willing to share their food with him. The monsters all hide their food, fearing Finnigin’s appetite. Undeterred, Finnigin starts boiling a pot of water with just a bone in it, claiming he’s making “bone soup.” Curious, the monsters begin to contribute their ingredients, adding to the pot one by one. This book shares the positive message of the importance of sharing and cooperation.
Writing Prompts To Use With Bone Soup
1. Write a recipe to make bone soup.
2. What spooky foods could you create to eat on Halloween?
8. Pumpkin Jack by Will Hubbell
Pumpkin Jack by Will Hubbell is a heartwarming story about the life cycle of a pumpkin, told through the experiences of a young boy named Tim. After Halloween, Tim leaves his carved pumpkin, Jack, outside in the garden. Over time, Jack begins to rot, and Tim watches as the pumpkin gradually decomposes throughout the changing seasons.
However, as spring arrives, Tim notices something magical—a sprout begins to grow from the remains of the pumpkin. Eventually, the sprout turns into a vine, producing new pumpkins in the fall, one of which Tim carves into a new Jack. The story beautifully illustrates the cycle of nature, showing how decay leads to new life. It’s a gentle introduction to the concepts of growth, change, and the passage of time.
Writing Prompts To Use With Pumpkin Jack
1. Write a story about visiting a pumpkin patch.
2. How do you find the perfect pumpkin?
9. Big Pumpkin by Erica Silverman
Big Pumpkin by Erica Silverman is a fun, Halloween-themed story about a witch who grows a giant pumpkin to make a pumpkin pie. However, when it’s time to harvest the pumpkin, it’s so enormous that she can’t pull it off the vine by herself. One by one, a ghost, a vampire, and a mummy each try to help, but none of them can move the pumpkin on their own.
Eventually, a little bat comes along with a clever idea—they all work together! By cooperating, the characters finally manage to pull the giant pumpkin free. The story ends with everyone enjoying a delicious slice of pumpkin pie together. The book emphasizes teamwork, problem-solving, and the fun of the Halloween season. Its rhythmic text and repetition make it especially engaging for young readers.
Writing Prompts To Use With Big Pumpkin
1. Imagine if the giant pumpkin could take a day off from being a Halloween decoration. Write about what the pumpkin would do if it could explore the world beyond the pumpkin patch.
2. Do you like pumpkin pie? Why or why not?
10. The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid Of Anything by Linda Williams
The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything by Linda Williams is a classic story about a brave little old lady who encounters various spooky objects while walking through the woods. One evening, as she returns home, she comes across shoes that clomp, pants that wiggle, a shirt that shakes, gloves that clap, and a hat that nods… and they all seem to be following her!
Despite these encounters, the little old lady refuses to be frightened. She rushes home, but the spooky objects soon knock at her door. Instead of being scared, she comes up with a clever solution: she turns the strange objects into a friendly scarecrow for her garden.
Writing Prompts To Use With The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid Of Anything
1. Is there anything you are afraid of?
2. Would you want to be friends with the little old lady? Why or why not?
11. National Geographic Readers: Halloween
I love the National Geographic Readers for nonfiction books. There is such a wide variety of topics for kids to choose from. This book covers different parts of Halloween like its history, traditions, and the ways people celebrate around the world. The book includes facts about Halloween symbols like pumpkins, ghosts, and costumes.
Writing Prompts To Use With National Geographic Readers: Halloween
1. Write about how your family celebrates Halloween compared to the traditions mentioned in the book. What are the similarities and differences?
2. What do you like about Halloween? Is it your favorite holiday?
12. The Good, The Bad, and the Spooky by Jory John
The Good, the Bad, and the Spooky is a book from the Food Group series, featuring the Bad Seed character. In this story, the Bad Seed is on a quest to find the spookiest costume for Halloween, but he’s running out of time and can’t seem to decide. His frustration grows as he tries to outdo everyone with the “best” costume, but he eventually learns that Halloween isn’t just about competing for the scariest outfit—it’s about having fun and enjoying the holiday with friends.
Writing Prompts To Use With The Good, The Bad, and the Spooky
1. If you could choose any Halloween costume, what would you choose?
2. Plan a Halloween party for your friends and family. Make sure to include what food, drinks, games, and decorations you will have at your party.
13. From Seed To Pumpkin by Wendy Pfeffer
From Seed to Pumpkin by Wendy Pfeffer is a non-fiction children’s book that explains the life cycle of a pumpkin in a simple and engaging way. The book follows the process of how a tiny seed grows into a large pumpkin, detailing each step from planting the seed, and the sprouting of vines, to the development of blossoms that eventually turn into pumpkins.
Writing Prompts To Use With From Seed To Pumpkin
1. In your own words, explain how a pumpkin grows from a seed to a pumpkin. Include as many details as you can from the book.
2. Imagine you are a pumpkin seed. Write about your journey from being planted in the soil to growing into a big, orange pumpkin. What do you see, hear, and feel as you grow?
14. The Pumpkin Book by Gail Gibbons
I’ve read this book, The Pumpkin Book, every fall that I did pumpkin day in first grade! It was the best book to learn the life cycle of a pumpkin, the history of pumpkin carving into jack o’ lanterns (and directions on how to carve a pumpkin!), and other pumpkin facts.
Writing Prompts To Use With The Pumpkin Book
1. Have you ever carved a pumpkin? What kind of design did you carve?
2. What is your favorite thing about pumpkins? Carving, painting, finding, etc.
I hope you enjoyed this list of Halloween picture books! These writing prompts are a great way to add in some writing with fun Halloween read alouds! If you are looking to extend the learning even further, make sure to check out our reading response sheets where students can listen to the book and then respond to who the main character is, what the setting of the story is, what the main idea is, and more! This is a great way to check reading comprehension.
Check out our reading response sheets here on TPT.
Check out our reading response sheets here on Missing Tooth Grins.
Check Out Our Fall Writing Prompts For More Writing Practice!
Our fall writing prompts are perfect for quick writes, morning work, or to use during writer’s workshop. They include themes like: apples, pumpkins, Halloween, pumpkin patches, leaves, and more fall themes!
Click here to purchase on TPT.
Click here to purchase on Missing Tooth Grins.
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