Tuesday, October 30, 2018

Top Ten Tuesday - Ten Halloween Middle Grade Reads

This week's Top Ten Tuesday topic from That Artsy Reader Girl is a Halloween freebie.  I talked about spooky books that I'd like to read a few weeks ago so today I thought I'd talk about Middle Grade Halloween reads.  Halloween around here is pretty kid heavy since I have an 8 year old who loves trick or treating!  As a bonus we don't usually like the same kind of candy so it's basically like he's trick or treating for the both of us!


1.  Bunnicula by Deborah and James Howe - I somehow missed this when I was a kid but I've made up for it now!  The Tornado and I listened to it on a road trip last year and both became big fans.  He was so resistant because he's not a fan of creepiness but this was perfect!

2.  The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin - I love this book and it was one of my daughter's favorite books when she was a kid (it probably still is) and for good reason.  It's a cleverly done mystery with a spooky house that may or may not be haunted.

3.  The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman - This is set in a graveyard so of course it had to be on the list.  While there is a little bit of violence and intensity and a whole bunch of ghosts I don't think it would bother even kids on the sensitive side.

4.  Among the Shadows by L.M. Montgomery - This is a book of short stories from Montgomery that is very different from optimistic Anne.  The stories have just the perfect touch of creepiness.

5.  The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud - This is one of those books that is on the border of Middle Grade and YA.  It's got a fairly hefty page count and it's pretty creepy but the characters are children and there's nothing inappropriate for younger readers if they could handle the intensity.

6.  Wait till Helen Comes by Mary Downing Hahn - I haven't read this since I was a kid but I remember being seriously creeped out.  And it has a ghost!  I love a good ghost story!  Looking on Goodreads I see that she had a ton of other fantastic looking ghost stories.  No idea why I never read them except that my library/local bookstore must not have had them.

7.  Christina's Ghost by Betty Ren Wright - I loved this book so much as a kid and was fascinated by finding out the little boy's story as well as seeing how Christina's summer was going to go.  I listened to this a year or two ago and enjoyed it just as much!

Halloween Middle Grade Books I Want to Read:


1.  The Witches by Roald Dahl - I just really started reading Roald Dahl in the last couple of years and am really looking forward to trying this one.

2.  The House with a Clock in Its Walls by John Bellairs - I had never heard of this book until the movie came out recently but it looks fantastic and I'm really looking forward to reading it.

3.  The Mysterious Howling by Maryrose Wood - This one I discovered when looking on some "If You Like This Try This" lists and I love the sound of it.

What are some of your favorite spooky Middle Grade reads?

9 comments:

  1. #3 - the graveyard book is on my list too, that's an enjoyable read. #5 - this could have been fun but it wasn't, so I won't be reading the rest of the series.

    sadly, I have not read the other books on your list but I might read 'the witches' some day.

    have a lovely day.

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  2. Roald Dahl was a favourite of mine when I was a kid.

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  3. Oh, you have some good one here! Bunnicula!! My daughter loved that book. She wasn't much for scary at that time, but now...whew! She watches all the scary. I loved Christina's Ghost and Wait till Helen Comes and read them. She thought they were too scary. Ha! Oh, and I'm going to be reading The Westing Game next year for my classics list. It's been a long while.

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  4. I totally remember Bunnicula!!!! Aw now I can't wait for my kids to read it!

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  5. OH MY GOD, Bunnicula!!!! I need to get my hands on a copy of that for a reread!!

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  6. Mouse is just getting into the spooky stuff, but still scares easily. I really want to read The Graveyard Book.

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  7. Sebastian loved the Bunnicula books! 🐇

    You reminded me that Baz and I both read The House with a Clock in the Walls. I had no idea it had been turned into a movie. I'm thinking that he read the next two, but I'm not sure. 📚

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