October is such a wonderful month in the bookish world… not only can you cosy up with an amazing autumnal story, but it’s also the time to settle down with a wonderfully witchy read or a fang-tactically fun adventure in the run-up to Halloween. So, sit yourself down with a warm mug and look at the top spooktacular seasonal books we’ve picked for you this month.

1. Fingerwiggly Ghosts

I can’t cope with how adorable it is.  Little children, or big children (aka adults!!) can push their little fingers through the cut-out holes in this cardboard book so they become the wiggly ghost arms of two sweet little ghost friends as they go trick or treating on Halloween night.  The two little wiggly ghosts are easily scared and there are lots of surprises along the journey as the friends wiffle their way through the dark forest towards a creepy house which is surrounded by pumpkins, bats, cats and broomsticks.

2. Would you Rather?

We are huge fans of the bouncy rhyming books that Donna David writes and this seasonal beauty is no exception. This Halloween book engages the youngest of audiences in this joyful, vibrant and playful picture book. The book invites your young reader to play the game “would you rather” and make a choice between all sorts of spooky and creepy creatures. Would you rather be a vampire (have silky sheets to rest your head), or a mummy (sleep inside a golden bed)?

3. Hubble Bubble Granny Trouble

Fizz and fun abound in this wonderfully witchy collection of three superb, spooky-themed books. The collection contains: Hubble Bubble Granny Trouble; Whizz Pop Granny Stop; and Spells-a-Popping Granny’s Shopping, all of which are hugely funny.

4. Fox’s Favourite Autumn

From the dazzling duo behind I Definitely Don’t Like Winter (which my twins adored!) comes this superbly seasonal read. 

Awww, Autumn is Fox’s favourite time of the year!  There is so much fun to be had – there  are leaves to crunch and kick and apples and blackberries to gorge on (yum). But as the days get shorter, Fox realises that Autumn is slipping away. He’s not happy about it. He wants to make it stay. He definitely doesn’t want Winter to arrive!

5. Wildsmith – Into the Dark Forest (book one) and Wildsmith – City of Secrets (book two)

These books have absolutely everything I would have wanted in a chapter book as a child! Magical beasts, baddies, mystery, adventure, a rich storyline, and many superb illustrations. The are packed full of adventure and magic, with dragons, wolves and witches and a whole manner of mystical beasts, they are perfect seasonal stories for this time of year.

6. The Pug Who Wanted to Be a Witch

Peggy the Pug is making magic in this gorgeous seasonal read. Peggy and her best friend and owner, Chloe, are so excited to meet the new neighbours on the block who have moved in next door. Chloe hopes that there is a playmate for her to make friends with and Peggy is desperate to have a dog to run around with. But when a surly girl called Emma moves in with her VERY mischievous kitten, Lucky, it seems that neither of the best friend’s wishes are going to come true.

7. Solve Your Own Mystery – The Transylvanian Express (recommended reading age 7 plus)

Would you like to try and solve the mystery of the missing Night Mayor Franklefink who appears to have vanished aboard the decadent Transylvanian Express?  The residents aboard the sumptuous train are all headed to Castle Ursprung, hoping to be invited into the home of the legendary vampire, Count Fledermaus. But while the train is on its journey, Night Mayor Franklefink disappears from the train and it is up to you, young reader, and your detective boss.

8. A Hedgehog Called Snuffle

Jasmine and her best friend Tom find an injured baby hedgehog one Autumn and they are delighted to be hand-rearing it and nursing it back to health. They even decide to prepare an assembly at school about how to help hedgehogs and incentivise the whole village (well, almost the whole village!) to make a hedgehog highway so the spiky snufflekins can wander freely from garden to garden.

9. Sherlock Bones and the Horror of the Haunted Castle

Sherlock Bones and Dr. Catson are BACK!!! Having absolutely ADORED the previous books in this fun, fast-paced detective puzzle book series.  In this tale, a wealthy hound is haunted by a ghostly figure in a castle that she has just inherited in the Catpathian Mountains, Transylvania. She and her husband call in Bones and Catson for help. But Bones is a pragmatist- he doesn’t believe in ghosts – surely there must be a rational explanation?!

10. Meesh the Bad Demon

Meesh does not seem to fit in in Mount Magma, the demon city where she lives. She is bullied by the other demons, likes flowers, is no good in class and just adores watching Princess Nouna and fangirling all about the fairy princess. But disaster strikes and the whole of the demon realm is threatened and Meesh is just the unlikely demon to try and save demon kind! She must journey to other worlds to try and save hers.

11. Monster Support Group: The Mummy’s Curse (age 7 plus)

Meet Anatiti. She’s three thousand years old.  And she isn’t very good at listening. She was once chosen by the gods to rule Ancient Egypt but she wasn’t very good at people telling her what to do. I mean, she was the pharaoh after all, right?! She tells the Monster Support Group though how her listening ears not being switched on and her pride might just have been her downfall!

12. The Taming of the Cat

In a delectable cheese shop lives a colony of mice. These mice live in constant fear of the vicious guard cat named Gorgonzola  and her razor sharp claws and teeth. One such mouse is little Brie. Brie does not seem to fit in with the other mice. They ostracise him because he prefers to eat breadcrumbs and grains. Yet this little mouse has big ideas. His imagination takes him away from the squabbles of the colony through his storytelling (which they are much too busy to listen to). Brie’s imagination and gift for storytelling is what might just save his life. 

13. Miss Mary-Kate Martin’s Guide to Monsters – The Wrath of the Woolington Wyrm

Dressed in her sparkly red shoes, carrying her sparkly red backpack containing her strawberry scented notebook, Mary-Kate accompanies her archaeologist mother to the English countryside to investigate some interesting old bones. But more than old bones is waiting for them in the not-so-sleepy village of Woolington. In fact, this village isn’t even vaguely peaceful- there are strange noises and the earth trembles and the locals are worried that it might have something to do with a terrifying old legend about a monster.

14. Alice Eclair Spy Extraordinaire- A Sprinkling of Danger

In this book, the reader can immerse themselves in the splendour and glamour of the Palace of Versailles as Alice gets herself a job on a glitzy film set there. But Alice soon learns that the film industry is not as shiny and exciting as she first thought as she works tirelessly on her most dangerous mission yet. She’s on a hugely important mission to uncover an enemy spy but someone is not whisked (pun intended) away by Alice’s brilliant bakes and perfect patisseries.

15. The Midnight Switch

Welcome to Barrow. It’s rather a strange place: its history involves a creepy curse and some terrifying birds. Oh, and did I also mention the freaky floods and the infamous Barrow Bogwitch?! When Lewis and his family move to Barrow to help him try and get into a new school, Lewis doesn’t really believe all the fuss about curses and witches. But raucous rooks and their yellow eyes keep appearing at his window and then a strange girl from the past knocks on his door at midnight.

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