Looking for Halloween books for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade that are spooky and fun without feeling too young for your students?
Halloween is one of those times of year when even your most reluctant readers are usually ready for a good story. Ghosts, mysterious houses, creepy characters, strange noises, and unexpected twists make it easy to get upper elementary students interested in a read aloud.
The best part is that Halloween books can be more than just a fun break from your regular lessons. A good spooky story can help students practice skills like making inferences, identifying theme, analyzing characters, studying author’s craft, comparing texts, and even writing their own narratives.
Whether you are looking for a quick Halloween read aloud, a book to use during your reading block, or just something fun to share during the week of Halloween, these Halloween books for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade give you plenty of options.
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Book 1: Creepy Carrots! by Aaron Reynolds
Creepy Carrots! is one of my favorite Halloween books for upper elementary because it manages to be funny, suspenseful, and just creepy enough without actually being scary.
Jasper Rabbit loves eating the carrots from Crackenhopper Field, but eventually he starts to believe those carrots are following him. Are the carrots really after him, or is Jasper’s imagination getting the best of him?
This is a great book for practicing making inferences because students can use both the text and illustrations to decide what they think is actually happening. It is also perfect for talking about how authors build suspense through pacing, repetition, and small details.
Suggested activity: Have students design their own creepy food. They can choose an ordinary food, give it a spooky personality, and write a short narrative about what happens when it begins following a character. Encourage them to borrow some of the suspense techniques they noticed in the book.
Book 2: The Widow’s Broom by Chris Van Allsburg
If you want a Halloween read aloud that feels a little more sophisticated for 4th and 5th graders, The Widow’s Broom is an excellent choice.
The story begins when a witch falls from the sky and leaves behind her broom. The broom appears ordinary at first, but the widow who discovers it soon realizes that it can move and complete chores on its own. Not everyone in the neighborhood is happy about the mysterious broom, however, and things quickly become more complicated.
Chris Van Allsburg’s illustrations and storytelling make this a great book for practicing inference, mood, point of view, and theme. There is also plenty for students to discuss once the story ends.
Suggested activity: Have students retell part of the story from the broom’s point of view. What does the broom see? How does it feel about the widow? What does it think about the people who are afraid of it? Students will need to use evidence from the story while also imagining details that fit the character.
Book 3: The Spider and the Fly by Mary Howitt, Illustrated by Tony DiTerlizzi
The Spider and the Fly is based on Mary Howitt’s classic poem and pairs wonderfully creepy black-and-white illustrations with a cautionary tale about a spider who uses flattery to lure a fly into his web.
Upper elementary students can dig much deeper into this story than younger readers. The Spider carefully changes his approach each time the Fly refuses him, which makes the book perfect for discussing persuasion, word choice, character motivation, and author’s message.
The rhyming text also gives you an easy way to bring poetry into your Halloween reading.
Suggested activity: Have students look back at the different arguments the Spider uses to persuade the Fly. Students can create a chart listing what he says, what he really wants, and why his words might sound convincing. Then have students write a short warning to another character explaining how to recognize someone who may not have good intentions.
Book 4: The Skull by Jon Klassen
If your students are ready for something a little longer, The Skull is a wonderfully strange and spooky choice for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade.
The story follows a girl named Otilla who runs away and discovers a mysterious house inhabited by a talking skull. Instead of simply running away from one another, the two form an unusual friendship. But the skull is afraid of something that visits the house each night, and Otilla decides to help.
This book is based on a traditional folktale, which makes it especially useful for talking about folktales, storytelling traditions, character choices, and how authors reinterpret older stories.
Suggested activity: After reading, have students create their own spooky folktale. Give them three required elements: an unusual character, a mysterious setting, and an object with a secret. Students can plan the beginning, problem, solution, and lesson before writing their stories.
Book 5: How to Make Friends with a Ghost by Rebecca Green
How to Make Friends with a Ghost looks like a guidebook explaining exactly what you should do if you are lucky enough to meet a ghost.
Instead of being scary, the book is sweet, funny, and filled with quirky instructions for caring for your new ghost friend. It is a great choice when you want a Halloween book that is festive without being frightening.
It is also practically made for a procedural writing lesson. Students can study how the book gives directions and then create their own imaginative how-to guides.
Suggested activity: Have students write “How to Take Care of a Monster.” They can choose a vampire, zombie, werewolf, witch, mummy, or an imaginary creature of their own. Their guide should include supplies, numbered steps, warnings, and helpful tips.
Book 6: The Little Ghost Who Was a Quilt by Riel Nason
Most ghosts are made from lightweight white sheets, but the little ghost in this story is a heavy patchwork quilt. Because of that, he cannot float and fly as easily as the other ghosts.
He sometimes wishes he could be like everyone else—until Halloween night gives him the opportunity to experience something his sheet-ghost friends cannot.
Although the illustrations and story are accessible to younger readers, the theme makes The Little Ghost Who Was a Quilt a great discussion book for upper elementary students. You can use it to talk about identity, belonging, comparison, and recognizing the strengths that come from being different.
Suggested activity: Have students create a quilt square representing something unique about themselves. They can include small illustrations, words, symbols, hobbies, traditions, or interests. Put the squares together to create a class “quilt” bulletin board.
Book 7: Gustavo, the Shy Ghost by Flavia Z. Drago
Gustavo is a ghost who loves playing the violin and doing all sorts of ghostly things, but there is one thing he finds especially difficult: making friends.
Because Gustavo is so shy, the other monsters barely notice him. Eventually, he decides to share something he loves with them and finds a way to let his personality shine.
The story takes place as Día de los Muertos approaches, so this book can also open the door to an important conversation about how Día de los Muertos and Halloween are separate celebrations with different histories and traditions, even though students may see similar imagery associated with both.
Suggested activity: Have students complete a character change chart for Gustavo. What is he like at the beginning of the story? What problem does he face? What action does he finally take? How does that action change things? Students can finish by writing about a time when sharing an interest or talent helped them connect with someone else.
Book 8: Bone Soup by Cambria Evans
If your students are familiar with Stone Soup, Bone Soup gives the traditional folktale a fun Halloween twist.
Finnigin is a hungry skeleton who arrives in town hoping to find something to eat. When the local creatures refuse to share their food, he announces that he will simply make bone soup instead. Before long, everyone begins contributing ingredients.
Because it is based on a familiar tale, this Halloween book works especially well for teaching compare and contrast.
Suggested activity: Read Stone Soup and Bone Soup, then have students compare the two versions. They can look at characters, setting, ingredients, problem, solution, and theme. For an extra writing activity, students can create a third version of the tale set somewhere completely different, such as outer space, an underwater kingdom, or a haunted school.
Book 9: There’s a Ghost in This House by Oliver Jeffers
A girl lives in a house that she believes may be haunted, but there is one problem: she has never actually seen a ghost.
As she takes readers through the house searching for evidence, the illustrations reveal quite a bit more than the character realizes.
There’s a Ghost in This House is especially fun as a read aloud because students will quickly start noticing details and wanting to point them out. That makes it an easy choice for practicing observation, inference, and using visual evidence.
Suggested activity: Show students a spooky setting and ask them to make inferences about what may have happened there. They should list specific visual details as evidence for each inference. Then students can draw their own haunted room and hide clues throughout the illustration for a partner to analyze.
Book 10: Creepy Crayon! by Aaron Reynolds
Jasper Rabbit returns in Creepy Crayon!, this time with a purple crayon that seems almost too good to be true.
The crayon begins helping Jasper with schoolwork and making his life easier. At first, Jasper loves it. Eventually, though, he realizes that relying on the crayon comes with consequences.
Like Creepy Carrots!, this book gives students plenty to think about while still being funny and entertaining. It is especially useful for discussing character development, cause and effect, problem and solution, and theme.
Suggested activity: Ask students to invent a magical school supply. It could be a pencil that writes essays, an eraser that removes mistakes from real life, or a backpack that finishes homework. Students should explain what the object does and then add a twist: What goes wrong when the character becomes too dependent on it? Use their ideas as the starting point for a Halloween narrative.
Using Halloween Books in Your Upper Elementary Classroom
Halloween books for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade do not have to be an interruption to your regular instruction. They can give students a fun seasonal way to practice many of the same reading and writing skills you are already teaching.
Use a spooky story to practice making inferences. Compare two Halloween books to work on theme. Study how an author creates suspense before students write their own narratives. Turn a silly ghost story into a procedural writing lesson.
And, of course, sometimes it is perfectly fine to read a Halloween book simply because your students will enjoy it.
Whether your class prefers silly ghosts, creepy mysteries, classic tales, or stories that are just a little bit spooky, adding a few Halloween read alouds to your October plans can make reading time something your students look forward to all month long.
