The start of fall is here! Alongside the start of autumn and beautiful colors, October is a month filled with horror, thriller, costumes, and most importantly, candy! To celebrate Halloween and the start of autumn, here are some books you must read this month!
Elementary - Fiction
The Night Before Halloween by Natasha Wing and Cynthia Fisher
Here’s a short description from Goodreads…
“Little monsters and goofy goblins take center stage in this silly, spooky spin on Clement C. Moore's beloved poem. But what will happen on Halloween when the monsters come face to face with human trick-or-treaters in this fun-filled book?”
The book uses fun illustrations to show the interesting aspects of Halloween. With adorable characters, the book introduces the concept of trick-or-treating and the concept of monsters, witches, and globins. The book introduces a hilltop house with its inhabitants being ghosts and monsters. It also describes a group of children waiting to go trick-or-treating and enjoy many fall and Halloween activities. It provides different ways to help understand different fall/Halloween activities.
Elementary - Nonfiction
Animals in Fall by Martha E. H. Rustad and Fall Leaves by Martha E. H. Rustad
Here’s a short description from Goodreads…
“In fall, animals are busy getting ready for winter. See how hard they work to make sure they have enough food and shelter for the cold winter ahead.”
“Look at all the brightly colored trees! Fall weather causes leaves to change colors. Follow a leaf as it grows, changes color, and falls to the ground. Let's grab a rake! What happens in fall?”
These books use fun-filled illustrations to teach children about the animal and leaf cycles. They use different methods to help students understand animal migration, hibernation, and different leaf cycles, describing how and why leaves change colors in the fall. Also, the book includes an interesting art project that children can work on to hone their knowledge about this very important topic.
Middle School - Fiction
Goosebumps (Series) - R. L. Stine
Here’s a short description from Goodreads…
“Goosebumps is a series of children's horror fiction novellas created and authored by R.L. Stine. Sixty-two books were published under the Goosebumps umbrella title from 1992 to 1997, the first being Welcome to Dead House, and the last being Monster Blood IV.”
The Goosebumps series provides an introduction to the genre of horror to the middle grade levels. Every book in this series has a different story, which makes them interesting to read. The language used in the book is in accordance with the middle school grade levels. These books help pre-teens explore a new genre of books and potentially get them interested in future reading. This series is also a good start of learning analysis. The use of violent imagery throughout the series can help students understand how to analyze literary devices and techniques.
Middle School - Nonfiction
National Geographic Kids - Halloween
Here’s a short description from Goodreads…
“Funny facts and information about Halloween, for kids"
Do you know someone who has the most random facts stored in their head? Do you ever wonder how they know these facts? Well, National Geographic magazines are the answer. The National Geographic magazines range from teaching elementary school kids through adults. This edition of the magazine is all about Halloween; its start, its traditions, and why it’s an important holiday to many people around the world. The book uses different kinds of illustrations, games, and quizzes which help make the reading of the book a lot more fun and interesting.
Secondary School - Fiction
Frankenstein by Mary Shelly
Here’s a short description from Goodreads…
“Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a combination of Gothic novel and science fiction. It unfolds the story of a scientist Victor Frankenstein who creates a hideous monster from pieces of corpses and brings it to life. But the monster eventually becomes the source of his misery and demise. The plot of the novel is epistolary. The story is narrated through the first-person accounts of Captain Walton, Victor Frankenstein, and the monster himself. Moreover, Frankenstein is also a frame story. It means a story framed or surrounded by another story or a series of stories.”
Frankenstein is a classic Halloween novel filled with surprises and plot twists. It recounts the story of Victor Frankenstein’s creation. The book does a very good job with combining the features from the Gothic, horror, and science-fiction genres. The book can be considered an easy introduction to classic novels. Classics are a hard genre to read, so having a good introduction to the genre is very helpful.
Secondary School - Nonfiction
Dark Archives: A Librarian’s Investigation into the Science and History of Books Bound in Human Skin by Megan Rosenbloom
Here’s a short description from Goodreads…
“Rosenbloom seeks out the historic and scientific truths behind anthropodermic bibliopegy--the practice of binding books in this most intimate covering. Dozens of such books live on in the world's most famous libraries and museums. Dark Archives exhumes their origins and brings to life the doctors, murderers, innocents, and indigents whose lives are sewn together in this disquieting collection. Along the way, Rosenbloom tells the story of how her team of scientists, curators, and librarians test rumoured anthropodermic books, untangling the myths around their creation and reckoning with the ethics of their custodianship.”
The book talks about the historical origin of the book covers and explains how in the past, book covers were bound in human skin. It’s an interesting book for people interested in learning some random facts about the history of books. Many books explore the historical significance of literature and this book just happens to explore one of the grosser parts of the history of literature.
Written by: Krisha L
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