Here are 76 books that The Witch who was Afraid of Witches fans have personally recommended if you like
The Witch who was Afraid of Witches.
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As a parent, children’s book author, and fan of all things Halloween I have searched the globe for the best of the best when it comes to Halloween books for kids. Ok not really “the globe” but when the bookstore starts stocking the featured shelves with children's Halloween books around mid-August, I can’t resist either browsing or purchasing. These 5 are near and dear to my heart because instead of just a simple bedtime read, they all have something special and a memory attached to them. These are the books that are brought out year after year and still enjoyed by the kids, even when they are probably getting too old for bedtime stories.
An obvious choice, but this is such a great book I couldn’t leave it off.
I am not even sure where to begin with this one. It has rhymes and humor and a great story that is easy to follow. The book also has simple life lessons about friendship and being helpful. The characters are so cute and when reading out loud you can really put everything you’ve got into your witch voice!
Oh, and then with a hungry dragon, how can you go wrong? This one is usually the book that both kicks off and closes down Halloween time at our house and the kids never seem to get tired of it.
How the cat purred and how the witch grinned, As they sat on their broomstick and flew through the wind.
A very funny story of quick wits and friendship, Room on the Broom is another smash hit from the unparalleled picture book partnership of Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler, creators of The Gruffalo.
The witch and her cat fly happily over forests, rivers and mountains on their broomstick until a stormy wind blows away the witch's hat, bow and wand. Luckily, they are retrieved by a dog, a bird and a frog, who are all keen for a ride on…
As a parent, children’s book author, and fan of all things Halloween I have searched the globe for the best of the best when it comes to Halloween books for kids. Ok not really “the globe” but when the bookstore starts stocking the featured shelves with children's Halloween books around mid-August, I can’t resist either browsing or purchasing. These 5 are near and dear to my heart because instead of just a simple bedtime read, they all have something special and a memory attached to them. These are the books that are brought out year after year and still enjoyed by the kids, even when they are probably getting too old for bedtime stories.
How to Catch a Monster is just one of the books in the How to Catch series.
It is a quick read for a bedtime story and very interactive and fun for little ones. The rhyming is catchy and the illustrations by Andy Elkerton are beautiful and colorful. All of the How to Catch books have personality and this one doesn’t disappoint.
The kids love the plotting and planning in order to catch the monster and as a parent, I enjoy watching the gears turn when I ask how they would catch a monster. It is a house favorite and gets the kids in the Halloween spirit.
A USA Today Bestseller! From the New York Times and USA Today bestselling How to Catch series comes an all-new monster story and picture book for kids!
Get ready to laugh along in this fun children's monster book as a brave young ninja heads into the closet to meet the monster that's been so scary night after night! But what if our monster isn't scary at all? Maybe our hero is about to make a friend of the strangest sort...
Whether you're looking for kids books about fears, spooky basket stuffers, festive gifts for children, a great bedtime story, or…
As a parent, children’s book author, and fan of all things Halloween I have searched the globe for the best of the best when it comes to Halloween books for kids. Ok not really “the globe” but when the bookstore starts stocking the featured shelves with children's Halloween books around mid-August, I can’t resist either browsing or purchasing. These 5 are near and dear to my heart because instead of just a simple bedtime read, they all have something special and a memory attached to them. These are the books that are brought out year after year and still enjoyed by the kids, even when they are probably getting too old for bedtime stories.
I read this book to a Kindergarten class in 2006 and then again this past year.
This book is a smash hit with the kids and stands the test of time. The book is simple and the humor is silly which is what makes this book a fantastic read before bed or anytime really. It sets the mood when the leaves start to fall and spooky season is upon us.
It is highly interactive and the kids love to make the “hic-hic” sound while you read. When reading the book out loud, it gives adults a chance to let their silly flag fly and the kids all respond in-kind.
As a parent, children’s book author, and fan of all things Halloween I have searched the globe for the best of the best when it comes to Halloween books for kids. Ok not really “the globe” but when the bookstore starts stocking the featured shelves with children's Halloween books around mid-August, I can’t resist either browsing or purchasing. These 5 are near and dear to my heart because instead of just a simple bedtime read, they all have something special and a memory attached to them. These are the books that are brought out year after year and still enjoyed by the kids, even when they are probably getting too old for bedtime stories.
This book is a part of The Night Before series which is such a brilliant and cute idea.
The Night Before Halloween also tells its tale in rhyme form, but is in the pattern of “Twas the Night Before Christmas”. Natasha Wing really has a grasp on keeping to the original style while telling her story in an adorable way that is written in a language that kids can easily follow.
The story itself includes all of the classic monsters as they are getting ready for Halloween and trick or treaters. It is the perfect book that has all of the Halloween monsters without any of the scares!
It's time for Halloween! Celebrate the holiday with this this family fun read-aloud, a delightful seasonal entry in Natasha Wing's best-selling series.
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 by the author of The Night Before Easter?
A perfect gift to get young readers excited for this festive fall holiday!
I have always loved witches. Witches are women with powers and as a girl growing up in the 80’s (Before much female superhero representation) I was very drawn to that. My very favorite stories humanize witches, like the ones I listed above. My own children are very into Halloween and all things spooky- but cannot handle anything remotely scary. These were the best stories I found to share my witches obsession with my scaredy- kids. I hope you enjoy these books as much as I do, and may they spark a lifetime love of magic in your own young readers.
A perfect primer for young readers who are just getting into Halloween spookiness. I love a set up where the witch is afraid of people so the child reader can feel in control. The action plays out on Halloween night and the payoff when the "real" witch meets the child in costume is magical and age appropriate. A sweet and simple beginner witch story.
It's Halloween night and an extraordinarily brave witch has decided to venture out of her safe, haunted house and see for herself just how odd those humans can be, and what's more if it's true they walk instead of fly, wear unpointed hats, and hardly cackle at all.
But you never know what you'll find on earth, and one extraordinarily brave witch might just make a friend - a human friend!
I have always loved witches. Witches are women with powers and as a girl growing up in the 80’s (Before much female superhero representation) I was very drawn to that. My very favorite stories humanize witches, like the ones I listed above. My own children are very into Halloween and all things spooky- but cannot handle anything remotely scary. These were the best stories I found to share my witches obsession with my scaredy- kids. I hope you enjoy these books as much as I do, and may they spark a lifetime love of magic in your own young readers.
Another witchy title sure to not scare. My kids loved the rhyming spells and their funny outcomes- I loved the parade at the end. I worked for the Thanksgiving Day Parade for years and can totally relate to how rain can make or break your event. (Not to mention that one year it DID snow.)
A little witch named Delia has been looking forward all year to flying in the annual Witch Parade. When the rumors of rain come true and the other witches start complaining, Delia takes action. Using her best magic, Delia changes the rain to cats and dogs. At first this goes over quite well, but she quickly realizes the animals cause a few issues. She must change the rain again! This time to hats and clogs. And finally, she tries bats and frogs. But each new type of rain brings its own set of problems. How will Delia save the day?
I grew up next to a cemetery, and being an avid young artist, I loved to draw all kinds of monsters and spooky themes. Halloween books are a perfect way to express my creepy…but not too creepy side. When I look at Halloween picture books, I'm immediately focused on the pictures, long before I read the story. What medium did the artist use? How do they depict night scenes? Are they realistic or stylized? How interesting are their characters? Halloween picture books are a perfect way to create moody and somewhat scary scenes that balance the creepy with the not-so-creepy. Kids love to be scared, but we don’t want to give them nightmares!
While I love traditional painting as well as digital art, I also love imaginative and unconventional mixings of media. Harriet Muncaster’s sweet book I Am a Witch’s Cat exhibits beautifully staged photos of hand-built miniature scenes complete with fabrics and of all things, flat cut-out line art with simple color.
Added elements of strong light sources pouring in through windows and doors casting shadows that enhance the 3D effects. Little details like sunlight passing through a stained glass-like door cast a charming shadow that bends around a corner.
All the photographed scenes are faced with a flat 2D illustration with the type on the opposite page. The resulting images of hand-built props mixed up with flat line art make me want to pull out the old dollhouse and dress it up.
In this whimsical picture book, a little girl believes her mother is a good witch—and she is a special witch's cat! After all, every good witch needs a black cat. Together, this playful girl and her loving mom are a perfect twosome, whether they are mixing potions, growing magical plants, or dreaming of wild broomstick rides under a full moon.
For each dazzling spread, author-illustrator Harriet Muncaster handcrafted three-dimensional scenes out of paper and mixed media, then photographed them for a truly distinctive look. With each turn of the page, parents and kids will love discovering all the rich details…
Although I was a little scared of Halloween as a kid, I’ve grown to love the silly side of spookiness. Growing up with Pee-Wee’s Playhouse every Saturday morning, I learned that silliness is a superpower. Now, when working on kids books, my ultimate goal is to put work into the world that will delight kids, and won’t make the parents groan and say, “that one again?” Finding the sweet spot of being fun to read, fun to hear, and fun to look at is what I love most about creating kids books. I hope you and your little ghouls and goblins enjoy my spooky board Boooook list!
I love that the little girl (actually a little witch) in Ghosts in the House! is confident and capable every step of the way as she deals with her haunted house.
Ghosts are not something to be afraid of – they can be useful! Kazuno Kohara’s linocut illustrations are a perfect pairing to her words – simple and refreshing.
Ghosts in the House! by author-illustrator Kazuno Kohara is just the right mix of sweet and scary for the youngest trick-or treaters
At the edge of town lives a clever girl with a spooky problem: Her house is haunted! Luckily, she happens to be a witch and knows a little something about taking care of ghosts. She catches them, puts them in the washing machine, airs them out to dry, and gives them new lives as sofa covers, table cloths, and, of course, bed sheets to cozy up under. Fresh and charming illustrations in dynamic orange, black and white bring…
There's magic in a book that opens a window to the lives of ordinary people who lived in a time and place very different from our own. That’s why I enjoy exploring these stories. The narratives of the famous are often polished to the point that all the odd edges of a delicious pea soup or a long trip in uncomfortable boots are worn away. But I love these little details: how certain boarding house rules meant women had no place to stay when Jack the Ripper was prowling, or how a journal might consist of rag paper with a hand-stitched binding. They show us a distant era, but also reinforce our common humanity.
Different stylistically than the other books on the list, The Witch of Eye is a collection of lyric essays about those accused of witchcraft. In its pages, we meet Lisbet Nypan of Norway, who cured patients using a “ritual of salt” only to be put on trial in the late 1600s, and the German midwife Walpurga Hausmannin, who allegedly coupled with the devil in the clothes of the neighborhood corn farmer. The sentences are dense and hypnotic, transporting readers into fields and courtrooms. One essay begins by describing the language of magic: “You begin a spell with an invocation like Hear me or I beseech you or Oh friend or Listen.” Let yourself be drawn in.
This amazingly wise and nimble collection investigates the horrors inflicted on so-called "witches" of the past. The Witch of Eye unearths salves, potions, and spells meant to heal, yet interpreted by inquisitors as evidence of evil. The author describes torture and forced confessions alongside accounts of gentleness of legendary midwives. In one essay about a trial, we learn through folklore that Jesus's mother was a midwife who cured her own son's rheumatism. In other essays there are subtle parallels to contemporary discourse around abortion and environmental destruction. Nuernberger weaves in her own experiences, too. There's an ironic look at her…
I’m a historian who wants to know: Why did people burn other people at the stake for what we think was an impossible crime? It seems so unjust; indeed it was unjust. I mention Amnesty International in my book; as well as being a professional historian, I’ve been writing letters for Amnesty for many years, trying to rectify injustice. Yet witch-hunting made sense to the perpetrators; they weren’t simply ‘wicked’ or ‘crazed’ or ‘ignorant’. We need to understand them on many levels, from the most erudite demonology, all the way down to psychological processes by which we identify enemies. The five books I’ve chosen move gradually downwards, in order, from the highest to the deepest level.
As well as the village witch, we have what might be called the ‘folkloric witch’, and other folkloric traditions.
When interrogators asked witchcraft suspects about the Devil, the answers sometimes surprised them. They uncovered beliefs about nature spirits, practices of magical healing and divination, and visionary experience of otherworlds.
Some of this material fed into ideas about the witches’ sabbat, but these beliefs, practices, and visions were not necessarily about ‘witchcraft’ at all. Ronald Hutton’s ambitious book surveys these beliefs, practices, and visions.
He ranges far back into the ancient history of Europe – and adjacent regions, exploring traditions of ceremonial magic from ancient Egypt. If the idea of the witch is frightening, it is partly because of the folklore brought together in this book.
Why have societies all across the world feared witchcraft? This book delves deeply into its context, beliefs, and origins in Europe's history
"Traces the idea of witches far beyond the Salem witch trials to beliefs and attitudes about witches around the world throughout history."-Los Angeles Times
The witch came to prominence-and often a painful death-in early modern Europe, yet her origins are much more geographically diverse and historically deep. In this landmark book, Ronald Hutton traces witchcraft from the ancient world to the early-modern stake.
This book sets the notorious European witch trials in the widest and deepest possible perspective…
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