Nonna's Guide to All Hallows' Read, 2022

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Appropriately Scary?

In 2010 author Neil Gaiman wanted to start a new book-giving holiday and was inspired to create All Hallows' Read. The idea is to encourage people to give each other scary books.

It's really a wonderful idea, but our little ones may not be ready for a truly scary story. Happily there are plenty of age appropriate Halloween books for you to share with your children!

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Click on the cover to see Nonna's Review!

This is a wonderful fictional story about the life cycle of the pumpkin plant! Children will understand Tim's sadness at letting his first Jack o' lantern go to his surprise and excitement at new spring plants and pumpkins ready just in time to carve a second Jack!

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Do you remember Bemelmans' Madeline?  These books were a staple in our home simply because Little Madeline was delightfully real and always causing some sort of trouble - even when she was being good! 
I stumbled across Frankenstein in my search for excellent picture books for All Hallows' Read and laughed and laughed and laughed - the poetry and the images are a definite send up of Madeline.

Click on the cover to see Nonna's Review!

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Click on the cover to see Nonna's Review!

Goodnight Moon is written as a soothing ode to the end of the day, with an intentionally calm cadence and peaceful pictures designed to ease a young child's transition to sleep.

Goodnight Goon is a little more active, to say the least, and I love it!

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My Little Guy loved this story - we read it through twice and he giggled the whole time.  "Carrots can't be creepy, Nonna!" 

While not a traditional Halloween story, it is a good idea to broaden a child's exposure to sneaky vegetables at this time of year!

Click on the cover to see Nonna's Review!

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Click on the cover to see Nonna's Review!

While not scary in the traditional Halloween sense, The Ugly Pumpkin resonates with a child's fear of being different and left out because of the difference.

Similar to the Ugly Duckling fable, all it takes for Ugly Pumpkin's fears to assuaged is to learn he's not a pumpkin! 

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Don't Celebrate Halloween?

What if you do not celebrate Halloween in your home or simply choose to avoid scary stories all together?  Well, there are still some wonderful pumpkin-oriented books to share with your children!

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Click on the cover to see Nonna's Review!

Children love shapes - circles, hearts, spirals, squares, triangles!  As they learn about shapes, our kiddos want to make sure we know about them too! And when your little one tells you she loves you with her heart and her triangle, you can be assured she understands shapes! 

Just not anatomy - yet.

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Seed, Sprout, Pumpkin, Pie is the perfect book for littles while your older child is reading Pumpkin Circle.  While it is shorter in length, the pictures are stunning AND the gentle tease about "what else are pumpkins used for?" will keep the interest of those kiddos waiting to hear about Jack O'Lanterns!

Click on the cover to see Nonna's Review!

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Click on the cover to see Nonna's Review!

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Harper Collins' Let's Read and Find Out series teaches preschoolers and young elementary school kiddos basic science concepts and are written and illustrated with an understanding of how children think!

For example, one of the first illustrations in From Seed to Pumpkin is of pumpkin seed packets with a focus on the Cinderella and Jack O'Lantern packets because children know about pumpkins from the fairy tale and the holiday! 

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Happy All Hallows' Read!      
Nonna