Halloween Approaches... pt. 1 picturebook to early readers and dyslexia friendly

There's nothing like a healthy dose of horror. A good spooky story can free our imaginations, help us deal with real fears by battling metaphorical beasts and ghoulies, and even make us go 'aaaaaaaarrrgghh!' in a way that's entertaining to passersby. So have no fear of indulging your spooky side this Halloween. And don't forget, if you're feeling brave we're hosting Halloween story readings on Oct 31st from 4pm, with selected stories and poems suitable 7+yrs. See pt. 2 for Halloween recommendations from junior to teen and young adult.

Silly Ghosts: a haunted pop-up by Lawler, Chambers & Yeretskaya

Here you'll find plenty of spooky surprises to make you jump and giggle. The simple shapes of the illustrations make this a more sturdy and easy to operate pop-up than most.

Fright Club by Ethan Long

The first rule of Fright Club is... you have to be scary to join! But when Vladimir the vampire denies membership to a bunny rabbit, she and the other animals decide to show the Fright Club just how scary they can be.

Dirty Bertie: Horror! by Alan Macdonald

We often recommend Dirty Bertie as a refreshing alternative to Horrid Henry. Unlike Henry, Bertie's not a bad kid; he's just a bit grubby and gets into some strange situations. This time he sneaks into a scary film and has to avoid an even scarier dog on his paper round.

Dust 'n' Bones by Chris Mould

This collection is formed of ten concise adaptations of classic horror stories, including The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and The Tell Tale Heart, accompanied by Chris Mould's rich illustrations. It's a great introduction to the best of the horror genre, ideal for early or reluctant readers.

Ghost Stadium by Tom Palmer

Ghost Stadium is published by Barrington Stoke, who produce dyslexia-friendly books with great authors like Tom Palmer, an advocate of both sports and reading. Three school friends steal away to spend a night camping in a football stadium, abandoned years ago. But there was a mysterious death there years before, and one player hasn't finished his time at the stadium... Another Halloween-appropriate Barrington Stoke is Monster Busters by Cornelia Funke (the German fantasy author known for the Inkspell series).