Skip to main content

If You Like... Spooky Season Informational Books

It's that eerie time of year, and you may have started wondering about all the whys and hows behind our spookiest traditions. Well then, non-fiction readers, celebrate—because this is the list for you! Here are some of the latest publications covering everything from ghoulicious cooking to haunting locales to spooky global celebrations and stories for this bone-chilling season!

Written by Matt Ralphs
Illustrated by Veronika Kotyk 
New York; London: Phaidon, 2024. Informational. 47 pages. 

Dive into a global tour of fascinating festivals in Spooky Celebrations Around the World. Beyond familiar favorites like Halloween and DĆ­a de Muertos, this vibrant book introduces young readers to 21 unique celebrations honoring spirits across every continent. With playful, yet respectful text and stunning artwork, it's a brilliant, year-round read that will spark curiosity about cultural traditions and the world.

By Geo Rutherford
New York: Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2024. Informational. 96 pages.

Geo Rutherford's chillingly educational book for middle-grade readers, Spooky Lakes, dives into the real-life wonders and mysteries lurking beneath the surface of Earth's most unusual lakes, from toxic waters that mummify creatures to stormy bays with constant lightning—it's filled with eerie illustrations and fascinating facts. While offering an adventurous tour of these bizarre locales, it also explores the science of hydrology. So, not only will it give you goosebumps, it may just spark a greater understanding and appreciation for our planet's hidden depths. 

By Ruthie VanOosbree and Tamara J.M. Peterson
North Mankato, MN: Capstone Press, a Capstone imprint, 2026. Informational. 32 pages. 

Whip up some deliciously spooky Halloween treats with this easy-to-follow cookbook! Inside, you'll find everything you need to create "ghoulicious" monster mac 'n' cheese, ghost strawberries, and creepy gelatin worms that are perfect for any Halloween party. It's a frightfully fun way to get into the Halloween spirit and impress your friends with creative recipes.

Retold by Wendy Shearer
Illustrated by Teo Georgiev
Dublin, Ireland: Lonely Planet Global Limited, 2023. Informational. 142 pages.

Do you dare to open the pages of a new collection of chilling tales? More than 20 of the most fright-filled stories from around the world have been turned into a global journey of terror, from: The legend of the Vampire Skeleton in Canada, to Blackbeard's ghost in the USA, and the shadowy Lagahoo of Trinidad and Tobago. Professionally retold by storyteller Wendy Shearer and eerily illustrated by Teo Georgiev, this book is perfect for anyone brave enough to explore the world's spookiest folklore.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Review: A Strange Thing Happened in Cherry Hall

A Strange Thing Happened in Cherry Hall By Jasmine Warga New York: Harper, 2024. Fiction. 211 pages. A painting has been stolen from the Penelope L. Brooks Museum and sixth-grader Rami Ahmed is worried he's the main suspect. His mother works at the museum as the lead custodian and Rami spends a lot of time hanging out at the museum while she works. On the day the painting went missing, the only people there were the security guard Ed, the cleaning crew, and Rami. Then, a mysterious girl appears in the museum. She floats around from room to room and only Rami can see her -- and she looks exactly like the girl from the missing painting. To prove his innocence and help figure out who the floating girl is, Rami partners up with an aspiring sleuth at school named Veda and the two dive into unexpected situations as they try to solve the mystery. This is a cozy mystery that is focused mostly on characters and ambiance and only a little on the mystery itself. Don't read this book if yo...

Review: The Factory

The Factory By Catherine Egan New York, NY : Scholastic Inc., 2025. Fiction. 306 pages.  Thirteen-year-old Asher Doyle has been invited to join the Factory, a secretive research facility in the desert which ostensibly extracts renewable energy from the electromagnetic fields of its young recruits. But Asher soon realizes something sinister is going on. Kids are getting sick. The adults who run the Factory seem to be keeping secrets. And the extraction process is not only painful and exhausting, but existentially troubling. Asher makes a handful of new friends who help him with an investigation that turns into a resistance, which turns into...a cliffhanger! The Factory is a page-turning sci-fi with multidimensional characters, an intriguing plot, and refreshingly straight-forward writing. Egan weaves in detail about climate crises and social unrest, making the story's dystopian setting feel rich and plausible. With its sophisticated themes and accessible storytelling, I would recomm...

Review: The Amazing Generation

The Amazing Generation: Your Guide to Fun and Freedom in a Screen-Filled World Written by Jonathan Haidt and Catherine Price  Illustrated by Cynthia Yuan Cheng New York: Rocky Pond Books, 2025. Informational. 226 pages.  In a kid-friendly adaptation of his best-selling book, The Anxious Generation , Jonathan Haidt teams up with Catherine Price, author of How to Break Up With Your Phone , to bring the power of good information directly to the hands of those that this issue affects most directly — kids on the cusp of getting their own smartphones. The book presents information about the drawbacks of having a smartphone and social media too soon in clear and easy-to-understand language, with eye-catching graphics and pop-outs. Throughout the book, quotes from real teens and young adults, called screen "rebels" by the authors, emphasize the points the authors are trying to make. Fictional characters are featured throughout in a graphic novel story, which further emphasizes the po...