Provo Library Children's Book Blog

If you like slightly spooky stories about fangs, friendship and fitting in, here are some illustrated chapter books you can sink your teeth into!  Maud and the Very Eventful Week Written and Illustrated by Lisa Anchin Candlewick Press, 2026. J Intermediate. 64 pages. Join Maud the vampire for a week's worth of amusing vignettes, from a possessed teapot to a catastrophic cooking project with her best friend. I love the art in this book: charming illustrations with great compositions and lots of details. The world Lisa Anchin has created is warm, soft, funny, and a little creepy. Recommended for newly independent readers who are looking forward to tackling  Princess in Black on their own. Kevin the Vampire: A Most Mysterious Monster Written by Matt Brown Illustrated by Lincoln, MA : Nosy Crow, 2026. J Intermediate. 196 pages. Kevin is a young vampire who has grown up in a traveling circus full of monsters. When Carnival Monstromo gets stuck in a strange, quiet town called Lower ...

Grandpere's Ghost Swamp By Rachel M. Marsh New York: Greenwillow Books, 2026. Fiction. 238 pages. 12-year-old Basil Theriot is haunted by the ghost of her grandfather. At his funeral, Grandpere shows up in the back row, and Basil is the only one who can see him. Basil begins to follows G'Pere's instructions to see if she can help him move on. Meanwhile, her family's restaurant is in disarray as Basil's father takes over as head chef and tries to figure out G'Pere's secret ingredient. G'Pere warns Basil that he regrets the restaurant and bringing his family to the city of New Orleans and away from the bayous where their Cajun family originated. This is all fine by Basil, because she secretly hates the family business and resents her parents' dream for her to someday take over. With her school's Career Day looming, Basil and her best friend Tommy, follow G'Pere's ghost on a journey to reconnect with the Theriot's Cajun roots by venturin...

Abe Lincoln's Dream By Lane Smith New York: Roaring Brook Press, 2012. Picture Book. Ghost Cat Written by Eve Bunting Illustrated by Kevin M. Barry Ann Arbor, MI: Sleeping Bear Press, 2017. Picture Book. Goldfish Ghost Written by Lemony Snicket Illustrated by Lisa Brown New York: Roaring Brook Press, 2017. Picture Book. The Lady of the Library Written by Angie Karcher Illustrated by Rachel Sanson Ann Arbor, MI: Sleeping Bear Press, 2021. Picture Book. A Friend for Ghost By Suzanne Kaufman New York: Holiday House, 2022. Picture Book Yikes! It's Haunted By Rourke Educational Media Greensboro, NC: Rourke Educational Media, Carson Dellosa Education, 2019. Informational. 192 pages. Not So Ghoul Written by Karen Yin Illustrated by Bonnie Lui Salem, MA: Page Street Kids, 2022. Picture Book. Sir Simon: Super Scarer By Cale Atkinson Toronto: Tundra Books, 2018. Picture Book. The Night Gardener By Jonathon Auxier New York: Amulet Books, 2014. Fiction. 350 pages. Hide and Seeker By Daka H...

Free Piano [Not Haunted] By Whitney Gardner New York: Simon & Schuster, 2025. Comics. 245 pages. Margot is an aspiring singer-songwriter living in the quiet town of Cascade Cove, but she dreams of stardom. When she comes across a free keyboard on the street, which bears the promise "not haunted." Margot is sure this new instrument will help her grow her internet following and win the attention of her social media obsessed dad. Despite promising to teach her to play, Margot's dad is preoccupied with his social media followers, and Margot's mom works long hours to support them. Soon, Margot learns she's not as home alone as she expected -- the keyboard is in fact haunted by the ghost of Vision, a teen pop star from the 1980s. Writing music with Vision is the happiest Margot's been, but she can't help but envy the social media following of her friends and long for her dad's attention. Worst of all, Vision isn't the only ghost haunting the keyboard...

Ghost Book By Remy Lai New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2023. Comic. 313 pages. It's Hungry Ghost Month, which means that the Gates of the Underworld are open and ghosts are traveling through the mortal realm in search of food. Which also means that July Chen has to spend the next month pretending that she can't see all of the ghosts floating around, just like she has every other Hungry Ghost Month of her entire life. But when she saves William, a boy ghost, from being eaten by one of the Hungry Ghosts, he won't let her pretend that she can't see them. And as it turns out, William is not a ghost at all, he's somewhere in between life and death, as his body resides in a local hospital. For the first time in her life, July finally has a friend (you see, July has always been very forgettable, sometimes even her dad forgets that she exists.) Will they be able to find a way to reunite William with his body? Will they be able to figure out why July can see ghosts when no...

Extra Normal By Kate Alice Marshall New York: Viking, 2023. Fiction. 232 pages.  Charlie is completely normal in a family of extraordinary individuals. Her parents both work for the Division of Extranormal Investigations, her mother has unrivaled psychic powers, and her adopted siblings include a werewolf, a ghost, and a telekinetic boy. Sometimes though, this makes Charlie feel like she has to work harder to keep the household running to be valuable to her family. When something about their new neighbors seems suspicious, Charlie refuses to ask her parents for help and disrupt their much-neeeded vacation, instead deciding to get to the bottom of things on her own. Though Charlie worries that she is not special enough to fit in with her family, her siblings never miss a moment to show how much they care about her. Her three siblings band together to support Charlie, each using their unique skills to help in her investigations. This thriller also includes some genuinely heart-racing...

  The Blue Lady of Coffin Hall By Carolyn Keene New York: Aladdin, 2022. Fiction. 214 pages. Nancy goes with her boyfriend Ned to Coffin Hall Library to gather research for his true crime podcast. It is rumored that the ghost of Harriet Coffin haunts the library, but they want to get some more information from the the source. Some innocent research at the library quickly turns into disaster as a room catches fire and Ned is accused of starting it. It’s up to Nancy and her friends to find out who is really behind the fire and hopefully solve this ghost mystery along the way. The Blue Lady of Coffin Hall is a fun twist to the original Nancy Drew series. It has the typical whodunnit feel, but is more relatable and truer to life with the involvement of a true crime podcast. A great intermediate read for mystery lovers.

  Ghosts, Toast, and Other Hazards Written by Susan Tan Roaring Brook Press, 2023. Fiction. 227 pages. Mo Lin has just moved to a new town with her mom and her little sister, CeCe. Because of her parents recent divorce they are living with Mo's Uncle Ray while her mom looks for a job. Moving is never easy but Mo is also starting at a new school, learning how to handle her anxiety about fires, along with helping her younger sister adjust to the move. And if all of that wasn't enough, she starts having nightmares! Mo is haunted by a white elephant who needs her help to solve the mystery of it's tragic death. As she searches for answers, Mo begins to uncover some buried secrets about certain prominent people in town. With a couple of new friends by her side Mo starts investigating the truth about the circus fire that killed Maudie the elephant, the town, and it's history.  This is an emotional story filled with humor, adventures, a ghost elephant, a mysterious white dog, a...

The Stars Did Wander Darkling By Colin Meloy New York, NY: Balzer + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, 2022. Fiction. 329 pages. Archie Coomes and his friends start noticing things around their small, coastal town of Seaham that seem just a little bit off. Whether it's an out-of-place penny or a strange man in a brown coat, something is not right. And then Archie's dad's construction company stumbles upon something nefarious while digging on the cliffs. Something feels very wrong about it, yet all the grown ups, one by one, start pushing to keep the construction going--to keep digging deeper. This book feels a lot like a children's version of Stranger Things. The kids are the only ones who can save their town and they ride their bikes around town trying to solve the mystery of the hole in the ground and the adults acting strangely. There are many classic horror elements in this book, so this might be best for kids that are okay with a bit of a scare. It is def...

There are so many awesome Halloween-themed informational books at the library. Some are fun and spooky while others are down-right frightening. Here are five of my favorites for those wanting to get in the holiday spirit. The Ghostly Carousel Written by Calef Brown Minneapolis: Carolrhoda Books, 2018. 32 pages . This book of very silly poems will get you in the mood for Halloween. There are poems about scary shadows, creeping crud, and a zombie named Joel. You will definitely get a kick out of these goofy monsters.  Living Ghosts & Mischievous Monsters Written by Dan C. Jones New York: Scholastic Press, 2021. 166 pages. The author of this book is a member of the Ponca Nation of Oklahoma and grew up hearing scary stories from the elders in his tribe. As an adult, he travelled the country to hear more chilling tales from other tribes and nations. These stories truly are spooky--some so wild, you wouldn't come up with them in your wildest dreams. You might want to read these with ...

  It is the time of the year when it is fun to read spooky books. And while I cannot stand watching scary movies, I tend to love the middle grade fiction realm of spooky stories. There is just something about a good middle grade novel that has a paranormal/horror touch. Maybe it’s the fact that middle grade fiction is the perfect place to blend reality with imagination. Or maybe it’s because the best fiction I read tends to be the middle grade fiction. Either way, I tend to enjoy the spookiness of these books. However, I know that not every reader is ready for all levels of spooky. So, I have sorted these on a scale of Somewhat Spooky to These Books Will Scare the Socks Off of You ! I hope you enjoy these scary tales as much as I did! 

  Ophie's Ghosts Written by Justina Ireland Blazer + Bray, 2021. Fiction. When she was twelve years-old Ophelia, or Ophie as her family calls her, saw her first ghost. The night her father was murdered by a lynch mob, his ghost came to warn Ophie and tell her she needed to wake her mother and leave the house before the mob arrived to burn it to the ground. Ophie and her mother escaped and fled to Georgia to start a new life in Pittsburgh.  After their arrival in Pittsburgh, they begin working for an affluent family named the Caruthers. Daffodil manor where Ophie and her mother work, is full of ghosts, and Ophie quickly becomes friends with a young ghost named Clara. As their friendship develops Ophie wants to help Clara solve the mystery of her murder, but as she comes closer to the truth of Clara's death she begins to uncover some buried family secrets. This historical mystery is well written with a fast moving plot that adds just enough suspense to keep you turning the pages...

The In-Between By Rebecca K.S. Ansari New York: Walden Pond Press, 2021. Fiction. 313 pgs. Ever since his parents got divorced and his dad moved to San Diego to start a new family, 12-year-old Cooper is reluctant to let people in. He decides that it is better to be lonely than risk being hurt by someone -- so he pushes his friends, mother, and younger sister Jess, who is diabetic, away. Then one day a new boy named Gus shows up at school and Cooper is able to fall into an easy friendship with him. At around the same time, Jess convinces Cooper to solve the 100-year-old mystery of the Charfield railway disaster that seems to be mysteriously connected to Elena, their strange neighbor across the street. As Cooper and Jess are caught-up in a supernatural web of historical mysteries, they realize that disaster may be approaching their hometown of Chicago -- and they may be powerless to stop it. This twisty, ghosty, eerie story is a perfectly complex mystery for middle grade readers. This is...

Out to Get You: 13 Tales of Weirdness and Woe By Josh Allen New York : Holiday House, 2019. Fiction. Do you like scary stories? This is a collection of thirteen short stories guaranteed to give you the chills! Stories of a magical evil genie, a marker that makes anything you draw come to life, a couch that is so comfy...you might just end up sinking into it if you aren't careful. Unique and creative tales that will give you the shivers.  If you are a fan of Goosebump books or Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark , this is the perfect book for you! Each story has an unexpected or weird twist that you will never see coming. Whether you want to give yourself the chills or have scary stories to tell at your next campout, this book has everything you need. 

The Okay Witch By Emma Steinkellner Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division, 2019. Graphic Novel.  Moth is an ordinary 13 year old girl that loves anything to do with witches and magic. On Halloween, when some bullies tease her, something explainable happens. When Moth tells her mother about it, she discovers that her mother's past isn't quite what she expected. Moth has inherited magical powers and she must learn how to navigate through life with her newly found abilities. A series of unexpected events occur as Moth works to uncover the secrets of the town in which she lives, learn more about her family's history, and discover her true potential.  This graphic novel is perfect for anyone who loves fantasy and magic. It is a spooky coming-of-age story in which Moth discovers who she is and what talents and abilities she possesses. An element of mystery is evident throughout the entire novel that keeps readers engaged until the end. 

City of Ghosts By Victoria Schwab Scholastic Press, 2018. Fiction. Cassidy Blake is pretty much used to the paranormal - that's what happens when your parents are famous authors who write about the history of ghosts stories. It also doesn't help that she's technically haunted. Ever since her best friend Jacob, a ghost, saved her from drowning Cass has been able to pass through the "Veil" that separates the living from the dead. That's not to say that Cass likes seeing ghosts, in fact, she was really looking forward to her ghost-free summer at the beach. Then her parents announce that they're turning their books into a TV show of the most haunted cities in Europe, starting with Edinburgh, Scotland -- the home of an especially dangerous ghost called the Raven in Red. CITY OF GHOSTS is a delightfully atmospheric read for readers who want a more sophisticated ghost story. This fast-paced book is matched by sensory details of the Edinburgh of the livin...

The Darkdeep By Ally Condie and Brendan Reichs Bloomsbury, 2018. Fiction. When Nico Holland disappears into Still Cove - a mysterious and mist shrouded place near the small Pacific Northwest town of Timbers - Tyler, Emma, and Opal rush in after him and all are surprised to discover a mysterious island hidden in the fog. Though the island seems abandoned, the four soon discover a houseboat full of curios and covering a dark and ancient secret beneath its hull - a secret that knows more about them than they may care to admit. This new, middle-grade, horror fiction novel from YA big-shots Ally Condie  and Brendan Reichs was exactly the kind of spooky, paranormal read I was looking to dig into this fall. Part "Stranger Things", part Stephen King, and part something totally new - this book builds momentum quickly and keeps the excitement going until the last page. A sequel to this book is already planned, and is sure to be highly anticipated.

Whichwood   By Tahereh Mafi Penguin Young Readers Group, 2017. Fiction. 368 p. Whichwood is the sequel to Furthermore (2016) , and pulls Alice and Oliver from Ferenwood to Whichwood and into the life of the very unusual Laylee and her very unfortunate circumstances. With her mother dead and her father driven insane by grief, 13-year-old Laylee is forced to pick up the mantle as the only mordeshoor in Whichwood. As mordeshoor, Laylee has the duty and magical skills necessary to clean and prepare the bodies of the dead for the Otherwhere, the land beyond death. Laylee’s task of caring for the dead is, at best, unappreciated and at worst scorned and feared by those still alive in Whichwood. This leaves Laylee very lonely, neglected, and angry. On top of all that, the strain of Laylee’s responsibilities are killing her. Laylee, whose dark hair and amber eyes have already turned silver, realizes she is “irrevocably ill” when her bronze skin starts to fade to silver. Lay...

GHOSTS I don't know if it's Halloween that's got me in the mood for spooky things, or if I just really like ghosts. Either way I'm excited to share our newest book display. Since this display is brand new, it's scheduled to remain up until Christmas. Fun fact: traditionally ghost stories weren't just a Halloween thing. When day-to-day activities depended more on sunlight, people would gather around the fire on a cold winter night and swap spine-chilling tales. For example, one of the most famous Christmas reads-- A Christmas Carol-- is a Victorian ghost story. So enjoy the holiday season with a taste of the supernatural. Ghosts and Other Specters by Anita Ganeri and David West  PowerKids Press, 2011. Informational. "Describes many different kinds of ghosts, and explains the specter spectrum, from spirits that appear in ancient myths to the contemporary ghost hunters who use modern technology to study paranormal activity." Haunted Houses b...

Chilling Interactive Adventures by Various Authors Capstone Press Informational 100s As the person who buys all the informational ghost books, I was so excited to find this fun new series. Each book is set in an actual place that's believed to be haunted. Drawing on the stories and folklore surrounding the hauntings, each story casts you as a character on a night time adventure with multiple paths and possibilites. So, yes, this is just basically a Choose Your Own Adventure series... but they're spooky!