A collection of Halloween stories that will thrill beginning readers and help make learning to read fun.
Haunted Halloween Party: A Scooby Doo Reader
Haunted Halloween Party is listed as a Level 2 reader and it is mostly suited for this reading level. The book however does use commas and italics such as ‘Nothing to be afraid of, good buddy,’ Shaggy said cheerfully.’ This can make reading more difficult for beginners and therefore increase the suggested reading level.
The main challenge though seems to be the use of words many young readers may not be familiar with (e.g. chowing, shutters) and numerous Scooby-isms (e.g. ‘And rizza!’ Scooby added. – instead of ‘And pizza!’). Although the use of these words does add to the overall Scooby-ness of the book and I think may be considered an essential part of the story for young Scooby fans
Overall Haunted Halloween Party is probably still suited to a Level 2 reader although some support may be needed by a grown up at times. For Scooby Doo fans these challenges may add to the Scooby-ness and atmosphere of story – making it a great spooky read in the lead up to Halloween.
Eek! Stories to Make You Shriek (All Aboard Reading)
A kids Halloween beginner book that is ‘scary-but-not-too-scary’. The three stories in Eek: Stories to Make You Shriek are perfect for the lead up to Halloween:
Halloween: Ted has great fun at the Halloween party – but who was inside the monster costume…if it wasn’t his friend Danny?
Living Doll: Sarah finds out there is something a little strange about her new doll…and finds a solution to the problem.
Shaggy Dog: The Green family find a mystery in their new home.
Each story finishes with a spooky surprise perfect for Halloween story telling. The stories have been written especially for young readers to read alone so should not be too scary for most children.
The main challenge of Eek! Stories to Make You Shriek appears to be the number of pages with more lines of text than the average Level 2 early reader. This book should be therefor be suited to confident Level 2 readers looking for some spooky Halloween fun.
In a Dark, Dark Room and Other Scary Stories (I Can Read)
Considerations of the reading level is of minimal importance for this book. As although it is listed as a Level 2 reader the stories in this book may not suitable for younger children. In a Dark, Dark Room is a popular collection of scary folklore tales but may be far too intense for many children.
The stories include possibly scary themes and graphic illustrations. These may create nightmares in younger children or those who need a gentler approach to Halloween. This is definitely NOT a Halloween story book for children who are prone to nightmares. For other children it would be wise for an adult to read through the stories first to judge whether the stories would be too scary.
One benefit of the short story format of this book is that it allows just one or two stories to be read at any one time – which would help to decrease their intensity.
