2025 Boo-Basket Books
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Is it still July while I am writing this, yes. Do I have an unnatural obsession with Halloween and spooky season, also yes. But planning for a boo basket for your little one can sneak up on you.
Also, in this age of social media and influencers (myself included), a Boo-Basket is not necessary, it should be fun, not stressful and it is no reason to go into debt or try to keep up with the Draculas. Make it whatever you want and don’t think you have to do what someone else is doing.
As a fan of traditions, I put some thought into what I wanted my daughter’s boo-basket to be. This may change over the years, but for now it will be about kicking off the Halloween season. I will be buying ONE basket that I use year after year, the same as I did for Easter. In it, I plan to do pajamas we can decorate the house in, some sweet treats we can eat while watching Hocus Pocus later that evening, a spooky themed book, and an age appropriate toy. Simple, cute and seasonal.
A recent study from HarperCollins UK states that only 41% of children under 5 are being read to regularly. I think this is so important for children, and I have always hoped my daughter would have the same love for books that I have. I had a Bat themed baby shower and asked that everyone bring a book instead of a card. When I tell you our friends and family showed up, with some of the cutest spooky books that were perfect for our little doll.
So here is a break down of some of my favorites:
Vlad the Fabulous Vampire, By Flavia Z. Drago - This is a cute book about accepting yourself for who you truly are. Vlad has a secret he is trying to hide from his friends - he has pink cheeks. He later learns that his best friend also has a secret and that instead of trying to hide their true selves, they should just be themselves. This is easy to ready, but is a little longer so it works well for a single book night.
Vlad the Fabulous Vampire by Flavia Z. Drago - An adorable tale about loving who you really are
Halloween Hustle, By Charlotte Gunnufson - I love this book, this is one of my favorite things to read my daughter because it flows like a song. It is about a skeleton that is on his way to a Halloween party and keeps having accidents that lead to his bone scattering about. He glues, tapes and rubber bands himself back together all in the name of dancing the Halloween Hustle! I often find this book stuck in my head after I put my daughter to bed, but in a fun way.
Halloween Hustle, by Charlotte Gunnofson - I sing “Bones Scatter, What a Clatter, Spine is like a broken ladder” all the time.
Baby Bat Bedtime, by Paige Towler and the Smithsonian Bat Lab - A cute bed time story AND educational, sign me up! The story is about a baby bat that isn’t ready to go to bed when the sun starts to rise. But Mama bat knows just what to do. This book also has gorgeous illustration by Gavin Scott. If that weren’t enough, the back of the book has an All About Bats section with information and photos from the Smithsonian Bat Lab, including a section on how to help bats. This is one of the books I got for our baby shower that I cannot shut up about!
Baby Bat Bedtime, by Paige Towler and Smithsonian Bat Lab - Educational, cute and gorgeously illustrated by Gavin Scott.
Mother Ghost Nursery Rhymes for Little Monsters, By Rachel Kolar - These nursery rhymes are going to sound all too familiar but with a nice spooky twist. Rhymes such as “Mary had a Little Ghost”, “Hey, Diddle, Diddle Black Cat with a Fiddle” and “Zombie Miss Muffet”. The illustration was done by Roland Garrigue and gives an extra spookiness to this book. My daughter is only 8 months, but I feel like this book would be particularly enjoyable to 2-4 year olds.
Mother Ghost Nursery Rhymes for Little Monsters, By Rachel Kolar - a spooky twist on all your favorite nursery rhymes.
Some other notable mentions:
Squish’n’squeeze Pumpkin! This is great for smaller kids who want to touch everything they see. The center of the book is a squishy pumpkin on each page. My daughter loves to grab it. You are also searching for something on each page so its interactive.
That’s Not My Bat… What kid doesn’t love a touchy-feely book. Each page has a different part of the bat that the kids can touch and associate with different descriptor words associated with that feeling such as “fuzzy”, “rough” and “fluffy”.
This will be my daughters first spooky season and I cannot wait to put together a boo basket for her! Books are so important and I love having seasonal ones that I can rotate out throughout the year.
What is your favorite spooky kids book?