My Halloween Reading List

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. I love the modern incarnation with kids in costumes, trick-or-treating and jack-o-lanterns, but I also love the history of the holiday, the idea of thinning of the veil between the world of the living and the dead, and the centuries-old honoring of the balance between death and life. Here are a few of my favorite Halloween-related books:

Title: The Halloween Tree
Author: Ray Bradbury
Genre: Paranormal, All Ages
Publisher: Knopf

This is my all-time favorite Halloween classic.  I re-read it almost every year.

From the jacket copy:

“join the sinister Carapace Clavicle Moundshroud as he takes eight trick-or-treaters on an unforgettable journey to find their missing friend, Pip.  Travel through space and time, from the tombs of ancient Egypt to the gargoyles of Notre Dame cathedral, all the way to the cemeteries of Mexico on El Dia de Los Muertos, the Day of the Dead!  Is Pip still alive?  And if so, can hid friends save him before it’s too late…”

 

Title: Bunnicula, A Rabbit Tale of Mystery
Author: Deborah and James Howe
Genre: Paranormal, Kids 8-12
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing

Bunnicula is the first in a series about a pet rabbit that is suspected of sucking the life out of vegetables. At least that’s what the series’ narrator, Harold the family dog, believes. Harold, the puppy Howie, and the smarter-than-dogs cat Chester, are completely convinced of Bunnicula’s vampiric ways, and have all kinds of adventures with the cute little veggie-sucking bunny. The illustrations by Alan Daniel are fantastic and really add to the feel of the book.

This series was a favorite of mine growing up, and isn’t any less fun now that I’m an adult. I especially love the notes from Howard’s editor, the relationship between Howard and Chester, and, of course, Bunnicula himself.

 

 

Title: The Mystery of Grace
Author: Charles De Lint
Genre: Fantasy, Adult
Publisher: Tor

This isn’t your stereotypical Halloween tale. Grace Quintero is a girl who died too soon. Now she’s stuck in between worlds, and she can pass back into the living world only one night a year – Halloween.

From the jacket copy:

“Grace works at Sanchez Motor Works, customizing hot rods. A few blocks around her small apartment building is all her world – from the grocery store where she buys beans, tamales, and cigarettes to the library, the little record shop, and the Solona Music Hall. Which is where she meets John Burns, two weeks too late.”

So those are my faves. What are you reading this Halloween?