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As the nights grow darker and the air gets colder, the spooky season draws close at hand! Whether you're looking for a not-so-scary picture book to read with your kids or an eerie mystery for your avid teen reader, CBC Books has put together a list of our favourite kids' and YA books this Halloween. Aggie and the Ghost by Matthew Forsythe In Aggie and the Ghost, when Aggie moves house, she's excited to live on her own. But soon she discovers the place is haunted, and sets out to manage the situation with a list of rules including "No haunting after dark." Trouble is, the ghost doesn't like playing by the rules. Aggie and the Ghost is for ages 4 to 8. 30 Canadian books for younger kids that we are excited about this fall Matthew Forsythe is an author and illustrator, who also designs for animated films. His other picture books include Pokko and the Drum and Mina, which was a finalist for the 2022 Governor General's Literary Awards for young people's literature — illustrated books. Originally from Toronto, he currently lives in Los Angeles. The Little Ghost Quilt's Winter Surprise by Riel Nason, illustrated by Byron Eggenschwiler In a follow up to The Little Ghost Who Was a Quilt, the titular character notices that people are putting up twinkly lights and hanging wreaths, and that another fun festive season — like Halloween, but without the pumpkins — is upon them. The little ghost quilt, who doesn't mind the cold, just wishes his friends could join in. Then inspiration blows his way during a blizzard. The Little Ghost Quilt's Winter Surprise is for ages 3 to 7. Riel Nason thinks it's time to visit to your local bookstore Riel Nason is a writer and quilter from New Brunswick whose debut novel, The Town That Drowned, won the Commonwealth Book Prize for Canada and Europe and the Margaret and John Savage First Book Award. She is also the author of the novel All the Things We Leave Behind. The Little Ghost Who Was a Quilt was her first picture book. Byron Eggenschwiler is the illustrator of several books, including The Little Ghost Who Was a Quilt, the middle grade graphic novel, Operatic, and the chapter book Coyote Tales. He is currently based in Calgary. Beverley, Bat Your Service by Kelly Collier Beverley the Bat lives in a grand old home that has long stood empty, that is, until a new human family finally moves in. In the lighthearted eerie picture book, Beverley, Bat Your Service, the attic dweller loves attending to her guests, offering them kind favours like a welcome mat of rotten eggs and building cozy nests out of their clothes. When the humans appear distraught by Beverley’s gifts, she only tries to be an even better host in the best and battiest ways she knows how. Beverley, Bat Your Service is for ages 4 to 8. Kelly Collier is a Toronto-based author and illustrator. She is best known for the Steve the Horse series, The Imposter and for illustrating the Snail & Stump series written by Nasreem Hrab. Wednesday Wilson Looks on the Fright Side by Bree Galbraith, illustrated by Morgan Goble Wednesday Wilson is the smart and adventurous young girl at the centre of a chapter book series. In her latest Halloween adventure, Wednesday Wilson Looks on the Fright Side, Wednesday discovers her house is on the Do-Not-Knock List for Halloween because her moms don’t give out candy. Wednesday is saddened by this realization, which only encourages her more to get kids to come to her front door this year. Her plan? A spooky slime business. Wednesday Wilson Looks on the Fright Side is for ages 6 to 9. Bree Galbraith is a children’s book writer based in Vancouver. Her other books include Usha and the Stolen Sun, Milo and Georgie and Once Upon a Balloon and Nye. Morgan Goble is a digital artist currently based in London, Ont. She has a Bachelor of Illustration from Sheridan College and is the current illustrator of the four books in the Wednesday Wilson chapter book series. Danica dela Torre, Dream Detective by Mikaela Lucido, illustrated by Joanna Cacao Danica dela Torre is back on the case in the second installment of a middle-grade supernatural adventure series. Danica is joined by her friends and fellow members of the Unofficial Official Renley Crow Detective Club, Jack and Kennedy to crack a case closer to home. Steeped in Filipino folklore, Danica has lost the talisman that protects her from evil spirits and ventures into an alternate reality to get it back. Along the way, they bump into none other than the author of Danica’s favourite investigator guide, Detective Gray and together they discover more about the paranormal and themselves. Danica dela Torre, Dream Detective is for ages 8 to 12. Mikaela Lucido is a Filipina-Canadian writer and part-time birdwatcher from Mississauga, Ont. She currently works as the poetry editor of a literary magazine called Savant-Garde. Danica dela Torre, Certified Sleuth is her first book. Joanna Cacao is a Filipina-Canadian illustrator currently based in Winnipeg. She is the author and illustrator of The Secret of the Ravens and the illustrator of Christina Soontornvat’s The Tryout and The Squad. My Sister the Werebeast by Alina Tysoe My Sister the Werebeast follows a little girl named Peanut who just so happens to have magical powers beyond her control. Peanut’s two older sisters, Mira and Rosie are entrusted to look after her, and her chaotic abilities, until their parents return. The only problem is Mira and Rosie need to study for combat trials at their school. In this small town middle-grade graphic novel, sisterhood and the supernatural go hand in hand. My Sister the Werebeast is for ages 8 to 12. Alina Tysoe is an illustrator and animator from New Zealand, currently based in Canada. She is best known for her autobiographical webcomic, What’s Up, Beanie? and The Great Puptective graphic novel series. Haunted Canada Graphic Novel, Volume 2 by Joel A. Sutherland In the second volume of the illustrated Haunted Canada Graphic Novel, four more spooky short stories have been adapted into by Canadian artists. Illustrators Hannah Barrett, Mike Feehan, Maya McKibbin and Matt Salisbury continue the paranormal series set in distinctly Canadian places, this time featuring a possessed rag-doll, a muskeg with creepy secrets underneath, a frightening fortune teller and more. Haunted Canada Graphic Novel, Volume 2 is for ages 9 to 12. Haunted Canada series to adapt 4 'terrifying tales' in a new graphic novel format Joel A. Sutherland is an Ontario author of thriller, horror and fantasy short stories and novels, anthologies and children's books. Alongside other titles in the Haunted Canada series, he is also the author of Summer's End, which received a Red Maple Award Honour, House of Ash and Bone and his most recent YA horror, The Whisperings. Ghost Circus by Adrienne Kress, illustrated by Jade Zhang Ghost Circus is a middle-grade graphic novel about a boy named Casey who is not dead but has somehow wandered into the ghost realm. When he happens upon the Ghost Circus, a travelling group of curious characters, he decides to tag along. There Casey meets Creepy Girl and Polterghost, two lost souls who don’t quite fit in with the rest of the performers. As they begin to look into how Casey has ended up in the land of spirits, they uncover a bigger mystery about the circus at large. Ghost Circus is for ages 9 to 12. Adrienne Kress is a children’s author and actor based in Toronto. Her books include the Five Nights at Freddy’s novel, Return to the Pit, the Bendy and the Ink Machine series and the Ticket to Ride series. Jade Zhang is a queer Chinese Canadian artist and illustrator based in Toronto. She has worked as an illustrator for companies such as BOOM! Studios and HarperCollins and her other works include Shades of Fear and Jim Henson’s The Storyteller. Qallupilluit: The Takers of Children by Louise Flaherty, Neil Christopher and illustrated by Megan Kyak-Monteith Qallupilluit: The Takers of Children is an illustrated Inuit folktale written in both English and Inuktitut. Children in the Arctic grow up hearing about the qallupilluit, creatures that live just under the ice, and they know to tread cautiously. When David goes to play on the ice, a webbed creature emerges and he must fight his way back home. When he realizes that his younger brother had followed him out and is now missing, David must go back to save him and face the chilling creatures below. Qallupilluit is for ages 12 and up. 22 Canadian books for tweens & teens to read this fall Louise Flaherty is a writer and the co-founder of Inhabit Media Inc., an independent Inuk publishing house focused on books and resources by Inuit writers and illustrators. She is from Clyde River, Nunavut. Qallupilluit is co-written by Flaherty's co-founder, Neil Christopher. He is also an educator who lives and teaches in Resolute Bay, Nunavut. Megan Kyak-Monteith is an Inuk illustrator from Pond Inlet, Nunavut. She now lives in Halifax. The Dark Cove Theatre Society by Sierra Marilyn Riley The Dark Cove Theatre Society is a gothic YA novel set in the highly intense atmosphere of an arts boarding school. Violet Costantino dreams of being on-stage, but after last semester's final performance goes awry, she knows she's on borrowed time at the academy. When she's unexpectedly cast in a leading role for the Halloween play, she falls for the allure of the theatre again. Violet's former crush and another incredibly talented student being cast as her love interest also might have something to do with it. The Dark Cove Theatre Society is for ages 12 and up. Sierra Marilyn Riley is a queer Italian-Canadian writer and actor who has starred in Hallmark's Mistletoe Murders and Amazon Prime's Motorheads. She is currently based in Toronto and The Dark Cove Theatre Society is her debut novel. The Others by Cheryl Isaacs In the sequel to the YA horror novel, The Unfinished, the supernatural stories that lurked in the black water of the town of Crook's Falls are seemingly gone. In The Others, Avery is excited to spend the summer with her boyfriend, Key, but the trauma of the lake is just beneath the surface. As Key begins to pull away and Avery is haunted by her memories, they're left to question if they have truly moved on from the Kanyen'kehá:ka (Mohawk) stories they were told. The Others is for ages 13 and up and is out now. CBC Books' writers to watch: 30 Canadian writers making their mark in 2024 Cheryl Isaacs is an Indigenous writer of the Kanien'kehà tribe in Ontario. Her literary work has appeared in numerous Indigenous publications and she was named one of CBC Books' 30 writers to watch in 2024. Her first YA novel was The Unfinished. A Mastery of Monsters by Liselle Sambury A Mastery of Monsters is the first novel in a YA dark academia series about a secret society of shocking monsters and one girl's quest to save her brother. Everyone thinks that August's brother ran away on his own accord before their sophomore year, but August is doubtful. After she is attacked by a large and terrifying monster, August reluctantly strikes a deal with Virgil Hawthorne. A monstrous form lies within Virgil, and August must partner with it to keep him tame, entering them both into a competition with deadly consequences. A Mastery of Monsters is for ages 14 and up. 23 Canadian Young Adult books to read in spring 2025 Liselle Sambury is a Trinidadian-Canadian YA writer and blogger. Her debut novel, Blood Like Magic, was on the shortlist for the 2021 Governor General's Literary Award for young people's literature — text. Her other novels include Blood Like Fate and Delicious Monsters. Songs for Ghosts by Clara Kumagai Partly inspired by Puccini's opera, Madama Butterfly, Songs for Ghosts is a haunting YA novel about a young man uncovering the history of a young woman long gone. After Adam and his boyfriend breakup, Adam is not ready to spend a summer at home with his family. When Adam finds boxes tucked away in his attic, he finds a diary detailing the life of a woman living in Nagasaki in 1911. As he reads further, the more her spirit comes forth, in this ghostly tale of lost love and Japanese history. Songs for Ghosts is for ages 14 and up and is out now. 8 'cozy' mystery novels to curl up with Clara Kumagai is a writer from Vancouver, who has also lived in Japan and Ireland. Her first book, Catfish Rolling was shortlisted for a Yoto Carnegie award in 2024. She currently lives in County Louth, Ireland.
