Read aloud time is my favorite time in my 2nd grade classroom. Whenever my students come in from recess I always read them a picture book. It acts as a good transition to help students calm down and get them back on track to learn. During the month of October, I like to read fun Halloween books. So I thought I would share the best Halloween read alouds that my 2nd grade students love.

I actually found all of the books I am going to share at yard sales and thrift shops. It helps to save money and you get some cool finds.

 

Best Halloween Read Alouds

 

The Legend of Spookley the Square Pumpkin

This is a really cute book. It’s about a pumpkin that is square and gets made fun of by the other round pumpkins. In the story there is a storm that rolls the round pumpkins into danger, but Spookley is able to save the day because he is square. The farmer notices how unique he is and uses his seeds to grow more square and unique pumpkins.

Not only is this a cute story, but you can use it to teach different comprehension strategies and skills with your students. It has a pretty distinct beginning, middle, and end, so I like to have students point out what those are. Then we write it down.

This story can be used for a lot of different comprehension strategies, so I actually turned it into a book study. We read it a few times and students focus on different things for each read through. I have strategy worksheets that I put into a packet. I add a cover page on the packet. This cover page is fun for students because I have them design a new cover for the book. I love to see what they come up with.

Here are the Reading Comprehension Worksheets I included in the book study packet and how they apply to the story:

Ask Questions – As you read the story, stop and have students ask questions about the story. I like to remind students that good readers ask questions while they read and then look for the answers. I challenge students to get questions for who, what, where, why, and how. Some examples of questions students come up with is, “Why do the other pumpkins make fun of Spookley?” or “How does Spookley save the other pumpkins?”

Illustrations – Students can learn to use the illustrations to help them learn and comprehend the story. As we read through one time, I have students focus on the illustrations. What do they tell about the characters, setting, and plot of the story? We record those thoughts on the illustrations page of our book study packet. 

Characters – I also like students to focus on the characters. The common core state standard wants students to “describe how characters in a story respond to major events and challenges. I have a page in our book study that helps us do just that. Students pick a character. In this story, Spookley is a good character to pick. Then they pick an event that happened in the story, like the big storm. Then students have to think about and write about how the charter responded to the event. Spookley blocked the hole in the fence so no more pumpkins would roll out to sea. Using the worksheet helps students master this standard perfectly. Find my Reading Comprehension Worksheets here.

This story has a lot of poetry elements, so we have a read through where students are focusing on alliterations, rhymes, and repeated lines. It’s like a fun scavenger hunt as we read through. We stop and record rhyming words, alliterations, and repeated lines. We also stop and think about how these things supply meaning to the story. For example, in the story when Spookley is trying to move to the hole in the fence so no other pumpkins would roll through it, the book says, “he teetered, he tottered, he tipped, he tried.” These supply meaning because it shows only a square pumpkin would be able to do those things.

The Legend of Spookely the Square Pumpkin is one of the best Halloween read alouds for 2nd grade because it can help facilitate so many reading literature standards. Find all the Reading Comprehension Worksheets I use in my book study here.

After focusing on this book so much in class, it is fun to take it a step further. Netflix actually has a little movie based on the book. It is rated G and is not very long. So it makes a great movie party. You can also use it to compare and contrast from the book.

 

Great Halloween Read Alouds

 

The Witches’ Supermarket

This book is about a little girl named Helen who is dressed up as a witch for Halloween. She accidentally finds herself in a witches’ grocery store. At first, she doesn’t realize where she is at so she is confused about all the weird stuff that is being sold at this supermarket. Soon others there realize Helen is not a witch but luckily Helen is able to make it out safely.

This book would be great to use to help teach literature reading standards for 2nd grade as well. Have students use the illustrations to gain meaning from the story. The pictures give lots of clues that it is a witches’ supermarket before the words ever say so. 

Here’s an example of how you can fill out the Illustrations Reading Comprehension Worksheet:

Find my Reading Comprehension Worksheets here.

 

Leaf Trouble

This is a cute book about a little squirrel that notices his home tree’s leaves are changing colors and fall off. Since this is the first autumn the squirrel has experienced he tries to save the tree until his mom comes along and explains that this is a part of nature.

Help students ask questions while reading this book. Find the worksheet to do so here.

 

Trick or Treat

This story is about a little boy who goes trick-or-treating at his apartment building. As he goes up to different floors you discover that the different people’s doors he knocks on have interesting names, like Slipper Slopper and Wiggle Waggle. At the top floor, he knocks on a wizard’s door and he does a spell that makes everything backwards – or “wackbards!” When he goes back down the building’s floors everyone’s names are backwards and even the treats they are offering are backwards.

The kids love all the silly words in this book. You can extend there learning by having them ask questions as you read it. Find the worksheet I use to do so here.

 

The Witch’s Vacation

This book is about a brother and sister who live next to a witch. They go away to summer camp and the witch comes with them. The other kids first make fun of her and she helps the kids out with different camp activities by using her magic. At the end of the story, the kids are in trouble and the witch saves the day.

With this story you can have students write about what happens at the beginning, middle, and end of the story, or have them write about different characters’ point of views. Find the worksheets to do so here.

 

By the Light of the Harvest Moon

This book takes place on a farm. As the harvest moon rises, the leaves and pumpkins form into pumpkin grown-ups, children, and pets. They have a celebration with decorations, games, and food. In the morning, there are only clues that such a celebration existed.

This book has great illustrations. Have students use the illustrations to gain deeper meaning from the story. Or have students ask questions as you read through it. Get the worksheets that match these comprehension skills here.

 

I hope this list of the best Halloween read alouds gives you some ideas of fun picture books you can read to your 2nd grade students in the month of October. It’s a fun and easy way to bring in some Halloween festiveness. It’s also easy to help teach important comprehension skills and strategies. The worksheets I’ve shared about today all follow the common core state standards for reading literature. Find these worksheets here.

Looking for other Halloween activities to do in your classroom. Check out this blog post here: 5 Math Activities for Halloween that 1st and 2nd Graders Love