Picture Books About Monsters

Ms. Laura, one of the librarians here at Eager Free Public Library, LOVES monsters in pretty much any form—craft projects, movies, songs, and books! Since Halloween is coming up, we thought we’d share a list of monstrous (and not too scary) titles that are perfect for storytime and book sharing with young readers.

• Monster, Be Good! by Natalie Marshall
• The Monstore by Tara Lazar, illustrated by James Burks
• Buddy and the Bunnies in Don’t Play With Your Food by Bob Shea
• Spider Sandwiches by Claire Freedman, illustrated by Sue Hendra and Paul Linnet
• Nighty Night, Little Green Monster by Ed Emberley
• Romping Monsters, Stomping Monsters by Jane Yolen, illustrated by Kelly Murphy
• Mommy’s Little Monster by Dawn McNiff, illustrated by Kate Willis-Crowley
• Monsters Love Colors by Mike Austin
• Have You Seen My Monster? by Steve Light
• Love Monster by Rachel Bright

Pick up one of these titles at your library or put one on hold through RockCat today!

Spooky Reads & Views for Grown-Ups

Today's roundup is mostly of adult books and DVDs, but a simple search in RockCat (limit to Eager Free Children or Eager Free Young Adult) will find similarly spooky stuff for younger readers.

Spooky Books

• Haunted Hikes: spine-tingling tales and trails from North America's national parks by Andrea Lankford
• Haunted Lake Superior by Hugh Bishop
• Haunted Wisconsin by Michael Norman and Beth Scott
• The Haunted Northwoods by Tom Hollatz 
• The Everything Ghost Book: spooky stories of haunted houses, phantom spirits, unexplained mysteries, and more by Jason Rich
• Ghosts of Madison, Wisconsin by Sherry Strub
• Famous Wisconsin Ghosts and Ghost Hunters by Hannah Heidi Levy and Brian G. Borton
• Ghost: Investigating the other side by Katherine M. Ramsland

Ghostly Movies & Documentaries

• America's Most Haunted Inns
• The Woman in Black
• The Innkeepers
• A Haunting: Echoes from the grave
• Paranormal Activity
• 1408
• The Shining

Get in the Halloween mood with one of these titles - call us to reserve one of these books or movies, or stop in to browse for more ideas. 

Great Non-Fiction Books for Kids

There are a lot of kids who prefer to read non-fiction over fiction, but for many adults, non-fiction titles may not come to mind quickly when helping your child or student choose a book to read together or on their own. Here are some great non-fiction books for kids that we can recommend!

• The Boy in Number Four by Kara Kootstra, illustrated by Regan Thomson
• Hippos Can't Swim: and other fun facts by Laura Lyn DiSiena and Hannah Eliot, illustrated by Pete Oswald
• Now and Ben: the modern inventions of Benjamin Franklin by Gene Baretta
• Tuesday Tucks Me In: the loyal bond between a soldier and his service dog by Fmr. Captain Luis Carlos Montalvan, with Bret Witter, photographs by Dan Dion
• 365 Days of Wonder: Mr. Browne's Book of Precepts by R.J. Palacio

I have to put a plug in also for the Cooperative Children's Book Center's Bibliographies and Booklists, which include a wealth of non-fiction titles that are also outstanding for kids, with ideas for topics like Food, the Environment, and Science and Scientists, to name just a few!

Fun Beginning Chapter Books

This week's book list comes to us from Imagination Soup. This is a roundup of fun and relatively new beginning chapter books for kids who have graduated from easy readers and are ready to take on chapter books (but not quite ready to jump in to juvenile fiction). These books are fast-paced, with interesting characters, illustrations, and print that is a little bit bigger than your average juvenile novel to make for easier reading. Enjoy!

• Big Bad Detective Agency by Bruce Hale
• Tank and Fizz: the Case of the Slime Stampede by Liam O'Donnell, illustrated by Mike Deas
• Snoop Troop by Kirk Scroggs
• Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot by Dave Pilkey
• The Magical Animal Adoption Agency by Kallie George
• Finley Flowers by Jessica Young
• The Case of the Weird Blue Chicken: the Next Misadventure by Doreen Cronin

Remember, you can put any of these books on hold through RockCat, or you can call the library and we can place a hold for you.