Dear readers,
Welcome to ~THE HALLOWEEN ISSUE~ of this week's Better Read Kids newsletter. Here you will find ghost stories and monsters a-plenty to keep all of you book-thirsty vampires satisfied this spooky season!
Happy reading everyone and stay safe! 📚

From the Better Read Kids team.

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AMELIA FANG AND THE BARBARIC BALL
Laura Ellen Anderson
CHILDREN'S BEGINNER FICTION
Anabelle reviews: "I agree Amelia, unicorns and glitter are the stuff of nightmares! But there is one thing that Amelia dreads the most - her parents' oh-so-boring annual Barbaric Ball. However shortly after arriving, Amelia's pet pumpkin Squashy is stolen by Prince Tangine and Amelia must escape to rescue her beloved before it's too late!
In this first book of the series, we are immersed in Amelia's world of Nocturnia - her home Fang Mansion, the nearby neighbourhood of haunted houses, a shop that sells toad top hats and the zombie yoga hall. Oh and did I mention that Amelia is a vampire? Promise she won't bite!"
~ PAPERBACK ~
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Barbara Cantini
CHILDREN'S PRIMARY FICTION
Anabelle reviews: "Ghoulia is a zombie, living in Crumbling Manor with her dear Auntie Departed and albino greyhound Tragedy. Yet just as Frankenstein yearned for a friend, Ghoulia finds herself similarly because of her pale green skin and purple circles under her eyes - but then she thinks up a very cunning plan! As Halloween creeps ever closer, she realises her chance. It's the one day a year she can be herself! The town's children soon realise that Ghoulia isn't so scary after all, and that friendship should never be limited to how someone looks.
A fantastic spooky tale with illustrations reminiscent of Edward Gorey and Tim Burton!"
~ HARDBACK ~
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GHOULIA BOOK 2
Barbara Cantini
CHILDREN'S PRIMARY FICTION
Anabelle reviews: "I'm sensing a garden theme here...with thankfully no Triffids in sight! Or is there? Introducing the second book in the 'Ghoulia' series. Ghoulia has no one in all of Crumbling Manor to talk to. Her albino greyhound Tragedy is out hunting frogs, her Auntie Departed is busy chatting away with her new plant and none of Ghoulia's friends are dropping by to visit! But after the mysterious appearance of Ghoulia's long-lost cousin from Fancy Manor with a taste for spiders' eggs in his tea, suddenly all of Ghoulia's friends appear all at once! They each carry with them a very mysterious invitation..."
~ HARDBACK ~
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Lois Murphy
CHILDREN'S PRIMARY FICTION
Anabelle reviews: "Garden gnomes meet horror? What more could you want in a children's book?
It gets better. These garden gnomes are ALIVE. After Scott and his family relocate to the rundown old house on the outskirts of town, strange things start happening. The creatures of the forest start invading the house and the old gnome starts talking. They soon learn why it was a grave mistake to let those seemingly friendly little guys in...
An eerie tale intermingled with Murphy's great humour."
~ PAPERBACK ~
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GUSTAVO THE SHY GHOST
Flavia Z. Drago
PICTURE BOOK
Anabelle reviews: "Gustavo is like his fellow paranormal beings in many ways, enjoying pastimes such as floating through walls, glowing in the dark and making objects fly. The only difference? He is very, very shy. A 'spectre-cular' tale of love, friendship and the courage it takes to befriend our fellow monsters.
Have it my way, I would frame every page of this beautifully illustrated book and hang them all around my haunted house! After all, it isn't just my ghost housemates who share a penchant for ghost stories... so does my black cat!"
~ HARDBACK ~
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Aaron Blabey
PICTURE BOOK
Anabelle reviews: "Nothing could be more fearsome than this, an insatiably gutsy pug with bulging eyes and strangely large, pointed teeth. Okay, other than the fact that he's now a vampire on the rampage for Halloween treats. You better look out, if not supplied with his rightful treat quota, Pig has more than a few nasty tricks up his sleeve...
Australian author Aaron Blabey is back this time not with the Ghost of Miss Annabel Spoon, but something far more terrifying - a hungry pug!"
~ HARDBACK ~
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GHOULIA BOOK 4
Barbara Cantini
CHILDREN'S PRIMARY FICTION
Anabelle reviews: "I didn't stand a ghost of a chance when this new Ghoulia book arrived in store last week! I just had to have it!!
Despite being only a little girl, Ghoulia hasn't had a holiday in over thirty years. So when Auntie Witch invites her family to stay at Fancy Manor, how could they resist a trip up to Mystery Lake! Departing at dawn in their centuries-old ice cream van (nice and cold, just as Auntie Departed likes it!), they soon arrive at their destination for a little bit of r and r (rest and reanimation).
But the town has other plans, with their sights set on evicting the ghoulish inhabitants of Fancy Manor to replace them with the living (who can pay rent!) Can Ghoulia perfect a Return to Life potion to convince the town hall staff that this zombie family is actually, "alive"?"
~ HARDBACK ~
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Taylor Dolan
CHILDREN'S BEGINNER FICTION
Anabelle reviews: "Being dropped off at a spooky camp would have been my dream come true! But for Lexie Wilde who thought she was going to spend her summer at the Happy Hollow Camp for Joyful Boys and Girls, she isn't as impressed as her Grams waves goodbye. Shortly after meeting the werewolf, zombie, skeleton and baseball-hat wearing ghost she is to be roommates with, they begin to get along like a house on fire and start earning their Ghost Scout badges as a team. Yet their camp counsellors soon fall prey to a very mysterious sleeping sickness and there can only be one responsible, the despicable Euphemia Vile who is plotting against them.

This book will have you roaring with laughter and the macabre Edward Gorey-esque illustrations of Dolan are just sensational."
~ PAPERBACK ~
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LEO: A GHOST STORY
Mac Barnett & Christian Robinson (illus.)
PICTURE BOOK
Anabelle reviews: "This is a heart-warming story about a ghost boy called Leo. For many years, Leo lived in a house on the edge of town all alone. But one day, a family move into his house. At first, Leo is very excited and makes the family honey toast and mint tea to welcome them. But all they see is a floating tray and run to hide in the bathroom! Leo quickly realises he is not wanted in the house anymore and so decides to go on an adventure to the big city. It is here he discovers the true meaning of friendship as he befriends a girl who can not only see him, but see that he is pure of heart.
Beautiful illustrations in blue tones that are reminiscent of Lauren Child!"
~ PAPERBACK ~
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Oliver Jeffers
CHILDREN'S PRIMARY FICTION
Anabelle reviews: "Oliver Jeffers has done it again, this time bringing us book-thirsty vampires a true Halloween treat - and a trick for that matter!
For what seems like your average Victorian-style home (despite its unsettling reminiscences of the movie Psycho), is in fact - haunted. The trick? You can only see what the ghosts are up to if you dare muster the courage to turn each transparent page...
This book is a brilliant and unique concept that remains true to Jeffers' iconic style and wit. It is bound to be a Halloween classic for many years to come!"

~ HARDBACK ~
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THE SPIDER AND THE FLY
Mary Howitt & Tony DiTerlizzi (illus.)
PICTURE BOOK
Anabelle reviews: "Shortly after starting at Better Read Kids, I snatched this book right up with my red-clawed hand! Leafing through its shimmering black pages, you are transported back in time to the crackling scene of a silent film noir of the late 1800s. This is the period in which it was written, with poet Mary Howitt spinning her gossamer words like silk thread - a gentleman spider meets a fly and invites her into his parlour. Dripping with gentlemanly charm, Spider's flattery eventually convinces sweet little Fly to follow him upstairs, with more than a few insect ghosts lurking in his dusty attic...
A picture book that epitomises why you should never take a strange gentleman at his word!"
~ PAPERBACK ~
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David Walliams
PICTURE BOOK
Anabelle reviews: "Forget Hogwarts, going to Monster School would be a dream come true! But not for little Howler the werewolf, who finds himself taking 'how-to-be-scary' classes to graduate his little squeak into a proper howl. The only trouble is, he is just as afraid of the other monster students as he is of his teacher, a real-life witch!
After failing scary face and sneaking up-on-someone classes, Howler finds himself expelled from Monster School and without a hope in the world. That is, until the night of Halloween and the terror his "costume" inspires in those answering the door to trick-or-treaters... maybe all he needed was a little boost of confidence after all! And some friends who are there to support him no matter what."

~ HARDBACK ~
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THE WOLF'S SECRET
Myriam Dahman, Nicolas Digard & Julia Sarda (illus.)
PICTURE BOOK
Anabelle reviews: "As I walked by the table of new releases, glinting gold and ruby caught my eye. The next thing I knew? My eyes had interlocked with those of the Wolf, the largest to have ever been born. Despite the great fear he stirs in his fellow woodland creatures, there is a tenderness to this wolf that touches your heart. So what is the "Wolf's Secret", you ask? Just as Frankenstein had yearned, all Wolf desires is to talk to the kind-hearted maiden in the forest with long black hair and to hear her sing one last time. Even if he must die in the name of gaining a friend...the most beautiful picture book I've ever read."
~ HARDBACK ~
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Laura Ellen Anderson
CHILDREN'S BEGINNER FICTION
Anabelle reviews: "The half-moon holidays have finally arrived in the spooky, gloomy town of Nocturnia. And Amelia is planning a trip to Sugarplum Island with her Rainbow Rangers troupe! What a change from her vampiric lifestyle! Yet this is the least of her worries, as her unicorn-escorted wagon runs into an ancient curse that shrinks Amelia and all her friends into the size of bugs. Now the epic journey to undo the curse seems all but impossible, even if they hadn't shrunk!
Sink your fangs into the fourth book in the Amelia Fang series (although they can be read in any order)."
~ PAPERBACK ~
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Are you looking for a reading recommendation for a great kid in your life? Are you a children's author or illustrator wanting to get involved in our events programme? Does your school want to change up its after-school or holiday care activities?
Contact our Better Read Kids team at [email protected] with any enquiry at any time! Anabelle is more than happy to help.
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