Seven Scary Monsters 

There Was An Old Lady Who Wasn't Afraid of Anything

Getting in the Spirit of Halloween with Great Books for kids.

Let's get in the spirit first with some singing Jack-O-Lanterns

Seven Scary Monsters by Mary Beth Lundgren

Get a sneak preview of many pages.

A young boy discovers seven scary monsters hiding in his room so he goes on the attack to be rid of them using purple felines, monster blasters, vacuums, boxes, and other clever devices. He uses a fun rhyming chant to scare the monsters away "Rick Rack Wrinkleshack, don't you dare come back!"

Seven Scary Monsters is a fun themed story-time read aloud.

Math concept: simple subtraction

Language concepts: onomatopoeia words

Halloween themed math lesson

Materials: 

Large number 7

·       Seven scary yet goofy colorful monsters-individually cut out and affixed with Velcro or strong tape on back.

·        Two-sided sign attached to a flat paint stick

      1^st sign: “Rick! Rack! Wrinkleshack! Don’t You Dare Come Back”

·          2^nd sign: “Rick! /Rack! Wrinkleshack! Monsters, please come back!”

      Onomatopoeia words: Eeeek! Boom! Rip! Thwomp! Splat! Zap! Yow! Plop! Ouch! Wow!
     
      Pre-book talk 

     One at a time hold up and sound out the onomatopoeia words. Onomatopoeia are words that sound like the objects they name or the sounds those objects make.

      Sound and acting them out each word. Read the word "rip" and then tell students to please listen for a sound you will make. Take a piece of long paper and slowly rip it. Ask "What sound did you hear?" Rip. So the word "rip" sounds just like the action of ripping a paper." Next say "boom" and follow up by dropping a book or flat object from a height. The word boom sounds like the sound made when you drop a book or heavy object from a height. Continue with other words on list.

Do you ever worry about monsters? This time of year we see commercials for monster costumes or maybe your friends are talking about dressing up as a scary monster for Halloween. Today, I will tell you how to get rid of any monsters that might be hiding in your room. First of all, monsters are just pretend. They are not real, but people have fun scaring themselves by pretending a monster is out to get them.

Question: Are monsters real or pretend? Pretend.

Question: Do monsters live in your closet or under your bed? No. They are not real.

Instructions:

Count the number of monsters on the display board. (7) Begin story.

As story is read, pause and have a student come up and select a monster to pull off the display board.

Say seven monsters take away one monster leaves how many monsters? Count the remaining monsters.

Six monsters take away one monster leaves how many monsters? Etc.-Five, four, three, two, one, zero.

Now to the part-Monsters please come back! Zero monsters plus seven monsters equals seven monsters.

Last page. Who do you think the monsters really were? His toys.

Pair up with: Skeleton hiccups by Margery Cuyler

The Bumpy Little Pumpkin by Margery Cuyler

Scarey-Cat , Splat by Rob Scotton

The Little Old Lady Who Wasn’t Afraid of Anything by Linda Williams

There Was An Old Lady Who Wasn't Afraid of Anything

by Linda Williams

Illustrated by Megan Lloyd

First read the story or show this video read aloud.

Now try it again as an interactive experience. This song more fun the longer you sing it.

Getting in the Spirit of Halloween with Great Books For Kids

Come to the Graveyard for a Thrilling Read

It takes a graveyard to raise a child

Bod is an unusual boy who inhabits an unusual place-he's the only living resident of a graveyard. Raised from infancy by the ghosts, werewolves, and other cemetery denizens, Bod has learned the antiquated customs of his guardians' time as well as their timely ghostly teachings-like the ability to Fade. Can a boy raised by ghosts face the wonders and terrors of the worlds of both the living and the dead? And then there are things like ghouls that aren't really one thing or the other. (source: publisher)

Watch The Graveyard Book book trailer



Hear Neil Gaiman read from The Graveyard Book
Be warned-it may scare you!

The Graveyard book is a wonderfully scary book that kids and grownups will both enjoy. Try checking out the audio version from your library for some extra fun bits like dancing to the Macabre "la la la boom!"

This tale begins with a grisly murder of an entire family-save one. A little toddler steps out of his diaper and wonders from the scene of the crime and into a graveyard before the killer has the opportunity to finish his job. The inhabitants of the graveyard are faced with a difficult decision as to what will become of the young child and they decide to raise him as one of their own. But Nobody Owens, known affectionately as Bod, is still not safe with a killer still out to find and kill Bod.

Getting in the Spirit of Halloween with Great Books for Kids

Jitterbug Jam

A Monster Tale

by Barbara Jean Hicks

Illustrated by Alexis Deacon

Listen to Jitterbug Jam read aloud by author, Barbara Jean Hicks.

Author's website: Barbara Jean Hicks

Literacy themes: Friendship, Overcoming fears, Courage, Family Relationships

Have you ever been afraid of what lurks beneath your bed? Bobo is a little monster who is convinced a boy is hiding under his bed- a boy with “pink skin and orange fur on his head where his horns should be.” Bobo doesn’t want to be a “fraidy-cat” but nobody will believe him until his loving, yet scary looking grandpa big Boo-Dad comes for a visit. Boo-Dad listens to Bobo and shares a story explaining what to do to scare a boy away. Does Bobo have the courage to face his fear? Read this monstrous tale for a fun bed-time thriller.