October was a slower reading month for me as things started to get busier with the holidays approaching. I still had some great reads (and some not so great reads) and was able to enjoy a lot of atmospheric books for fall and Halloween.
I read 15 books in October and 4,311 pages for an average of 287 pages per book. I read 10 books by female authors and 5 by male authors. I borrowed 8 of the books I read and owned 7 of them. I read 3 physical books, 4 eBooks, and 8 audiobooks. I read no new releases. 7 books were part of a series (starting no new series and finishing 1) and 7 stand alone books. I read 4 middle grade, 3 YA, and 8 adult books, sharing 4 read alouds with my kids. I reread 1 book and had 14 new reads. Of the books I read, 7 were by “new to me” authors” and 7 were by authors I’ve previously read. I read 4 books from my 2025 TBR list, bringing the total read or DNF’d to 29/33, leaving 4 to be read. I had 6 five star reads, 4 four star reads, 4 three star reads, 1 two star read, and 0 one star reads.
Here are my five favorite five star reads from last month!
A Murder Most French by Colleen Cambridge
A Murder Most French is the second in a series following a friend of Julia Child, the famous chef, as she solves murder mysteries. It is a fun series and I liked this second book more than I did the first (though her Phyllida Bright books are still my favorite!). I’m excited to continue on with the series.
Three Act Tragedy by Agatha Christie
Three Act Tragedy is a Poirot book that actually follows a few other characters trying to solve the mystery before Poirot gets very involved. Despite this, I really enjoyed the mystery and did not see the solution coming. I always love Agatha Christie’s characters and this book was no exception to that.
Mother-Daughter Murder Night by Nina Simon
Mother-Daughter Murder Night was just exactly what I wanted to read for October–it was a more serious murder mystery thriller but still a clean read. I really loved the grandmother-mother-daughter relationship and how that grew and changed throughout the story. I wish this was a series and I could read more!
Palmyra by Susan Evans McCloud
Palmyra is a thriftstore find that I found quite awhile ago and since I love Susan Evans McCloud, I finally got around to reading it. This story is set in Palmyra during the time that Joseph Smith was translating the Book of Mormon and setting up The Church of Jesus Christ. It takes place in Palmyra during that time, but those events are mostly background setting for the main character’s friendships and relationships. It was a little hard to really get into, but by the last quarter of the book, I had a hard time putting it down and it became one of my favorite reads of the month.
The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion Volume 6 by Beth Brower
The Unselected Journals has become one of my favorite series–I just love Emma and the escapades she gets up to and the quandries she puts herself into and especially the friendships she forms. They are all so fun to read about. I am highly invested in her life. I had other reads I wanted to get to for October, so I only read the sixth, but I am already reading the seventh now and plan to finish the eight as well in November.
Those were my favorite books of October! What were your favorite books last month? Is there a book you recently read and just loved? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below!
My 2026 bullet journal is finished and all ready to start using at the new year! I actually got it earlier than normal this year to start working on it, because I knew with the baby it would be harder to find time for it. I was right and it took me a few months, but I had fun working on it and am really happy with the finished product.
I like to have all the pages done before the year starts so that they are all organized the way I like them to be. It might not be how most people use bullet journals, but it is fun for me. The “bookish” part has grown over the years to include things like my writing goals and activites and movies with my family as well.
Here are the finished (but not all filled out) pages for 2026:
This is my Notes page for my 2027 bullet journal. If I have any ideas for changes or pages for my 2027 bullet journal, I write them down here so I don’t forget. I also write down any new releases coming out in 2027 that I see throughout 2026.
This spread is my year calendar page. I write down big events (like birthdays, holidays, and trips) that are going to come up during the year. Each month has a different color here and I use that color for that month throughout my entire bullet journal (so if I finish a book in January, I’ll write it down in light blue, etc.).
Then comes my book log! I leave plenty of pages blank following this because I’d rather end up with extra blank pages at the end than run out of pages before the end of the year. (which I’ve accidentally done in the past). I write down the book title, with the author underneath the title, then how many stars I gave the book and the date I finished. Before the title, I also number the books I’ve read that month and note how many pages are in the book.
I changed up my stats page a little this year and really like it. Last year, I had the stats page and genres here. As I finish a book, I put a tally mark in the different corresponding sections. Then I had the next page reserved for counting up the tallies in each section each month and writing down a number so I could see it at a glance. I got really tired of flipping between the pages to count everything up, so this year, I combined them and pushed the genres to the next page. I will have to try it out, but I think it will work better and I also like how it turned out visually.
And here is my genres page that I talked about previously. The left hand side is for tally marks as I finish the book and the right hand side is for writing down the number each month so I have it at a glance. The boxes at the bottom of the right hand page are for writing down the total number at the end of the year.
This is my visual reading tracker, where I can see at a glance how many books I’ve read that month and for the year total. At the end of each month, I color in how ever many books I read, in that month’s color. My goal is always 180 books, but I often exceed that so I leave plenty of space for going over just in case.
My TBR on Goodreads is astronomical and growing every year as I get more book recommendations from people and as new books come out. This TBR list is a way for me to prioritize books that I want to get to soon. I pick 33 books, which is about 3 books a month minus December (when I’m usually tired of reading goals and just want to read Christmas books). I like to pick a variety of genres and have books that span middle grade, YA, and adult. I write down the book name in column 1, the author in column 2, the age category in column 3, and the genre in column 4. One I read it, I color in the box next to it.
This is my Classics page. On the left are classics that I want to someday get around to reading and on the right are classics so good, I’d like to reread them in my lifetime. I usually pick 2-5 classics from each list to read throughout the year.
And this is my list of books that I loved so much I’d like to reread them at some point. Similar to my classics list, I am not trying to read them all this year, they are just ones that I want to keep on my radar.
I call this page my “rereadathon” page from when BookTube did a rereadathon every year (I don’t think it’s happened for a few years now). I love rereading books, so this is a way for me to pick at least one book each month to revisit.
This is my series page. The first section is where I put series that I am in the middle of. The bottom section on the left is where I keep track of series that I’m not sure I am going to finish, but I’m also not ready to commit to DNFing. On the top right, I have series that I’ve started that I can’t finish because the author hasn’t finished writing them yet. And on the bottom right are series that I haven’t started that I would like to read (like the Wheel of Time).
This is my new release page — I always count a new release as anything that releases in the previous year (so this year, I count new releases as anything released in 2026 OR 2025). In the past, I’ve just had them mixed in together, but this year I tried making a separate page for 2025 and 2026. I write the book title and the author or series (so I remember what the book is) on the right and I write the release date on the left. If it released in 2025, I simply write that. For 2026, I write the month and if I know it, the date. For 2026, I also write the month in that month’s color so I can easily glance and find releases for that month or that have already come out.
This is my page where I keep track of books I read aloud with my kids. I read out of a novel to them at night before bed, often during homeschool hours, and we always have a family audiobook we’re in the middle of. This list is similar to my rereads and classics, where they are books I want to read with my kids at some point but not necessarily this year. For this year, I pick one book for each month at the very beginning of the list. In the past, I’ve typically read 6-9 of the 12 books I pick out. I usually get the first few months in and as the year goes on, the less I stick with the list I made–we often find other books we want to read or the kids have requests (either to continue a series I started or to read aloud a book they’ve loved on their own).
This page is to keep track of authors I’ve read and enjoyed, so I want to read more books by them (but am not ready to commit to reading all their books yet). I put one author in each box and when I read another book by them, I fill in a little square within that box.
This is my section for authors that I am ready to commit to reading all their books. This section started with my goal to read all of Agatha Christie (a goal I’ve been working on for years now as I’ve read at least one book a month) and I’m getting close! The colored in squares are books I’ve already read by them. Once I finish all their books, they go into my “Author Collection” page the next year and I find an author from my “More” page to move to this one. This is a slow and steady, where most of these authors stay on here for years as I slowly read a book or two by them each year.
My Author Collection page is where I keep track of authors that I’ve read all their books (I put the authors name in a star). If I reread a book by one of these authors, I put a little dot on the outside of the star and if I read a new release by them, I put a line through the star. This page is actually where I find the bulk of my new releases that I want to read (searching for these authors’ new releases). I want to add a page where I can “retire” authors that I don’t want to keep up with for whatever reason (whether I am just not into their books anymore or they moved to open door, or whatever).
This is my Agatha Christie page (the scrambled letters spell out her name XD). I pick one book a month and put it in the corresponding magnifying glass, then color in the magnifying glass after I’ve read the book.
Middle Grade March is my top favorite readathon (or reading challenge) on BookTube. The challenge is to read middle grade books throughout the month of March and the hosts give additional prompts you can try if you want. I put a prompt in each clover and color it in after I’ve read the book that I’ve picked to go with the prompt.
This is a page I made for last year’s bullet journal as I reread the Little House series (for the first time since I was a girl, it was delightful!). I redid it in this year’s bullet journal because I want to read them all with my girls now. I am planning on these being our main read alouds for the first part of the year. After reading through them last year, I am very excited to share them all with my kids!
I made a free printable of this page that you can find here.
I added this Anne page this year as my personal reading challenge for the year is to read all the books–I’ve read a few (and read the first many times!), but never the entire series and this is the year I’m going to remedy that. I do not consider myself an artist, so I was really happy with how the page turned out.
Jane Austen July is another readathon on BookTube that I like. I don’t always participate, but I do like to try–you can read Jane Austen’s original novels or anything related such as retellings, nonfiction, etc. to participate.
This is another new page for this year’s bullet journal. Every December, the kids and I do a countdown together where we unwrap a (previously owned) Christmas picture book and do a Christmas activity together each day. On the bottom part of the page, I’ll put what book and activity we’re doing (I plan those in October) and then as we do each activity and read each book, I can color in the corresponding number on the tree.
30 Books in 30 Days is another of my favorite readathons–where you try to read 30 books (or stories, novellas, etc) in 30 days. It’s a fun way to get me jumpstarted into reading again after the summer!
Series September is another readathon on BookTube that I really like and try to do (usually I overlap this and 30 in 30). They do it as a Bingo board, so I pick the books I want to read using their prompts and then I color in the number on the grid in the center as I read that book.
I call this my Nonfiction November page because of the online reading challenge, but I often use this page throughout the year (I find that my November reading is already so full trying to finish up the last of my reading goals that I don’t want to focus on nonfiction). I try to pick one nonfiction book a month to be reading or listening to and I keep track of those here.
Then I have spreads (not pictured are several more pages with different nonfiction categories) to keep track of the nonfiction books I’d like to read. This is the list I pick from when I am choosing what nonfiction books to read throughout the year. I also keep an eye out for these books at thrift stores and on Kindle sales.
This is my cover page for the section on borrowing and buying books.
This is my library book spread. In the center section, I write down the title of the book (in the color of the month that I am borrowing it). In the next column, I write down what format I borrowed it (physical, eBook, audiobook) and in the column next to that, I write down the due date. When I finish reading it, I color in the square in the left-most column.
I love making these bookshelves every year (I have several pages of them). In the books, I write down the title of books I’ve enjoyed enough that I want to buy the physical copy (I read a lot of library books as well as ebooks and audiobooks, but I love to collect my favorites, both for me to read in the future and for my kids to have available, and also because I just love owning them). If I do buy a book throughout the year, I color in the book.
At the end of my bookshelves, I have this page. I keep the books here blank, so that if I buy or am gifted any books that weren’t on my list, I can write them in the books here. The bottom section is where I keep track of my book buying budget–the top half is where I write how much I have budgeted to spend on books and the bottom half is where I write how much I actually spent.
This is a section I have to write down the full title of the books I buy each month (the bookshelf is a cramped space and more just for fun, it’s also more spread out). This can be really helpful for cataloguing purposes (I keep a digital catalogue of all the books I own so I can check if I own it when I’m out bookshopping, especially at thrift stores). It’s also helpful when I’m filling out my stats page in this section.
I love buying children’s books for our kids and this is a page to keep track of any children’s books I buy throughout the year.
This is a page where I keep track of any books I donate (or get rid of).
I love to gift books and like to give a book to someone each month. This is a page where I keep track of who I am giving it to and which book I’m gifting.
And this is my stats page for this section, where I keep track monthly of how many books I’ve bought, donated, borrowed, and gifted. I use tally marks each month and then at the end of the year, I put the total number in the boxes. The chart on the left is so I have a visual of how many physical books I bought each month and the pie chart is for keeping track of what format I bought them in at the end of the year (ebook, audiobook, paperpack, hardback, etc).
This is my cover page for my movie section.
This is a page for keeping track of our family’s favorite movies to watch. It’s especially useful now that we mostly use DVD’s (especially from the library) instead of streaming services. When we watch one of the movies, I color in the box.
When our oldest turned 10 last year, we started doing a special movie night with her after her siblings were in bed once a week. We watch movies that are more grownup or less interesting to the younger kids (we’ve watched movies like National Treasure, Bridge to Terrabithia, Lord of the Rings, Lost in Space). Last year, this page said, “Movies with Ashtyn” but in 2026, our second oldest will turn ten and join us, so I changed it to “Movies with Mom and Dad”.
This is my spread for tracking Halloween movies we want to watch. As we watch them, I color in the square. I also include our one Thanksgiving movie (A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving).
And my Christmas movie spread! We have a lot of Christmas movies we love to watch, though it doesn’t fill up all the way. When we watch the Christmas movie, I color in the ornament.
This is a page for movies or shows that my husband and I want to watch together after the kids are in bed. Lately, we’ve been really into watching the old BBC Jane Austen movies, though we’re on the hunt for a new show to watch. I write down the name of the show, then in the second column, I write why we’re watching it (whether a favorite actor is in it or if it’s a genre we enjoy) and then once we watch it, I write down what month we watched it in.
This is my cover page for my writing section.
This is a page where I can keep track of different novels I’ve written (at least a first draft finished). I’m hoping as my kids get older, I will be able to add to this page a little faster.
This is a page to track some different stats around my writing. In the Nonfiction Word Count coumn, I keep track of how many words I’ve written on my nonfiction project weekly (and the last column is where I write down what nonfiction project I’m currently working on), and the Monthly Progress column is where I add up the weekly numbers to see how much I wrote for the month. For my blog posts, I keep track of how many posts I do a week and the views on those posts, for both my personal blog and my bookish blog. Then I also keep track of whether we met for writing group and whether I uploaded to my writing group (with a checkmark or an x).
This page is where I track my weekly writing on my novels. I write the number of words I wrote in the box each week and color it in. If I didn’t write that week, I simply put an X in the box.
And this page is where I keep track of my novel writing monthly. At the beginning of the month, I write down my goal (in the top box, I write what I’m working on, like first draft or brainstorming). At the end of the month, I write down what I actually got done. Then in the right hand box, I write how far into the project I am (estimating how big the project will be).
This is my page for quotes from books I’ve read in 2026. I write the quote in the color of the month that I read the book in and it ends up being really pretty.
And this is my page for inspirational writing quotes (or quotes on creativity in general). I like to do one a month, with the quote in that month’s color.
This is my end of year stats page. I use my stats page at the beginning to add everything up and fill this out at the end of the year.
This is where I keep track of my favorite books of the year. I pick three books a month, writing down the titles and authors at the end of each month.
Then at the end of the year, I pick ten of my favorites from that list. I like to use these categories to help me narrow down my favorites. I also don’t ever include rereads on my favorites list (the reason I’m rereading it is because I like it so much), so I always have a bonus and pick my favorite reread of the year.
This is a fun page for me every year. On the very left, I pick my favorite book of the month and then put them through the bracket. In theory, my favorite book of the year should win (though it can be tough to pick sometimes and I wouldn’t say it always is my favorite book). It’s fun for me to see even if it’s not scientific.
This is my cover page for my monthly calendar pages.
On this first page, I have a place to write down my main goals for the month, some things I’d like to get done, and any big events we have coming up. On the right, I have a calendar. On the sides of the calendar, I can write down ideas I have for blog posts and Instagram posts. The top rectangle on each date is where I can put any Instagram posts I made. In the bottom, bigger square is where I write down any blog posts (or YouTube videos) I post. For my personal blog, I color in the square solid and for any bookish posts, I color in the square darker on the outside and lighter on the inside. I circle our birthdays and any big holidays.
This second page is my TBR list. I pick ten books to put in the book stack as the ones I want to prioritize (here is where I put my read alouds, Agatha Christie reads, the 3 reads from my 2026 TBR, etc). Underneath the book stack, I pick 5 other books that I want to read but are priorities. I always write my TBR list in erasable pen and only use my colored pen once I actually start reading them. Once I read it, I color it in darker on the outside and lighter on the inside. If I DNF a read, then I color it in dark and solid. At the end of the month, I write down how many I DNF’d and how many of the 10 and 15 I finished reading. If I finish reading one a later month, I come back then and color it in using that month’s color.
The left page is where I keep track of the books I own but haven’t read yet. I try to keep that number small, for physical books as well as eBooks and audiobooks. Once I finish reading it, I color in the square in the color of the month that I read it. If I DNF (and donate or delete from my library) a book, I cross it out. My goal each year is to finish reading all the books in my unread library from January by the end of the year. I don’t always reach this goal, but am often very close (this year, I think I will have one eBook and three physical books unread).
I do these spreads for every month of the year, through to December and they are the end of my bullet journal.
That is my bullet journal for 2026! Do you do a bullet journal? How do you track your reading? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below!
When I get out our Halloween decorations, I also haul up our big pile of seasonal books to read throughout the month together. It’s both my favorite thing and my kids’ favorite thing! We love our “Halloween” books–some are actually about Halloween, some are a little creepy or about Halloween related things like monsters, and some are simply books perfect for fall.
Today I am sharing some of our FAVORITE books to read at Halloween time!
Goodnight Goon by Michael Rex
We love Goodnight Moon at our house and Goodnight Goon is a fun and hilarious Halloween take of the original. It includes all things Halloween–monsters and witches and a werewolf–but all in the same cutsie art style. The changes that are made are clever and fun to read.
Little Blue Truck’s Halloween by Alice Shertle
We are also huge fans of Little Blue Truck at our house! I am usually not very impressed with spin offs of favorite books (for example, I will sometimes read Pout Pout Fish holiday books, but I don’t love them, and we don’t even own any other Tacky the Penguin books, despite the fact that I love the originals of both), but I have loved every Little Blue Truck book that we’ve read. Little Blue Truck’s Halloween is no exception! It’s a flap book (and the flaps are very durable) showcasing all the animals’ and truck’s Halloween costume.
Monster Mash by David Catrow
I have a daughter who simply loves Halloween and always has, and the Monster Mash is one of her favorite songs. This book has some creepy or weird looking pictures in it, but that’s part of the appeal to her and doesn’t have anything gory. It’s a fun book that follows the song.
Pumpkins, Pumpkins Everywhere by Smriti Prasadam-Halls
Pumpkins, Pumpkins Everywhere is a cute picture book looking at different jack o’lanterns and following a group of people who have a pumpkin festival. It’s perfect for Halloween time!
Sheep Trick or Treat by Nancy Shaw
Sheep in Jeep is another of my very favorite children’s books. Sheep Trick or Treat is a fun spinoff following the sheep as they make Halloween costumes and go trick or treating–but on the way home, some wolves start to follow them. It’s clever and well done, just like the original.
Ollie’s Halloween by Olivier Dunrea
I love all of the Gossie and Friends books and so do my kids. Ollie is our favorite. Ollie’s Halloween follows the goslings on Halloween night, talking about how it’s a night to scare. At the very end, Ollie hasn’t had any treats and they share with him, and the book ends by saying it’s a night to share. It’s a cute little story.
Go Away Big Green Monster by Ed Emberly
Go Away, Big Green Monster! has been a Halloween book I’ve had in my house since my youngest was a toddler and the kids all want to read it every single year. We love the clever way it’s set up to first show the Big Green Monster appearing and then disappearing. We also Nighty Night Little Green Monster, which is set up in the same way, and If You’re a Monster and You Know It, which is just a monster version of If You’re Happy and You Know It with pictures to go along with it, by the same author. I love reading all of them at this time of year!
Mercy Watson, Princess in Disguise by Kate DiCamillo
Princess in Disguise is technically a chapter book, but it has lot of illustrations and is a fun read for younger and older kids alike (it’s my four-year-old’s favorite right now). It’s short enough that we’ve read it one sitting before. Mercy Watson is a fun series about a couple who have adopted a pig named Mercy, and Princess in Disguise follows their adventures as they try to take her trick-or-treating.
A Super Scary Narwhalloween by Ben Clanton
A Super Scary Narwhalloween is another short chapter book, and is in graphic novel format. My kids love for me to read them the Narwhal and Jelly books and this one is perfect for Halloween time.
There was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bat! by Lucille Colandro
Ah yes, the classic Old Lady Who Swallows books. We love seeing all the variations on this story and There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bat is great for this time of year.
Dem Bones by Bob Barner
Dem Bones is another song that my younger kids love (my older kids groan every time I turn it on). This version of the book is fun because it teaches about the different bones with facts on each page rather than just being the song in book form. It was a great one to use when I did a unit study on bones at Halloween time one year.
T. Rex Trick or Treats by Lois G. Grambling
T. Rex Trick or Treats follows a T Rex who wants to dress up as something really scary for Halloween but isn’t sure what to be. His friends help him find the best costume–himself with a really big frown–and they have fun together trick or treating. It’s a cute story for Halloween time and perfect for any kid who loves dinosaurs!
Halloween Hustle by Charlotte Gunnufson
Halloween Hustle is in the top 5 of my favorite Halloween books to read! I love the rhythm that naturally comes out as I’m reading the book and the story and illustrations are both super cute. Even though it has Halloween characters, the book is about dancing and friendship rather than anything scary.
There’s a Witch in Your Book by Greg Abbott
There’s a Witch in Your Book is an interactive book about trying to “clean up” the mess a naughty little witch makes. It has you block spells with your hand, clean things up by wiping them away, and point your finger to say some spells. My kids love reading this together!
Stumpkin by Lucy Ruth Cummins
I think Stumpkin has the number one spot for my favorite Halloween books. It follows a pumpkin who is perfectly round and orange, but no one picks him for a jack o’lantern because he doesn’t have a stump. In the end, he realizes he doesn’t need a new home because he already has one–with the shopkeeper, who makes him into a jack o’lantern for the shop. The story telling and illustrations are so well done, I love reading it every year.
Ten Timid Ghosts by Jennifer O’Connel
Ten Timid Ghosts is another of my top 5 favorite Halloween books. It follows a group of ghosts who live in a haunted house when a witch comes and starts to scare them into leaving so she can the house for herself–but one ghost is paying attention and helps the ghosts all get their house back. The rhyming is fun to read and it’s fun to catch the little ghost paying attention in the illustrations.
Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson
Room on the Broom is a book we read throughout the year, but because it’s about a witch, I love pulling it out each Halloween time. It follows a witch who keeps dropping things. Each time she stops to find her things, she meets another animal who asks if there is room on the broom for them. In the end, all her new friends are able to help her when a dragon shows up. I love the book and I also love 30 minute animated movie they’ve made of the book. Both are super cute, with super cute rhymes, story, and illustrations.
Sherlock Chick and the Case of the Night Noises by Robert Quackenbush
Sherlock Chick is not actually a Halloween book, but I love reading mystery books at this time of year–both in my personal reading and out loud to the kids. The Case of the Night Noises is such a fun picture book mystery, it is a great introduction for kids to the mystery genre. I grew up reading this one and loving it. I also noticed while writing this post that there are other Sherlock Chick books and now I am going to go check those ones out with my kids!
Little Witch’s Big Night by Deborah Hautzig
Little Witch’s Big Night is a fun Halloween book. It follows a young witch who is accidentally “too good” so she has to stay home from the Halloween fun with her mom and aunts. While at home, she makes friends with some trick or treater kids. In the end, she and her mom make up and there’s a cute ending.
The Monster’s Monster by Patrick McDonnell
The Monsters’ Monster is a cute story about monsters who have a lot to learn–I love that the story is about gratitude, even while following monsters. I like to read it at Halloween because monsters are Halloween-y to me but it’s a fun one that isn’t about “being scary”.
Little Ghost Makes a Friend by Maggie Edkins Willis
Little Ghost Makes a Friend has super cute illustrations and a really fun story. It follows a ghost who is nervous about making friends. When he gets a new neighbor, he decides to be brave and invite her to a Halloween party, where he finds out that she sometimes feels nervous about making new friends too. He has the best Halloween ever with his new friend. My favorite part of this book are the illustrations, but the story and character are also fun to read about.
At the Old Haunted House by Helen Ketteman
At the Old Haunted House is probably my kids’ favorite Halloween book. It’s always the first one they pick out for me to read and we often read it several times throughout the month. I also love it. The rhythm of the book makes it a really fun read aloud and the illustrations aren’t scary or weird as the book introduces each Halloween character.
Creepy Carrots by Aaron Reynolds
Creepy Carrots and the entire series (Creepy Crayon and Creepy Pair of Underwear) are some of our favorite books to read year round, but I especially love them at Halloween. They play on the horror genre, but because it’s about carrots–or crayons, or underwear–it’s silly instead of scary for kids. The story and illustrations are so well done, both the kids and I love reading these together.
How Spider Saved Halloween by Robert Kraus
How Spider Saved Halloween is my favorite Halloween book from my own childhood. The story follows spider and the way he and his friends handle a group of bullies at Halloween time. It’s a cute story that my kids love every time we read it.
The Spooky Old Tree by Stan and Jan Berenstain
The Spooky Old Tree and the similar book, Bears in the Night, are books we love reading all year, but especially at Halloween. This is such a classic book with an atmosphere that is perfect for Halloween time without being too scary for kids.
The Pumpkin Patch by Elizabeth King
The Pumpkin Patch is a picture book of photographs that chronicles how pumpkins are grown for pumpkin patches. I love photo books like this, especially holiday ones.
Leaf Man by Lois Elhert
Leaf Man is such a unique and fun book–it depicts leaves in different shapes, like a man, cows, or an orchard. Each page has new shapes to discover and my kids love it. It’s also fun as a book to read before going out and gathering leaves together).
Those are our family’s favorite picture book reads at Halloween time each year! What are some of your favorite holiday reads? Do you lean into the scarier or more fun Halloween vibe? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below!
There is nothing I love more than reading holiday-themed books with my kids! Especially as fall comes and it means the start of the holiday season, there is something about pulling out holiday themed books and snuggling up on the couch together. It’s especially fun with young toddlers and preschoolers, who are so excited about the upcoming holiday.
Here is a list of my favorite Halloween and fall themed books that are perfect for toddlers and preschoolers!
The Spooky Wheels on the Bus
This Halloween variation on the Wheels on the Bus has been my kids’ favorite for years. It’s a fun one because even young toddlers are familar with the original song and love books that have songs in them. It’s also so inexpensive!
Are You My Monster? by Amanda Noll
We love the entire I Need My Monster series about a boy who can’t sleep unless his monster is under his bed. Rather than being scary, they are cute and fun. Are You My Monster is perfect for toddlers, as it is a board book that identifies aspects of monsters to see which one is the boy’s monster.
Nighty Night Little Green Monster by Ed Emberly
My kids have always loved Go Away Big Green Monster from a young age, and Nighty Night Little Green Monster is such a cute addition. I love that it is about bedtime, which kids can relate to. The whole setup of both books is clever and I always enjoy reading them with my kids as much as they enjoy me reading it to them.
Where’s the Witch? by Ingela P. Arrhenius
Where’s the Witch is an adorable Halloween book with such cute illustrations! It goes through different Halloween characters and has felt flaps, which I love more than the paper flaps (they rip so easily) and a mirror at the end. This is one of my favorite interactive books for toddlers, Halloween or not.
Where is Baby’s Pumpkin? by Karen Katz
I love Karen Katz books (despite the paper flaps sometimes getting ripped) and Where is Baby’s Pumpkin is such a cute Halloween one! Baby is looking for her pumpkin so she can go trick-or-treating and on each page, the child can lift the flap to see if her pumpkin is there–and when it’s not, something else “Halloween-y” will be there!
Trick or Treat, Pout Pout Fish by Deborah Deisen
We really like the original Pout Pout Fish book and had one child in particular who loved it for awhile. Trick or Treat Pout-Pout Fish is a short board book that shows each of Pout-Pout Fish’s friends all dressed up for Halloween!
Boo! Baa, La La La! by Sandra Boynton
Sandra Boynton is one of my top three authors for board books–I always love reading them aloud (which is very important when you have to read a book over and over again). Boo! Baa, La La La is a Halloween play on her book Moo! Baa La La La (a favorite in our house) and is so fun! It’s not interactive in the same way the flap books are, but my kids love “guessing” who is making the noises.
Spooky Pookie by Sandra Boynton
I love Pooky! In Spooky Pookie, we get to see Pooky trying on different costumes as he tries to decide what to dress up as for Halloween. It’s a short but fun story, perfect for young kids to follow along with.
Eek! Halloween! by Sandra Boynton
Another Sandra Boynton–because we really love her books! Eek! Halloween! is a silly book about chickens experiencing the weird things around this holiday and not knowing what to make of it. My kids always laugh when we read it together.
Ollie’s Halloween by Olivier Dunrea
I love all of the Gossie and Friends books and so do my kids. When I got Ollie’s Halloween out this year, my four-year-old was very excited to read a Halloween book about Ollie. I also love the ending of this book–throughout it says that Halloween is a time to scare, and at the very end, it plays on that and says that Halloween is a time to share. It’s a cute little story about the goslings that younger and older kids can enjoy.
Max’s Halloween by Rosemary Wells
Max and Ruby are another of my favorite books for young kids–I remember my mom reading them to me when I was growing up. In Max’s Halloween, we get to see Ruby trying to be in charge as the older sister and Max just doing his own thing. It’s a fun story about siblings trick or treating together.
It’s Pumpkin Day, Mouse! by Laura Numeroff
It’s Pumpkin Day, Mouse is perfect for parents who want to avoid monsters and anything scary on Halloween–it’s a cute story about Mouse and Dog painting their pumpkins together. We have the board book, making it perfect for little toddler fingers.
The Itsy Bitsy Pumpkin by Sanoli Fry
Another song book! Again, even the youngest toddlers will be familar with the original Itsy Bitsy Spider song. The Itsy Bitsy Pumpkin has been a favorite with all my kids at the toddler age. The book is cute, because it has a little story in the song about the pumpkin finding it’s way back home.
Sheep Trick or Treat by Nancy Shaw
I don’t know if there is a toddler/preschooler book out there that I love more than Sheep in a Jeep. This Halloween spin off Sheep Trick or Treat is not as good as the original, but is still super fun and has a cute story. The sheep get dressed up and go trick or treating, but there are wolves on the prowl! My four-year-old loves it this year and was very invested in seeing what would happen the first time we read it.
Duck and Goose Find a Pumpkin by Tad Hills
Duck and Goose Find a Pumpkin is another great one for parents who want to avoid monsters or magic for Halloween. It follows Duck and Goose as they search for a pumpkin in all the fall places–like an apple tree and a leaf pile. It’s a cute one for young kids!
Those are some of our favorite read alouds for young toddlers and preschoolers! What are some of your favorite books to read with young kids for Halloween? Let me know in the comments below!
One of my favorite parts of homeschooling is during the holidays when we can theme a lot of our school activities around the holiday! With a baby, I’m feeling a little behind, but I have started planning some Halloween homeschool activities to do with the kids this Halloween and I wanted to share them here!
Halloween Crafts
Skeleton Paper Garland
For this activity, you use paper chains to make a large skeleton. We have already done a few simple skeleton activities this year (labeling the bones in a skeleton, cutting out and gluing together a paper skeleton, etc) and I thought this would be a fun activity for the kids. I have one daughter in particular who I think will love it this year and it can be a decoration when we are done!
Water Color Webs
With this activity, you use a white crayon to draw a spiderweb on a paper plate. Then you let the kids paint over it with water colors–the paint sticks to the paper but not to the crayon drawing. My kids have loved water color paints this year and this is a really fun activity that all my kids (ages 4 to 11) will really enjoy.
Make a Paper Spiderweb
This is similar to making snowflakes, but in a way that when you open up the paper, it is in the shape of a spiderweb! I think my older three girls will love this one! I also think once they learn how to make one, we’ll end up with about a hundred paper spiderwebs around the house (anyone else have factory-mode kids with crafts?).
Yarn Pumpkins
For this activity, you cover yarn in glue and place it around a balloon. Once the yarn is dry, you pop the balloon and are left with a pumpkin shape of yarn. I don’t know if I’ll do this activity, but we have balloons and yarn, so it would be doable. I think my kids would love it, it just seems a little more involved for me and with the baby, it depends on how much capacity I end up having for something like this.
Draw Monsters with Googly Eyes
This activity is really simple! You put googly eyes on a paper in random places and let your kids draw monsters around the eyes. It’s a good activity for all ages because they can draw at their own level, but I think my four year old will especially love this activity.
Halloween Science Experiments
Mummy Apples
One thing I love to do with science is find things that are Halloween-y and learn about them (I did a whole unit study on bones one year!). This year, we are learning about the mummification process and what real mummies were, and for a hands on science activity, we are mummifying our own apple. It’s really simple–you just make some cuts in the apple and place it in a bag with salt and baking soda–but it does take a few weeks.
Witch’s Cauldrons
This is an activity we do every year. I have mini cauldrons that I fill halfway with vinegar. Then I give my kids baking soda and things to put in their potions (sticks, food coloring, googly eyes, fake spiders, etc) and let them go at it. We talk about catalysts and reactions and things, but mostly they just like to make potions.
Dissolving Candy Corn
This is another favorite activity–you get different liquids (water, hot water, oil, vinegar, etc) and put a piece of candy corn in each one. You can each make a hypothesis beforehand about which one will dissolve the candy corn fastest, and then you wait and watch to see who was correct.
Disappearing Monsters
I’ve never tried this activity before, but it seems pretty simple, which is great for us this year. The kids draw monsters on coffee filters and then use water to make the monster pictures disappear.
Core Subjects
Halloween Madlibs
Madlibs is a fun way to get some grammar in with my kids and doing them themed just makes them more fun.
Surprise Math Pictures
These are always my kids favorite–they are color by number graphs that don’t have any pre-drawn lines, so the kids don’t know what it is until they fill in all the squares. Just like with color by number, Pinterest has a ton of free printables ranging from just numbers to addition to multiplication.
Graphing Candy
Graphing Candy is a new tradition I want to start with my kids this year. Before Halloween starts, you all guess how many of each popular candy is going to be handed out. After trick-or-treating, you create a graph together of how many your family actually recieved and you use the graph to see who was correct in guessing. It sounds very fun and is great graphing practice.
Halloween Decor Scavenger Hunt
Another new tradition I want to try this year! A few days before Halloween, I’ll have an outdoor scavenger hunt ready, with items like Giant Spider or Spiderwebs, things that are often used as decorations. The kids and I can walk around the neighborhood looking for each item on the list.
That’s what I have planned to do with my kids this month for Halloween that are school related! I think it’s a manageable list, but also will be fun for the kids. What do you have planned to do with your kids? What are some of your favorite Halloween homeschool activities to do? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below!
Wow, September was a great reading month for me! I participated in both 30 Books in 30 Days and in Series September (two different reading challenges I love). With so many books, I didn’t love all of them, but so many of them were such fun reads!
I read 33 books (including some novellas/short stories) in September and 6,720 pages, for an average of 203 pages per book. I read 27 books by female authors and 6 by male authors. I borrowed 20 of the books and owned 13. I read 11 physical books, 14 eBooks, and 9 audiobooks. 19 were part of a series, and I started 4 new series and finished 6 series I am currently in the middle of. I had 8 stand alone reads. I read 7 middle grade, 3 YA, and 20 adult books. I read 3 new releases. I shared 8 read alouds with my kids. I read 2 books from my 2025 TBR list and DNF’d one, bringing the total read/DNF’d to 25/33, with 8 remaining to read. I read 12 five star reads, 13 four star reads, 6 three star reads, 1 two star read, and 1 one star read.
It was hard to narrow down my favorites to just 5 this month, but here they are!
The Unselected Journals of Emma M Lion by Beth Brower
This is maybe cheating just a little, because I read volumes 2-5 in September and just loved them all–each one got better. If I had to pick just one, I’d pick volume 5. These books take a little bit to get into, in my opinion, but the characters are so well done and the feel of the books is so fun, even while they handle deeper issues of grief.
What Does it Feel Like by Sophie Kinsella
I bawled (like I do anytime there is a mom with cancer, it’s hard for me to contemplate a mom leaving behind children). I loved the way this was formatted and was riveted the entire time. It’s short and sweet and based on the author’s real experience, which only made it better.
The Song of David by Amy Harmon
Another book I bawled through. I listened to this one and couldn’t put the audiobook down. I love the narrator and the characters. The ending drove me crazy (there’s a question throughout much of the book that gets left open to interpretation at the end, which is not my kind of ending) but I loved the rest of the book enough that it was still a favorite read.
I Think He Knows by Katie Bailey
Katie Bailey is one of my favorite clean rom com authors and this book was super fun! I love “friends with a famous actor” plotlines and I also fell in love with the main character’s daughter Legs (and her extended family) in the previous book. I highly recommend any of Katie Bailey’s books for no or low spice rom com lovers!
Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave by Elle Casimino
This is the newest release in the series (and is book 5). I have to admit that I really loved book 4 and thought the series should have wrapped up there, so I was hesitant in reading this one. I was pleasantly surprised in how much I loved it! It felt like it pulled back and slowed down a little again, and while what happened in past books didn’t disappear, it was almost a fresh start for the plot, which I really liked. Their neighbor, Mrs. Haggerty, was the best part of the book, she is a riot!
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Those were my favorite books of the month of September! What did you read last month? What is a book you read and loved recently? I’d love to chat books with you.
My kids love Halloween (especially our middlest child) and I love holidays! However, we are not a family who loves gore or super scary movies (my kids are also not super sensitive). I have a fun list of “Halloween-y” movies that fit our family just right that I love to pull out each fall. Some of these are more scary than others, but all of them have been fun family movies to watch together.
These are our favorite movies to watch each year!
Room on the Broom
Room on the Broom is an adorable movie based on a (equally adorable) children’s book. It follows a witch who keeps losing her stuff. As different animals help her find her things, they ask if there is room for them on her broom. In the end, those she makes room for get to help her out as well! It’s only about 30 minutes long and I love everything about it–the animation, the story telling, the message.
We own this one on Google Play.
Coco
Coco is such a fun movie for Halloween time! I love the message of family and geneology that it gives and I think the storyline is very well done, as well as the music. It’s also a fun one if you are learning about other cultures and their traditions and holidays this time of year.
We watch this one on Disney Plus.
Monsters, Inc.
Monsters Inc is not a Halloween movie, but it’s a fun one to watch this time of year because … Monsters! It’s also perfect for kids who don’t like scary things as much.
We watch Monsters Inc on Disney Plus.
Pooh’s Heffalump Movie
Pooh’s Heffalump Movie is such a great Halloween-y movie for younger kids. It has more of a “scary” feel to it without actually being scary. It’s a fun adventure with just the right feel to it and honestly, who doesn’t love Winnie the Pooh?
We watch this on Disney Plus.
It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
It’s a Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown–such a classic. I have watched this every year at Halloween for as long as I can remember, and now so have my kids! I love Charlie Brown, especially the holiday shows. It’s a shorter movie without any scary parts, but is actually a Halloween movie as well.
We own the DVD (we don’t have Apple TV and it is impossible to buy/stream it anywhere else online).
Scooby Doo Where Are You!
I grew up watching the older (Scooby Doo Show and Where Are You) Scooby Doo episodes and I love sharing them with my kids now. My 4-year-old son particularly likes them right now (my oldest also went through a stage where she loved them). We watch them year round, but I love pulling them out in the fall, especially if it’s been awhile since we watched them.
We also love the Scooby Doo and Scrappy Too, and my son loves the Scooby Meets Batman collection. I don’t love any of the newer Scooby Doo shows, so we avoid those.
We own these on Prime Video and some DVD’s.
The Ghost and Mr. Chicken
The Ghost and Mr. Chicken is such a funny movie! I mean, who doesn’t love Don Knotts? It’s not a movie geared to particularly young kids, but my kids have enjoyed watching it as a family starting at fairly young ages (4-5) and it’s one of my favorites to revisit each year. I love having some “grown up” movies my kids can love!
It’s not a “Halloween” movie, but it deals with haunted houses, ghosts, and a mystery, which makes it perfect for this time of year.
We own this on Google Play.
Blackbeard’s Ghost
Blackbeard’s Ghost is not a Halloween movie, but because of the atmosphere of the movie and the fact that it has a ghost, we watch this every fall. While this technically has a ghost, it’s not a scary movie at all–it’s a fun and silly one. My kids always laugh so hard. Blackbeard’s Ghost gets up to all sorts of mischeif and it has a feel good ending. This is a good one for slightly older kids who still don’t want to watch scary movies.
We watch this on Disney Plus.
Nancy Drew
This Nancy Drew movie is one of my favorites! I love the message of Nancy Drew being confident in being herself and the mystery is really well done. My girls have all loved it as well. It’s a better movie for slightly older kids, both in terms of what will hold their interest as well as the fact there are a couple more intense scenes and a few mild swear words. My four year old son had very little interest in it this year, but my daughter loved it starting when she was five or six.
We own this on Google Play.
Toy Story of Terror!
Toy Story of Terror is such a fun, short Halloween-ish movie! The very beginning can be scary for more sensitive kids, but there’s a cute character arc, we get to revisit characters we know and love, and the ending is very fun. It has the feel of “horror” but in a wholesome way.
We watch this on Disney Plus.
Scooby Doo! and the Witch’s Ghost
Scooby Doo and the Witch’s Ghost is probably my favorite Scooby Doo movie! I love the plotline and I think they did a really good job sticking true to the original Scooby Doo feel. It has a real ghost in it at the end, like the movies tend to do, but it isn’t too scary. We also love Scooby Doo and the Alien Invasion, which also isn’t too scary, and Scooby Doo and Zombie Island, which is scarier for younger kids. My kids love watching all three at Halloween time.
We own all three movies on Google Play.
The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad
I grew up watching the short film about Ichabod Crane. I think this movie could definitely be scarier for a sensitive child, but my kids haven’t ever had any issues with it. I like that it’s shorter but still has that “Halloween” feel to it, but if you want to have a longer movie night with it, you can watch Mr. Toad as well. I don’t know why Disney connected them into one movie, but Mr. Toad and the atmosphere of that movie makes it a good one to watch this time of year as well.
We watch this on Disney Plus.
Halloweentown
Halloweentown is not my favorite Halloween movie (I didn’t grow up watching it, so I don’t have any nostalgia around it; the first time I saw it, I was already in my late 20’s). My kids, however, love it, so they watch it every year while I go do something else.
We watch this on Disney Plus.
James and the Giant Peach
James and the Giant Peach has such an atmosphere, that is perfect for fall and Halloween time. I have always loved the music in the movie, even though the movie itself is a little weird (true to the book). We don’t watch this every year, but when we are needing an extra movie in the fall, this is a fun one we can pick.
We watch this on Disney Plus.
Abbott and Costello
I grew up watching Abbott and Costello and just love them. Their Monsters Collection is just perfect for Halloween. My older kids are just getting old enough to really appreciate Abbott and Costello. My favorite of their movies to watch at Halloween is actually Hold that Ghost (it has a “haunted” house and ghost and a mystery, so perfect for this time of year, and it’s hilarious), but that one is actually really hard to find. I am going to see if I can hunt it down on DVD this year.
We own the DVD of the Monsters Collection.
Harry Potter
I save Harry Potter for the end because we waited until our kids were older to have them watch this, though I know every family is different. We now watch the first two with all our kids, so our younger kids have seen it at younger ages. Our oldest is turning eleven this month and has seen the third, and after watching Lord of the Rings and doing well with it, we decided she can watch the rest of the movies with us this year (she is very excited!). The first two have some scary parts, but overall, I don’t think it’s too bad for even younger kids. The third one has a definite shift in atmosphere and obviously the fourth on (minus the sixth) are pg-13. They are such fun ones for Halloween time though!
We own the DVDs.
Those are some of our favorite Halloween movies and we watch many of them every year in the fall! What are some of your family favorites? Are you a “fun and light” Halloween family or more of a “horror and scary” Halloween family? I’d love to hear about your traditions and favorites in the comments below!
August was quite the month. Trying to juggle a baby with older kids (summer activities, home school, extra curriculars, friends, all of it) is exhausting. I did get some good reading in though and really enjoyed a lot of the books I read!
In August, I read 17 books and 4,737 pages in August, for an average of 278 pages per book. I read 15 books by female authors and 2 by male authors. I borrowed 6 and owned 11 of the books I read. I read 4 physical books, 5 eBooks, and 8 audiobooks. I read 7 middle grade, 1 YA, and 6 adult books. I shared 6 read aloud books with my kids and read 5 new releases. I had 5 rereads and 12 new reads. I read 2 “new to me authors” and 10 previously read authors (not including rereads). I read 1 book from my 2026 TBR, bringing the total read or DNF’d to 23 of 33. I read 4 books in a series, finishing 2 series and starting 0. I read 10 five star reads, 2 four star reads, 4 three star reads, 1 two star read, and 0 one star reads.
The Good, the Bad, and the Aunties by Jesse Q Sutanto
I have loved the few books I’ve read by Jesse Q. Sutanto so far! I started with Vera Wong (my favorite so far) and this series is my second by her. I really loved the first book, but the second was just okay. I was very happy to find that I once again loved this third and final book in the series! It is wacky, but in the best way.
The Blackbird Girls by Annie Blankman
This middle grade historical fiction was different than I was expecting, but in a way that I loved. I was totally gripped by the characters and by the two main characters’ friendship. I learned about history and really enjoyed the “overcoming abuse” plotline. This would be a really good read for slightly older middle grade readers.
Rebel Summer by Cindy Steel
Cindy Steel is one of my favorite clean rom com authors and this book did not disappoint. It had a fun premise, a great “hate to love” romance, and characters that I loved reading about. I liked the way the author incorporated some of the heavier topics like emotional abuse into the light hearted romance.
These Happy Golden Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder
This was technically a reread for me, but I haven’t read it since I was a young girl, so a lot of it felt new to me. This has been my favorite of the series so far. I love Laura and Almonzo and seeing their relationship develop throughout the book is swoony in the best way.
One Wrong Step by Jennifer A. Nielsen
This was my final read of the month and I listened to it with my family in the car on a roadtrip (we listened to it in one day, there and back) and everyone loved it. The kids were begging to keep listening anytime we had to stop it and laughing at all the right spots and even my husband had us pause it when he ran in to grab some food somewhere because he didn’t want to miss it. It was educational, fun, and moving. I loved the theme of being able to let go of the past so you can move forward in your life and felt it was very well done. It got us through a long day of driving in the best way possible.
What did you read in September? What book have you read and loved recently? I’d love to hear from you in the comments!
One of my favorite readathons to participate in each year is Series September hosted by one of my favorite BookTubers BooksandJams! It’s a way to focus on some books in series before the end of the year. I always love doing the 30 Books in 30 Days challenge as well, so I try to find books that will fit in both readathon challenges.
They do different prompts each year (you can find the prompts and their bingo boards in their announcement video). This year, their prompts have to do with the aesthetic of the books covers themselves, which is fun and unique.
I’m excited to get some series books read this month!
Prompt 1: Moody and Dark
My Book Choice: Perelandera by CS Lewis
This Space Trilogy is one that I’ve been wanting to read for a long time and I’m excited to finally be starting it. This is the second book in the series (the first book is one of my choices for a later prompt). I picked it for this prompt because the atmosphere on the cover seems to fit to me.
Prompt 2: Illustrated Cover
My Book Choice: The Genius File by Dan Gutman
This is a middle grade book by an author I like. I’m planning on reading this with my kids during the month. The cover is a cartoon-ish illustration.
Prompt 3: Fall Colors on Cover
My Book Choice: Spectacular by Stephanie Garber
Spectacular is a spinoff of the Caraval series, which I read a year or two ago. The red on the cover makes me think of fall colors (though I think it’s a more Christmas-y story).
Prompt 4: Blue Tones
My Book Choice: Kung Pow Chicken by Cyndi Marko
This is a chapter book series that my kids really like that I’ve never read. I’m planning on reading it aloud with them in the mornings during our reading time. The cover of the first book is a nice bright blue.
Prompt 5: Bold Type
My Book Choice: I Think He Knows by Katie Bailey
This is the sequel to a fun romcom I read last year that I really liked and I’m excited to finally be reading it. The words on the cover are nice and bold, fitting nicely with this prompt.
Prompt 6: Light Acadamia Vibes
My Book Choice: The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion by Beth Brower
I read the first book of this hyped up series a couple months ago and am very excited to be finishing it. I picked this series for this prompt because both the title and the cover somehow feel “academic” to me.
Prompt 7: Forest or Nature
My Book Choice: Out of the Silent Planet by CS Lewis
This is the first in the Space Trilogy that I’m reading this month and I picked it because of the “alien planet” nature–the mountains and oceans and trees–on the cover. There are other cover designs that are even more so than this one.
Prompt 8: Beautiful Cover
My Book Choice: Louisiana Longshot Jana Deleon
This is a short mystery book that I’ve heard really good things about. If I like it, then I’ll have a new mystery series I can read through. I picked it for this prompt because of the flowers and butterfly on the cover.
Prompt 9: Cozy Vibes Only
My Book Choice: Stranded Ranch by Cindy Steel
Cindy Steel is one of my favorite clean rom com authors and this is the last book by her that I haven’t read. It’s also part of my favorite series by her–Pride and Pranks. This is a very “cozy vibes” book, taking place at a ranch during the holidays. I thought it was perfect for this prompt.
What books are you reading in September? Are you taking part in this reading challenge? What series are you in the middle of? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below!
Each September, one of my favorite BookTube channels Luminous Libro hosts a readathon called 30 Books in 30 Days. The idea is to read 30 books (or stories or poems, etc) in 30 days, or to read for 30 minutes day. I haven’t done it every year she’s hosted it, but the years that I have, I’ve always had a lot of fun! I wanted to try it again this year–the worst that can happen is I don’t hit 30 reads but read more than I would have otherwise!
I picked some short stories and shorter novels knowing that it will probably stretch me quite a bit to get that much reading in this month. We’ll see how it goes with 5 kids, a 4 month old, and homeschooling!
1 The Answer is No by Fredrik Backman
I have read one book by this author and want to read more. This short story was on sale earlier this year for Kindle, so I own the ebook. I thought this month was the perfect time to enjoy this short story.
2 The Lamp by Agatha Christie
I recently bought this short story for Kindle when it was on sale as well. I’ve been working my way through all of Agatha Christie’s works and am excited to read this one this month.
3 Rebel Summer Bonus Scene: Dax’s Perspective by Cindy Steel
Another short story! These will really help me reach 30 this month. I read the novel Rebel Summer in August and decided to save this short story for September.
4 Spectacular by Stephanie Garber
This is a novella in the Caraval series, which I completed a year or two ago. The audiobook is about 3 hours long, which feels like a perfect length for my reading goals in September.
5 The Four Loves by CS Lewis
CS Lewis is another author I’m slowly working my way through. This nonfiction book is short and I am planning on reading a little bit in it each day until I finish it (hopefully in the month of September).
6 and 7 Out of the Silent Planet and Perelandra (Space trilogy 1-2) by CS Lewis
This space trilogy is one I’ve been wanting to read for years. I own the second and just got the first from the library. It is short enough that I feel it’s reasonable to read it this month and am excited to finally jump into it!
9 Louisiana Longshot by Jana DeLeon
This is a short middle grade mystery book that I recently bought the ebook for. I have heard so many good things about it and am really excited to try it!
10 Okay for Now by Gary D Schmidt
Gary D Schmidt is such a great author! I am planning on listening to this with my kids during the month (I just got the audiobook from the library).
11 The Genius Files by Dan Gutman
Dan Gutman is another author I really love. I am planning on reading this aloud to my kids at bedtime once I finish up our other current reads.
12 Babysitter’s Club 4: Mary Anne Saves the Day Ann M. Martin
The kids and I have been reading the Babysitters Club series together and just started book four. We’re all loving it and they are such short reads, it’s perfect for September.
13 Babysitter’s Club 5: Dawn and the Impossible Three by Ann M. Martin
I originally had told the kids I would read the first 4 books aloud to them. They’ve been begging for the fifth one as well and I decided to go ahead and read it with them. We own it and it is from Dawn’s perspective, I feel like it’s a good place for me to stop with them (and they can continue on their own after if they want).
14-18 Kung Pow Chicken (books 1-5) by Cyndi Marko
Every time I do this challenge, I love to pick a new chapter book series that my kids either love or that I think they’ll love. This year I picked Kung Pow Chicken. My kids have gotten it from the library before and Rylee especially loves it, but I’ve never read it. I am planning on reading it aloud to them during homeschool (we have a time set aside each day for me to read to them). They are such short books, I know we can get through them all during the month and I think we’ll all have fun with them.
19 Stranded Ranch by Cindy Steel
I’ve also been reading through all of Cindy Steel’s books. She writes clean rom coms that I just love. This is the final book by her that I haven’t read and it’s short enough I felt I could include it in my September reading. I always fly through her books.
20 The First Four Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder
I’ve been rereading all the Little House books this year and just loving it. They are all pretty quick reads and this one is one of the shorter ones. I don’t remember if I’ve actually read it as a child or not, but I’m really excited to read it after how much I’ve loved revisiting all the others.
21- 27 The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion by Beth Brower (books 2-8)
This is a series that has gotten so much hype, I’m excited to get into it. I read the first one a few months back and decided to save the rest for September (knowing they would make great short reads for this challenge).
28 Parker Pyne Investigates by Agatha Christie
This is my main Agatha Christie read for the month. It’s not shorter than normal, but it’s one of the only full-length books I’m planning to read and I usually get through her books fairly quickly.
29 I Think He Knows by Katie Bailey
This is also not a particularly short read, but I got the audiobook from the library in August without ever actually getting to it. I want to listen to it before my hold ends, so that means it has to be in September. Katie Bailey is another of my favorite clean rom com authors, so I think it is one I will get through quickly!
30 Behind Enemy Lines by Jennifer A. Nielsen
Jennifer A. Nielsen is one of my favorite authors (we listened to One Wrong Step by her as a family and all loved it). This one is a little different–she normally writes realistic middle grade historical fiction (though she has some fun fantasy books) and this one is a time travel historical fiction. It’s only about 4 hours long, so it feels perfect to squeeze in this month. It’s part of a series by various authors and I haven’t read the others, but it sounds as if this can be read independently, so I guess we’ll see.
What books are you reading in September? Are you joining this reading challenge? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below!
