Day 11: A Light In the Autumn Night by Frances Tosdevin & Sophia O'Connor #childrensbooks #CountdowntoHalloween2026

 

About the book: 

A gentle tale about overcoming fear, the comfort of friendship, and how even the smallest light can shine the brightest when it's shared.

My review:

This book is totally about facing your fears, in this case what goes bump in the night. The character of mole shuts himself in his cozy home in order to block out his fear of the dark. However, creatures arrive dressed in costumes not only asking for treats but for light to find their way. This shared experience prompts mole to go out and at the same time, face those fears.

What a beautiful book this is!  Even though the book is Autumn and Halloween centered, it gives such a greater message of being kind, sharing your wealth, and more importantly sharing yourself (the light) when possible. Children will certainly get the dual messages. It is a book to be shared by all.

Done in muted colors and Autumn colors this is a terrific book to add to your home and school collections. Such a winner of a book and great lessons!

5 big lighted pumpkins!

Disclosure: This book was obtained at a local library. The views here are 100% my own opinions and may differ from yours. ~Michelle, Reading Authors Network

Find the authors:

Amazon

Day 10: Ghostly Photo Shoot #mom #countdowntohalloween2026

A couple of years ago I took my mom up into the mountains of Sedona and told her we were going to have a ghost photo shoot.  I am not sure if I ever showed you the results of that but here, we are.

She had no clue as to what was going to happen, but we had a good time and a bit of laughs.

Crypt Keeper, Michelle

Day 9: How to Scare Blue Monster by Petr Hordoek #childrensbooks #CountdowntoHalloween2026

 

About the book:

When something HUGE comes clumping through the forest, all the animals are scared. But it's only their friend, Blue Monster. 

My review:

This has to be the most non-scary book about being scared that I ever read. The monster in the book goes around and scares all of his friends because, well, he is a monster. However, he has no idea what being scared means. So, his friends help him learn in a most unusual way.

Is it horrifying? Absolutely not. If anything, it is simply cute and that is what makes this book so adorable. As a soft Halloween kind of book, it can certainly fit the bill. I loved monster and all of his animal friends in the forest.

The illustrations for this book were large and in autumn kinds of colors which adds to the feel of the season. What makes them interesting and stand out is they are also done in a crayon resist and pencil drawing. The character colors do not necessarily stay in the lines as you would expect from children's books illustrations. It is different and I like it!

Go Blue for 4 pumpkins!

Disclusre: This book was obtained through a local library. The view here is 100% my own and may differ from yours. ~Michelle, Reading Authors Network

Day 8: It's All Fun and Games Until You Go Batty #bats #games #countdowntoHalloween

This post has completely gone batty and why not?! It is Halloween season after all and our friendly bats have come out of their homes to play. Of course we can play too with them in all these fun games I have found. Check them out.

Crypt keeper, Michelle

Bats Game 1

Bats Game 2

Bats Game 3

Day 7: Nothing Like A Good Bat Bakeoff #CountdowntoHalloween2026 #food

Photo copyright & Recipe

I don't know about you but one of the things I love about Halloween is the foods. I do not mean the gobs of candy. I mean the baked goods and yummy dinner parties curated by Halloween looks. Think zombie brain Jello, squishy worm spaghetti, and witch hat brownies. Oh yum!

I have a time or two watched bake offs including the show, British Bakeoff where several bakers compete for the top prize. Check out some of the recipes at the link above or HERE. Pumpkin pie anyone?

Day 6: #Bat Adoption #countdowntoHalloween2026 #animaladoption

Photo Copyright

I have been in the UK for a couple of months now and I found out there is a Bat Conservation Trust here. This is their website link if you would like to read more about them. Bat Conservation In the UK

The site has so much information on it including how to build bat houses and what bats actually do for the eco system. One of the coolest things that I found out from the site is that you can actually adopt a bat. Seriously, who doesn't want to have your own pet vampire that someone else takes care of! ha!

Check it out and become a member if you want.

Day 5: Write A Letter to Jack #CountdowntoHalloween2026