The following books for middle readers are great options leading up to Halloween.
WALLACE AND GRACE AND THE OWL-O-WEEN MYSTERY: A Halloween Book, by Heather Alexander and Laura Zarrin, Bloomsbury Children’s Books, Sept. 3, 2024, Paperback, $8.99 (ages 5-7)
In the fourth book in the Wallace and Grace series, the two owl detectives are confronted with a Halloween costume contest catastrophe when three contestants all claim credit for the same idea.
These best friends are partners in the Night Owl Detective Agency and work together to solve mysteries!
When Lukas the fox, Ava the opossum, and Mateo the squirrel all show up to the Owl-o-ween party with the same costume, no one knows whooo had the idea first–or whooo should win the delicious boo-berry pie. Can Wallace and Grace uncover clues to solve this costume mystery?
Young readers will delight in this accessible Halloween story, the perfect pathway to chapter books. —Synopsis provided by Bloomsbury Children’s Books
NANCY SPECTOR, MONSTER DETECTIVE 1: The Case of the Missing Spot, by Stephen W Martin and Linh, Algonquin Young Readers, Sept. 10, 2024, Paperback, $12.99 (ages 7-11)
Intrepid eight-year-old detective Nancy Spector and her talking dog, Jinx, search high and low for an invisible dog in this laugh-a-minute, fast-paced graphic novel.
The Invisible Man has a problem. His dog, Spot, is missing. Complicating matters, Spot is also invisible. So the Invisible Man turns to Nancy Spector for help. Nancy eagerly takes the case, and she and her grumpy best friend, a (visible) dog named Jinx, dive into the investigation.
As they follow Spot’s trail, they find themselves:
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- Riding dragons
- Searching the monster diner—because all dogs like hot dogs
- Fleeing from vicious chipmunk unicorns
- Shopping in a store that is a gelatinous candy cube named Bob
- And paying a visit to Nancy’s vampire friend Eugene’s hamster’s funeral
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Every time they think Spot is right around the corner, things get more and more confusing, but Nancy knows that to a great detective, there is no such thing as a bad clue. And Nancy knows she’s a great detective. Now she just needs to crack the case. . . —Synopsis provided byAlgonquin Young Readers
THE PUMPKIN PRINCESS AND THE FOREVER NIGHT, by Steven Banbury, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, Sept. 3, 2024, Hardcover, $17.99, Paperback, $8.99 (ages 8-12)
A spooky yet heartwarming adventure about one girl’s journey into the land of the undead, and the unexpected family she finds along the way.
On Halloween, it is always wise to expect the unexpected, but no amount of planning could have prepared Eve for that particular night. Fleeing an unpleasant orphanage, she’s saved by someone who she never believed was real…the fabled Pumpkin King himself.
Throwing caution aside, Eve accepts the offer to become his daughter and is whisked away to the misty Hallowell Valley—home to witches and vampires, ghosts and goblins, and all that go bump in the night. But just when she believes she’s found her place among the undead, a sinister scheme unearths itself, threatening to take everything from Eve unless she can stop it.
From debut author Steven Banbury comes a cozy, magical adventure sure to delight anyone who loves the tricks of Halloween as much as the treats of autumn. —Synopsis provided by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
MY VAMPIRE VS. YOUR WEREWOLF (The Versus Series), by Paul Tobin, Bloomsbury Children’s Books, Sept. 3, 2024, Paperback, $9.99 (ages 8-12)
Gabe and Hayden have a vampire.
Joon and Tradd have a werewolf.
And they’re going to fight.
After modern society pushed monsters into hiding, the Crafters Guild was formed: An organization of humans and other creatures intent on creating community amongst these exiled beings and combating the decline in monster mental health. Their solution? A no-holds-barred clash of the titans, where two monsters can fight it out with no limits. With young coaches like Gabe, Hayden, Joon, and Tradd to guide them, the monsters must prepare for a battle that will test their strengths, smarts, and special abilities. But it’s just a friendly competition-nothing could possibly go wrong…right?
My Vampire vs. Your Werewolf is the first in an epic horror series from bestselling author Paul Tobin featuring all your favorite monsters–from mummies and ghosts, to dragons and zombies, and witches and warlocks–daring to answer the question: Who would win in a fight? —Synopsis provided by Bloomsbury Children’s Books
CAMP TWISTED PINE, by Ciera Burch, Margaret K. McElderry Books, Sept. 17, 2024, Hardcover, $17.99 (ages 8-12)
Eleven-year-old Naomi loves all things outdoors—birds and beetles, bats and bunnies—in theory. She explores nature in the best possible way: the cold, hard facts in books. So when her parents’ announcement of their impending divorce comes hand in hand with sending Naomi and her younger twin brothers to summer camp while they figure things out, it’s salt in the wound for Naomi and her avoidance of hands-on experience.
Camp Twisted Pine could be worse. The counselors are nice, and Naomi likes her cabinmates, especially Jackie, whose blunt personality and frank dislike of the camp draws Naomi in quickly. Jackie is also hard of hearing and uses a hearing aid, and the girls quickly develop a routine of sign language lessons in their free time, which Naomi sees as a welcome break when all the s’mores-making and nature walks get to be a bit much.
But the campers aren’t the only ones who roam the grounds of Camp Twisted Pine. When people start to go missing, including Jackie, Naomi has to find a way to save everyone—and herself. Her practical knowledge of the outdoors may still be rudimentary at best, but she has years of studying and the scientific method to fall back on. Can Naomi identify and stop the dangerous predator before it’s too late? —Synopsis provided by Margaret K. McElderry Books
THE SCHOOL FOR WICKED WITCHES, by Will Taylor, Scholastic Inc., Sept. 17, 2024, Paperback, $7.99 (ages 8-12)
11-year-old Ava Heartstraw is nervous but excited to leave her desert home and begin training to become a powerful witch. But when the snooty teachers at West Oz Witch Academy misunderstand her magic, she suddenly finds herself a permanent prisoner of the grim School for Wicked Witches.
Determined to prove herself good—no matter how many rules she has to break along the way—Ava and her new friends soon learn that their school is hiding some pretty big secrets of its own, and a daring escape from the School for Wicked Witches might be their only option . . . if their fledgling magic and nerve are up to the task. —Synopsis provided by Scholastic
WISHBONE, by Justine Pucella Winans, Bloomsbury Children’s Books, Sept. 17, 2024, Hardcover, $18.99 (Ages 8-12)
Ollie Di Costa wishes things could be different.
He wishes the bullies at school would leave him alone. He wishes his parents would stop fighting. He wishes his sister Mia didn’t have to worry about things like paying for college. But most of all, he wishes he wasn’t so angry about all of this. When he and Mia find a two-tailed cat they name Wishbone, Ollie takes comfort in telling him everything he wishes would change-then suddenly, it does. Everything Ollie and Mia wish for comes true, and it’s like all of their problems are solved. But magic comes at a price. Whatever they wish for is not simply given to them, but taken from others. And to make matters worse, a mysterious shadow man called The Mage is after Wishbone and his power. With each wish, darkness takes over more and more of their world, and worst of all, it threatens to take over Ollie, too. But can he let go of everything he’s ever wanted?
Justine Pucella Winans, author of the Stonewall Honor book The Otherwoods, brings us another bone-chilling middle grade horror, urging readers to not only be careful what you wish for, but beware of who you may become if you aren’t. —Synopsis provided by Bloomsbury Children’s Books
EXIT NOWHERE, by Juliana Brandt, Aladdin, Sept. 17, 2024, Hardcover, $17.99 (ages 9-12)
The creepiest place in Barret Eloise’s small town is the abandoned Raithfield Manor, a decrepit house surrounded by rumors of ghosts and kids going missing. So she certainly never planned on stepping foot inside. But when her history teacher gives her a group project to research a local landmark, the manor is the location her group chooses. Determined to ace the project and fix her awkward first impression on her assigned partners—which include her former friend Helena, smart and confident Wayne, and school basketball star Ridge—Barret Eloise isn’t about to let some tall tales scare her off.
When the kids first enter the house, it seems to be nothing more than an empty building. But when the sun goes down, the doors and windows lock, sealing them inside. Even worse, the room they’re in transforms into an all-too-real game of The Floor is Lava. It doesn’t take long for the group to realize the mansion is a maze of childhood games. Win the game and you keep moving forward, lose and you disappear. And complicating it all is a worrying revelation—they are not alone in the house.
If Barret Eloise wants to make it home, she and her dysfunctional group are going to have to learn to work together quickly. —Synopsis provided by Aladdin
A SKY FULL OF DRAGONS (1) (The Wand Keepers), by Tiffany McDaniel and Ayesha L. Rubio, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, Sept. 24, 2024, Hardcover, $18.99, Paperback, $8.99 (ages 8-12)
Where dragons take flight, through the dark of the night. Where the fire ignites, you will find the light.
Aunt Cauldroneyes is always looking into cauldrons. She’s found everything from giggling moons to troll nose rings, but when she looks inside a purple cauldron one stormy night, she finds a girl with blue freckles.
The old witch raises the girl and names her Spella. They live in Hungry Snout Forest in a crooked house with doors enchanted to smell like chocolate. In the attic full of floating fabric and biting buttons, Aunt Cauldroneyes teaches Spella how to make magical hats for creatures like unicorns and dragons, giants and goblins.
When Spella turns eight, she receives an invitation to Dragon’s Knob, a school for wand witchery and wizardry. But on the very night Spella is set to leave, a stranger appears with a growling hat that swallows Aunt Cauldroneyes and steals her away!
To rescue her aunt, Spella must go up into a sky full of dragons and to her new school. With protesters outside the gates threatening the school’s academic freedom and a deepening mystery within the walls, Spella and her new friend Tolden are thrust into the mystery of her aunt’s disappearance and a long-buried secret hidden somewhere in the school. —Synopsis provided by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
HOUSE OF ELEPHANTS (Witchlings 3), by Claribel A. Ortega, Scholastic Press, Oct. 1, 2024, Hardcover, $17.99 (ages 8-12)
The Spares of Ravenskill have less magic and less power than the other covens. That’s just the way it is — the way it’s always been. But now Spares are starting to disappear. And no one seems to care.
Nothing is more important to Seven Salazar and Thorn Laroux than finding a way to cure their best friend, Valley Pepperhorn, from the hex that is slowly making its way closer and closer to her heart. Still, they have to figure out what’s happening to the Spares. What if whoever is responsible for the disappearances is the same person who was behind the hex?
The problem is that with so many people scared and angry about the chaos in their town — and blaming the Spares, especially the Witchlings — it feels like it could be almost anyone.
As Seven and Thorn dig deeper into the mysteries of Ravenskill, they start to uncover secrets that have long been buried and forgotten. What they find will change everything — if only they can get anyone to believe them. —Synopsis provided by Scholastic Press
THE VANQUISHERS: RISE OF THE WRECKING CREW, by Kalynn Bayron, Bloomsbury Children’s Books, Oct. 8, 2024, Hardcover, $18.99 (ages 8-12)
San Antonio is on lockdown, taken over by the new hive. No one can deny that the undead are back now, but the Vanquishers found out the hard way: when they learned that an old friend is behind the latest string of attacks.
As the Squad hide out at an abandoned combat training facility, honing their vampire-butt-kicking skills, they begin to suspect that they’re not alone. And when a vial of Dracula’s blood–able to give unrivaled power to the vampire that consumes it–is stolen from the bunker, the Vanquishers race to recover it before it falls into the wrong hands.
The Vanquishers have always been Boog’s family, the ones she trusts the most. But what does it mean when a former Vanquisher, one of her heroes, is now hunting the enemy? —Synopsis provided by Bloomsbury Children’s Books
Copyright © 2024 Cracking the Cover. Unless otherwise noted, all books — digital and physical — have been provided by publishers in exchange for honest and unbiased reviews. All thoughts and opinions are those of the reviewer.
