Don’t look! Don’t move!

Text by Steve Patschke, illustrations by Roland Garrigue (Nuvem de Letras). €13.25

The best way to get a child to do something is not to ask or order it, but to tell him not to do it. Don’t look! Don’t move! Play with this slightly exaggerated truth, exaggerating it even more. Set on a “scary Halloween night,” the book takes place precisely because a group of four friends constantly disobey the terrifying and mysterious orders found inside boxes, behind doors, and at the end of long, dark hallways. The visual register and humor are reminiscent of Benjamin Chaud, and on the cover there is a good clue to read this (almost) horror story: with a flashlight on.

Monster

By Édouard Manceau (The Society of Poets and Dragons). €11

Imaginary monsters will never be scary again with this interactive book by Édouard Manceau. Challenging children to tickle the large creature in front of them, while saying out loud “Oh Monster, you don’t scare me!”, the monster deconstructs and gives way to things much more familiar and comforting: the horns transform per se. on the moon, arms and legs on trees, belly in a house, etc. Here we remind you: “If a monster knocks on your door, don’t be scared: tickle it.”

My grandmother’s haunted house

Text by Meritxell Martí, illustrations by Xavier Salomó (Jacarandá). €16.90

On a simple red bicycle, a child prepares to visit his grandmother, like every month. The doorbell rings, but Grandma doesn’t answer, and you quickly realize that the house on the other side of the door is, to say the least, special. With flaps that allow you to peek under the old wooden boards, open the trapdoor that gives access to the basement and even activate a secret passage, My grandmother’s haunted house is an original and inventive journey through terrifying settings, filled with references to horror classics that attentive parents will recognize. The surprising ending is also worthy of the best Halloween night.

Ramon Fellini: the Cat Dog Detective

By Guilherme Karsten (The Society of Poets and Dragons). €15

A black cat couldn’t be missing… or is it a masked dog? His name is Ramon Fellini, also known as “Master of Disguise”, he is the unexpected detective who appears to solve the mystery of the broken aquarium in a child’s house. Featuring a crime scene, interrogation of suspects (including the fish itself), and the search for new clues, the book unfolds in a detective style, inviting readers to also use their insight to read between the lines and solve the case. A release from Sociedad de Poetas y Dragones, the independent publisher that recently opened a bookstore in the Campo de Ourique neighborhood, in Lisbon, and that on the page of each book offers the audio version of the story, narrated by Sandra Brazinha.

The fears that are scary

Text by Rachel Rooney, illustrations by Zehra Hicks (Porto Editora). €13.30

A party of scares, monsters and pranks is a good time to talk to children about fear, which can take many forms. That is exactly what this square-format book does, in the vein of Sophie Beer’s trilogy (The change starts with us) – where the little ones will surely find themselves in various everyday situations. From the same duo, Porto Editora also published The worries that worrywith simple and constructive steps to get rid of these “little pests”.

The worst monsters in the world

Text by David Walliams, illustrations by Adam Stower (Porto Editora). €16.65

The index is in the form of a gallery and in each frame a portrait presents – with pointed teeth – the collection of monsters assembled by the British actor and author. best seller David Walliams. From this collection of The worst monsters in the world. They include a baby bat, a mother mummy (and another zombie), a ghost that haunts an amusement park called Nightmare Park, a werewolf and other famous monsters such as “the abominable (but cute) snowman” and the lake monster Ness. Everyone has the right to tell their own story, told with Walliams’ usual sense of humor, known in his day for the series. Little Britain.

Here we go ghost hunting

Text by Martha Mumford, illustrations by Cherie Zamazing (Jacaranda). €13.90

The rabbits on the cover may remind you of an egg hunt, but the costumes and pumpkins don’t deceive: “we’re going on a ghost hunt here. Departure, abandonment, escape.” Page after page, little readers are invited to lift the flaps to find five hidden ghosts, plus many other surprises, this Halloween.

little monsters

Text by David Walliams, illustrations by Adam Stower (Porto Editora). €14.40

Howler is a small werewolf with a big problem: he has a very high-pitched voice and his howls on full moon nights are so shrill that they make the other werewolves laugh. Unable to scare either his classmates or the Monster School teachers, he ends up becoming the protagonist of a story about individuality, where the message is summarized in the last two sentences: “It’s great to be different. “Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawww!”

The strange family

Text by Gracia Iglesias, illustrations by Vicente Cruz (The Society of Poets and Dragons). €11

After The strange visit and The strange surprise, The strange family completes the strange trilogy where a “very old” grandmother finds herself taking care of 10 little monsters. In rhyme and using repetition, each of the devilish creatures disappears when it’s time to brush your teeth, put on your pajamas, and go to bed (a vaguely familiar scenario). A countdown that maintains the mystery and suspense until the end.

How to scare a monster

Text by Tânia Correia, illustrations by Tiago M. (Oficina do Livro). €13.50

There are not one, but seven monsters inside Mimi’s closet. An extraordinary encounter in which old Coco, the Little Monster and the Darkness, among others, participate, and through which the girl learns that after all, monsters are also afraid, and there are things that children do that they don’t. They like nothing. (like reading bedtime stories and brushing your teeth well). A book written by psychologist Tânia Correia, specialized in the area of ​​childhood, where the idea is to “immerse yourself in the imagination of children and help them create concrete responses to help manage their fears,” instead of devaluing them.

Check out 13 more children’s book suggestions for this season:

13 children’s books for Halloween