Book Review: Spooky Stories Aloud

When my daughter was younger it seems like spooky stories were an all-year thing, with “The Ghost and Jenny Jemima” a regular feature. Whether you’re looking for a readaloud for the classroom or home, Spooky Poems Aloud is a fun one for Halloween season and beyond.

It includes 20 poems written by Joseph Coleho and illustrated by Daniel Gray-Barnett. They include poems of different styles such as limericks, poems with repeating lines, rhyming and non-rhyming. One poem loses a line every stanza, while another repeats an onomatopoeia. There’s also a renga, which is made up of tanka poems (lines of five syllables, then 7, then 5, 7 and 7), a pantoum and a villanelle, both of which have specific rhyme structures and repeating lines.

Many of the poems suggest that kids try writing one similar, such as a limerick, rules for a club for ghoulish creatures (examples in the book are werewolves and vampires), a poem about a scary plant or writing a poem that incorporates different senses.

This would be fun to do in the classroom, reading the poem from the book and having kids write and illustrate their own version, then share and display in the classroom. Or you could make a class poem around one of the prompts, such as asking kids what pranks they would pull if they were a ghost. One poem asks kids to illustrate the witches’ ball described in one poem, and the illustrations throughout are sure to inspire kids to want to draw their own illustrations to their poems.

This book would be a fun addition to the reading center during spooky season and an easy way to add a little poetry unit in October. Or just read it at home — but not too close to bedtime!

About the book: 40 pages, hardcover, 20 poems. Published 2024 by Wide Eyed Editions, suggested retail price $19.99.

Next Plan Idea:

Celebrate Poem in Your Pocket Day

Last month I shared some tips for teaching the alphabet to kids and why going in alphabetical order isn’t the best way to do it. Honestly a lot of learning at this age has to do with play, so let’s look at some fun alphabet activities that kids can do that will help them learn the alphabet.

Activities that get kids moving and learning at the same time are ideal for preschool, and Forward with Fun has a few great ideas, like this fly swatter letter recognition game (which you could also use for numbers, words, all sorts of things you’re learning) and a beginning sound stomping game.

Another fun alphabet game you can do at home or adapt for wherever you are is this printable alphabet scavenger hunt from Play Party Plan. They’ve got a list of items to find and also a blank printable you can write your own list on, or let kids write down what they find for each letter.

Or do a literal letter scavenger hunt like this one from Happily Ever Mom. This one uses the letters from an alphabet puzzle but you could also use magnet letters or just cut out shapes of letters. It also adds the fun of doing it in the dark and hunting with a flashlight, but you can also do it with the lights on if you want.

This alphabet sensory bottle from Parenting Chaos is made with a set of alphabet beads and would be fun to keep in the classroom or have in the car or for quiet times.

Use what you have to make an alphabet learning activity, like this one made with Duplo blocks from Playtivities. You can stick letters to the sides of blocks (or write them on) and just play with them, use them for letter recognition and talking about sounds, and eventually spelling and reading, too.

Turn letter learning into craft time by making a big letter out of a bunch of little letters with this activity from Meaningful Mama. If you don’t get magazines anymore check with your local Buy Nothing group, or your local library may have some they’re looking to get rid of.

I think most preschoolers love dot markers, so these free alphabet dot marker worksheets from Daydream into Reality would be a great thing to download and print out. This is a great set because it includes uppercase and lowercase letters, and some have letter tracing practice while others include something that starts with that letter that kids can color. Work with one letter at a time or the letters in the child’s name and then provide the whole set as a quiet time activity.

Another great set of alphabet worksheets that isn’t free (and would also be good for older kids) is this set from My Nerdy Teacher. These worksheets include letter tracing and recognition activities, as well as objects to color.

I also love these alphabet roads printables from Messy Little Monster, which kids can use with cars to trace the letters (they could also be playdough mats you use to form the letters in the shape shown, or trace with a dry erase marker).

Next Plan Idea:

Have you read?

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