October 25, 2019

Halloween Book Review – Marlow Bookshop

With shops full of pumpkins and must have multipack confectionery it’s hard to escape the fact that spooky season is here. Halloween falls in half term for most of Marlow this year, giving lucky children a whole week of build up… and a long weekend to eat their way through their trick or treating booty.

To give you some respite from the inevitable sugar rush, Marlow Bookshop has compiled a list of books to keep both you and your mini monsters spellbound.

Activity/Sticker Books

Press Out and Decorate Halloween by Kate McLelland (Nosy Crow, September 2019, Board Book, £9.99) If you don’t fancy venturing out for Halloween fun these make a good alternative. Press out and decorate your own spooky garlands that will last for years.

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Sticker Halloween (Usborne, September 2018, Paperback, £6.99)

If you don’t fancy venturing out for Halloween fun these make a good alternative.

Pre-School (Picture/Flap books)

Where’s Mrs Witch? by Ingela P Arrhenius (Nosy Crow, September 2019, Board Book, £6.99) The felt flaps on this one are great for little hands. Watch their faces light up at the end.

Pick a Pumpkin by Patricia Toht, illustrated by Jarvis (Walker, September 2019, Hardback, £12.99) This is a beautifully illustrated story about pumpkin picking and decorating.

Pick a Pumpkin by Patricia Toht, illustrated by Jarvis (Walker, September 2019, Hardback,
£12.99) This is a beautifully illustrated story about pumpkin picking and decorating.

Books for 5 to 8 year olds

Isadora Moon series by Harriet Muncaster (Oxford University Press, Paperback, £5.99) half vampire, half fairy….and fantastic fun.

Halloween Amelia Fang and the Lost Yeti Treasures._475

Amelia Fang series by Laura Ellen Anderson (Egmont, Paperback, £6.99) Join Amelia – the little Vampire who really won’t bite you on her fang-tastic adventures in the Kingdom of the Dark. Our favourite is the Barbaric Ball.

Isadora Moon and Amelia Fang books mix great stories with brilliant illustrations throughout making them perfect for early readers. An added bonus in Isadora Moon is the ‘Things to Make and Do’ section at the end – guaranteed to supercharge young imaginations.

Books for 8 to 12 yr olds

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The Turnkey of Highgate Cemetery by Allison Rushby (Walker, September 2019, Paperback,
£6.99) – historical ghostly mystery, a supernatural thriller!

Invisible in a Bright Light by Sally Gardner (Zephyr [Head of Zeus], October 2019, Hardback, £10.99) This beautiful new hardback would make a great gift. Sally Gardner’s story about a crystal chandelier that splinters into a thousand pieces is powerful and haunting in equal measure – and mysterious to the very end.

Books for Teans an Young Adults

Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children series by Ransom Riggs (Quirk Books, Paperback, £8.99) This gripping story of an abandoned orphanage and curious collection of photographs is now a film – but this spine tingling fantasy should be read and is guaranteed to thrill teens and adults alike.

The Deathless Girls by Kiran Millwood Hargrave (Bellatrix Books [Orion Children’s Books, Hachette], September 2019, Hardback, £12.99) Another beautiful new hardback. Kiran’s first foray into Young Adult fiction is superb. She writes incredible fantasy stories and this is no different – gothic, intoxicating, feminist and romantic.

Adults

The Lost Ones by Anita Frank (HQ [HarperCollins], October 31st 2019, Hardback, £12.99) A fantastic ghost story debut novel by a local author. A spell-binding mix of family tragedy, loss and redemption.

There is an Anita Frank event on at the Marlow Bookshop on October 29th. Find out more/book tickets here.

The Familiars by Stacey Halls (Zaffre [Bonnier], September 2019, Paperback, £8.99) This Sunday Times Bestseller is centred around the Pendle Witch Trials and follows Fleetwood Shuttleworth who in 1612 is seventeen, married and pregnant for the fourth time.

Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield (Transworld [Penguin], August 2019, Paperback, £8.99) Another great historical novel, beautiful storytelling, great for fans of Jane Eyre/Rebecca/The Woman in White. Diane will be joining The Marlow Bookshop for a talk on November 13th

Bone China by Laura Purcell (Raven Books [Bloomsbury], September 2019, Hardback, £12.99) Be warned this is really chilling historical fiction, set in a large old house in Cornwall. The deliciously spooky autumn read of 2019.

You can also find copies of the books in Marlow library or have them ordered in for you to loan.