Spooky books for Halloween

Witches, werewolves and vampires…

Halloween is a great time to settle down with a good book and explore weird and wonderful characters from ghosts to witches, monsters and vampires. So, here’s our pick of our Halloween-themed picture books for blind child to get their (vampire) teeth into!

Laugh out loud with comedian Bill Bailey as he describes the illustrations and tactile pictures in our VI-accessible version of Dear Vampa by Ross Collins. There are bats, vampires and werewolves aplenty in this funny tale perfect for Halloween.

Not all witches are scary. Say hello to the friendly witch in Room on the Broom who makes friends with a collection of animals and is faced with a terrifying dragon. This popular picture book by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler has been brought to life for blind children with our unique feely pictures and descriptive audio.

Broom rides, cats and pointy hats are a plenty in The Witch Baby. A gentle read for little-ones.

What’s that over the hill….it’s a monster!

Billy Monster’s Daymare by Alan Durant and Ross Collins features Billy, a little monster who lives in a topsy-turvy world where he’s scared of children and has bad day dreams! But what is keeping him awake? And how will Daddy Monster find a way to help Billy sleep soundly through the day? This warm and funny story is perfect for raising a smile and chasing away bedtime fears. Even better its voiced by comedian Alan Davies.

KNOCK KNOCK Who’s There? A gorilla, a witch, a ghost, then a fierce scaly dragon hungry for his tea. Who will be next? Each time there’s a knock at the door, there’s a different monster, but each time they’re wearing the same tartan slippers. Find out why not everything scary is as it first appears with this fun, bedtime book by Sally Grindley and Anthony Browne, complete with tactile pitures, braille and audio.

Where the Wild Tings Are is the story of Max’s adventures when he sails away to a land where the wild things live, stomp, feast and snore. You’ll find lots of dressing inspiration in this story book – from Max as King to Max in his onesie, and the colourful wild thing creatures. A children’s classic with atmospheric audio description by Hollywood actor Ethan Hawke.

Wizards and magical worlds with top authors

Older blind children 9+ years might like to delve into our tactile and audio collection Magical Worlds. This book ventures into magical and sometimes mysterious worlds of fantasy fiction, meeting some of their main characters along the way – from Harry Potter to Goth Girl and Bilbo Baggins. You will also find out about the strong imaginations of the authors that wrote these amazing books and the often complex worlds they created. Readers include famous actors Imelda Staunton (Harry Potter star) and there is a contribution from Martin Freeman, star of The Hobbit movie trilogy.