Pause as you put the final flourishes on disguises and discuss candy consumption guidelines. Make time to read a few of today's selections. They provide a different sort of sweet treat, and their shelf life remains viable weeks after bubble gum melds inside those plastic jack-o'-lanterns.
Read this rollicking compilation of occupational descriptions, and prepare for eye-rolling and giggles. "A doctor mummy checks the throats of spooks with raspy moans then doses them with coffin syrup to soothe the frightful groans." Certain customers are not "the least bit daunted" by "old dwellings that are haunted." Take advantage of the carefully worded text, and turn a read-aloud session into a sugar-coated, impromptu vocabulary lesson. (Written by Joan Horton, Illustrated by Drazen Kozjan. Farrar Straus Giroux. $12.99. Ages 5 and older.)
'THE BIG BOOK OF VAMPIRES'
Thirteen tales (no other number would do) comprise this title. Bram Stoker, Alexander Dumas and Joseph Le Fanu's work shares space with Chinese, Galician, Polish and Danish legends. Macabre fare and somber illustrations in "Vampires" make it appropriate for audiences older than 13. (Written by Denise Depeyroux. Illustrated by Fernando Falcone. Tundra Books, $17.95.)
A familiar but unsavory air surrounds the opening lines of this picture book. "In a creepy old castle all covered with spines, lived twelve ugly monsters in two crooked lines."
"In two crooked lines, they bonked their heads, pulled out their teeth, and wet their beds."
Ludworst Bemonster is the pen name for author Rick Walton and artist Nathan Hale. The book jacket states that they "decided their favorite children's book would be much better with monsters in it. Part of the parody's humor is its absolute adherence to the plot of "Madeline." (Feiwel and Friends, $14.99; ages 7 and older.)
'THE SCARY PLACES MAP BOOK: SEVEN TERRIFYING TOURS'
KEEP IN MIND THAT TROLLS DON'T TAKE KINDLY TO BEING DISTURBED. BEWARE: RATTLESNAKES. THEIR BITE IS WORSE THAN THEIR RATTLE. ARMED WITH SUCH PRACTICAL ADVICE, READERS USE "MAP BOOK" TO VISIT THE LAND OF MYTHICAL MONSTERS, THE WESTERN TERROR-TORIES, WITCHFIELD VILLAGE AND TRANSYLVANIA. (WRITTEN BY B.G. HENNESSY. ILLUSTRATED BY ERWIN MADRID. CANDLEWICK PRESS, $15.99, AGES 10 AND OLDER.)