When it comes to Halloween, young learners can’t resist a good spooky story—especially one that’s just the right amount of scary and full of interactive moments that keep them engaged.
What’s in the Witch’s Kitchen?, Go Away, Big Green Monster!, and Room on the Broom are not only fun and playful, but also perfect tools to help children practise English in a natural, meaningful way. From building vocabulary and pronunciation to boosting confidence through repetition and participation, these stories bring language learning to life. If you’re looking to fill your classroom with Halloween spirit while keeping lessons purposeful and effective, these three books are absolute must-haves.
1. «What’s in the Witch’s Kitchen» by Nick Sharratt
This is an absolute gem for ESL young learners. The interactive flaps and vivid illustrations make it a book that keeps kids on the edge of their seats as they discover what’s hidden inside the witch’s kitchen. Will it be something delicious, or something disgusting? The surprise element with each flip of the flap is what makes this book so much fun.
For ESL learners, «What’s in the Witch’s Kitchen» offers an excellent opportunity to explore food vocabulary, practice descriptions, and even learn the difference between “nice” and “nasty”. Kids love the contrast between the funny surprises (like a delicious lollipop) and the gross ones (like a slippery slice of slugs!). The simplicity of the language and the repetitive structure also make it great for reinforcing vocabulary and sentence patterns.
To help you bring this book to life in your classroom, we’ve created a lesson plan and activity resource on our Teachers Pay Teachers store. This resource includes activities to practise the food items and adjectives from the story while having lots of fun!
Click on the image to see it on our TpT store!
Here is the online memory game you can use that goes with this lesson plan!
2. «Go Away, Big Green Monster!» by Ed Emberley
This book is brilliant in its simplicity, using colourful illustrations and repetition to build the monster piece by piece. As each page turns, a new part of the monster is revealed—until the children take charge and say, “Go away!” to each feature, making the monster disappear.
This story is fantastic for introducing or reviewing parts of the face and basic colour vocabulary, while also giving children the confidence to shout out commands in English. The fun, interactive nature of building and then making the monster “go away” helps keep young learners engaged and excited.
Here you have a free pdf to download with the face and face parts of the monster to use with your little ones!
3. “Room on the Broom” by Julia Donaldson
A Halloween classic that’s fun, not frightening. Julia Donaldson’s rhyming story of a kind witch and her animal friends is perfect for exploring friendship, teamwork, and kindness. Its rhythmic, repetitive language supports listening and pronunciation, while the rich vocabulary covers animals, clothes, and weather. Ideal for story retelling, sequencing, or a short classroom play.
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