Literary Halloween treats for young readers

• The monsters in 'Ten Creepy Monsters' and 'The Monsters' Monster' offer lessons in subtraction and manners
• Kids can interact with the illustrations and pop-ups in 'The Boo! Book'
• 'The Dead Family Diaz' uses an inventive twist to explore a Day of the Dead celebration

The time has come for roaming bands of small monsters, armed with bags to be stuffed with Halloween snacks. USA TODAY's Bob Minzesheimer, who plans to dress as a not-too-scary book critic, rounds up four literary treats for young readers.

The Boo! Book
Written by Nathaniel Lachenmeyer, illustrated by Nicoletta Ceccoli
Atheneum, 36 pp., for ages 4-8
* * * 1/2 out of four

Writer Nathaniel Lachenmeyer has noticed the scary fact that the first three letters in book spell boo. He conjures up the idea of a haunted book that's more fun than a haunted house. His book should stir young imaginations and prove that printed text and illustrations, a mixture of acrylics, digital photography and clay puppets, can be as interactive as the flashiest video game. Readers are advised: "Book ghosts love having books read to them." The Boo! Book, which has a pop-up surprise on the last page, is perfect for not-too-spooky read-alouds.

Ten Creepy Monsters
Written and illustrated by Carey F. Armstrong-Ellis
Abrams, 28 pp., for ages 4-8
* * * 1/2

Carey F. Armstrong-Ellis delivers a delightful rhyming lesson in subtraction. His Charles Addams-like monsters, who are a motley band of goblins, witches and vampires, fall away one by one: "Nine creepy monsters trudged with lurching gait./One lost his foot, and then there were eight." And so it goes: "Two creepy monsters were still having fun. One saw the sunrise ... and then there was one." The gentle surprise at the end makes for a reassuring bedtime twist.

The Dead Family Diaz
Written by P. J. Bracegirdle, illustrated by Poly Bernatene
Dial, 32 pp., for ages 5-8
* * *

The Day of the Dead (El Dia de los Muertos), as author P.J. Bracegirdle explains, is celebrated in Mexico on Nov. 1, when it is believed that the spirits of the dead return to visit the living. It's a happy holiday, he writes, "a time for people to remember and appreciate friends and relatives who have passed on." In a reverse twist, he imagines two kids from the land of the dead who fear both the living and their fiery-eyed Halloween pumpkins designed to scare the dead away. Grown-ups should be ready to answer questions about how and why the Diaz family ended up as colorfully dressed skeletons. It's a book that gives new meaning to numskull.

The Monsters' Monster
Written and illustrated by Patrick McDonnell
Little, Brown, 30 pp., for ages 3-6
* * *

Three buglike characters, Grouch, Grump and little Gloom 'n' Doom, are monsters. Or think they are. But in Patrick McDonnell's funny tale, they decide they need to build the "biggest, baddest monster EVER!" out of gobs of goo, gunk, bolts and one smelly shoe. But the first words out of their Frankenstein-like creation is a polite "Dank you!" Monster, it turns out, is just thankful to be alive. It's a sweet story in more ways than one — seasoned at the end with a bag of warm, powdered jelly doughnuts. (McDonnell gets extra credit for not spelling it donuts.)