Book Review: Spooky Poems Aloud: 25 Poems to Frighten and Delight by Joseph Coelho and Daniel Gray-Barnett

Rating: 4 Stars

I recently had the pleasure of reviewing Spooky Poems Aloud by Joseph Coelho, and wow, what a delightful treat! With a charming mix of giggles and ghouls, this collection features 25 spooky poems aimed at young readers and aspiring performers. Coelho, a Children’s Laureate, really knows how to capture the imagination of kids, and this collection is a testament to that.

The poems range from spine-chilling snippets that might make you jump to whimsical verses that can enchant everything from a witch’s cat to your own funny bone. I loved how each poem came with an explanation of its style and a prompt for readers to write their own. This not only adds an interactive element but also makes it an incredible teaching resource. Can you imagine how fun it would be to borrow this book in the classroom? It’s a fantastic tool for encouraging kids to read aloud and develop their speech and drama skills.

First off, let me just say that I absolutely adore the cover! It’s playful and perfectly sets the stage for the spooky fun that awaits inside. As for the poems themselves, they are mild on the spooky scale, making them perfect for the intended age group. They strike a great balance between being engaging and entertaining without being too frightening—ideal for kids who might be nervous about anything too creepy.

The illustrations by Daniel Gray-Barnett are another highlight. They complement the poems beautifully, adding a layer of visual engagement that keeps young readers captivated. Each page feels alive with color and character, making it even more enjoyable to explore.

Overall, Spooky Poems Aloud is a fantastic collection that not only entertains but also educates. It's a perfect addition to any child's bookshelf, especially as Halloween approaches. If you’re looking for a fun way to spark creativity in young minds or simply want to share some giggles and ghouls with the little ones, this book is a must-read! I’d give it a solid four stars for its charm, creativity, and ability to inspire.

⚠️This review was written based on personal opinions and experiences with the book. Individual preferences may vary⚠️

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

Spooky Poems Aloud is a fun and educational book for children containing 25 poems for the spooky season. Each poem had an explanation for the reader as to the style/type of poem it was and a prompt for them to try to write their own poem, too. This aspect would make it a fantastic teaching resource in the classroom for children to borrow and use as well as for a tool in lessons.
The poems were very mild on the spooky level but fun and interesting, which the intended audience age will enjoy. The illustrations were fun and engaging, too.

We are a family that loves Halloween and this fun collection of poems was perfectly fun. These poems are so fun to read out loud or as a fun whisper story time. Some are silly and some can give you chills. We had such a fun time reading these together. We found some favorites for sure, like Vampire Club Rules and The Tower. These were created with young readers in mind and a great opportunity to help children practice reading aloud and in front of others. Get creative with this fun book for your whole family.

Spooky Poems Aloud, written by Joseph Coelho, is a funny, spooky, and educational book of poetry perfect for elementary readers! This book features different types and forms of poems, and is a great seasonal book to read. I loved how the author tells the reader about the type of poem, gives them an example, and encourages them to write one for themselves, even giving ideas and suggestions if needed! I also feel like this book is just the perfect amount of spooky, and humor, for a young reader.
Thank you to NetGalley and to the author and publisher of this book for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A fun, attractively illustrated collection of child-accessible poems to read aloud or on their own. Pictures can make for a fun interactive read when reading in pairs or a small group. Great fun for family and classrooms.

Coelho (U.K. Children’s Laureate 2022-2024) has written twenty-five original poems celebrating all things scary and spooky, covering topics such as ghosts, monsters, and graveyards. There is a sentence at the beginning of most poems describing its type, which includes limericks, tankas, poems with a repeating line, whispered poems, and more. Teachers could use this to inspire students to write some of these types of poems. Overall, the spooky theme and monster characters will attract readers, even if a few of the poems do not have solid rhymes (such as creak and creep). The full color cartoon illustrations feature children of various races and add to the fun, and keep the collection from being too scary.

This was such a creative read! I loved the concept of spooky poetry, but I didn’t expect it to be interactive, let alone educational! I read it as an adult, but I think this book appears targeted to kids when it was still enjoyable for a college educated woman in her 30s. I would get this book for my child while also gifting it to someone during spooky season, or anyone who enjoys Halloween vibes year round :)

I can’t wait to see this on shelves :)

What a cute idea to explain to children the rules and forms of poetry. What I obviously adored was the spooky vibes!!

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read and review this book. These opinions are completely my own.

I love poetry and love anything that may inspire kids to show an interest in it. This book is a great tool for that. I will be using the prompts to write my examples tonight.

This is a super cute book for kids who love a spooky read! The poems are enjoyable to read and many of them will make you laugh out loud. It is definitely a great addition to a fall reading list.

This wasn't quite what I had expected. I thought it would be geared a bit younger. The cover gives the impression that the poems might be greared toward K-3. Kind of like Shel Silverstein but spooky.

Where it does best is poems that are kept simple and rhyming, with clear examples of the form or technique explained. Some of the poems are definitely for an older audience - upper middle grade.

I'm not sure writing for children is Joseph Coelho's strength. Children who have a lot of experience with poetry might find this enjoyable, but I'm not sure it's accessible enough to younger kids who might be exploring, and they are likely the ones to be pulled in by the appeal of the cover.

Okay book, but disappointing.

I must admit I did not expect myself to be so bored by a spooky book. I love all things Halloween and monsters and creepy, but this little poems book for kids was not it. Some poems were nice and fun, but overall I felt like this book did not quite deliver.

Also, the poems instructions and notes were not needed - I know this could work as a nice activity for kids, but maybe it was a little bit too much and it did not fit the book.

This book is perfect to introduce Children and even Adults to poetry and the illustrations are great.

This is such a fun little book for introducing poetry to children, and I’m sure little fans of creepy things will absolutely adore it.

Not only is the poetry excellent and perfect for reading aloud, but there’s also an educational element with information about different poetry styles, I even learned something new from reading it myself. Even the illustrations are adorable.

Highly recommended for learning to read aloud, and especially for children with love of scary things!

Big thanks to Netgalley, Quarto Publishing group – Wide eyed Editions and the author Joseph Coelho for allowing me to read an E-Arc of this book.

I love these simple spooky poems. Before each poem it give you advice on how to create new spooky poems, such as using onomatopoeia or using different spooky adjectives.

This would be a great gift for kids! Though, for the little ones, there should be parental assistance. I mean the zombie was a bit intense! I love that there’s a short intro about the kind of poem and some short exercises before the poem starts.

A book with poetry, illustrations and prompts/ideas for reading with children to create their own poems. Four stars for the illustrations and ideas, leading to other work. To be honest I found much of the actual poetry average to good at best, in terms of writing, engagement and 'spookiness'. But the Aloud books in general are well-used and I'm sure the additional work involved will make this of value from that perspective.

I read this book to with my favorite 8 year old and she absolutely loved it. The rhymes were her favorite part. My favorite was that there’s information about different kinds of poems. The illustrations were adorable and spooky. I’m definitely going to pick up a copy of this book once it’s released.

I really enjoyed this book. It let me introduce poems to my 6 year old. Not only are the spooky poems fun to read, but the book is very informative about poem writing, giving lots of hints and tips so children can try their own hand at poem writing. There are other activities to do too, my 6 year old really enjoyed it and it was nice to read something different.

I read this book with my 7 year old daughter, she enjoyed it. I liked how it explained types of poems and gave examples for each. The poems were cute and fun and it was beautiful to look at.

The artwork was beautiful and anyone who is a fan of spooky children's books would enjoy this.