All Hallow’s Read

A few years ago, I saw a little video snippet Neil Gaiman did talking about All Hallow’s Read. The gist is that you hand out (spooky)books on Halloween to the Trick or Treaters coming to visit your house. Ever since then we have made it a tradition to do so.

Bookplates are affixed and our All Hallow’s Read treats are ready to go. This year we will try to keep a tally to see how many books find a new home. And not to worry, we always have candy as well. Some children get very serious when they think that they have to choose one or the other. We love the look on their faces when they find out they can have both.

I do not know just how many years we have been celebrating All Hallow’s Read, but I believe that we have done so for at least the last five years. One of our favourite things is when children come running up exclaiming, “It’s the BOOK HOUSE!!!” We seem to be known for it now with both children and parents alike appreciating the tradition.

I try to pick up books throughout the year and occasionally get local bookstores to chip in some deals or cool swag. Spooky staples are Dracula, Frankenstein, Jekyll and Hyde, and the like. I always make sure to have copies of Neverwhere, Coraline, The Graveyard Book, The Count of Monte Cristo, The Hobbit, and more along that vein. Those mixed in with YA novels, Chapter Books, and a wide array of Scholastics cover the large age range that we get every year.

Why post about this, you ask? Well, we do our best to make as many converts as possible. We hope that others find this to be a great idea and make a way to celebrate and get more books into the hands of the young. I cannot express how much enjoyment we get from this every year.

by PopeCerebus