I know it might be to early to say Happy Halloween! but when you have a cute Halloween book you can’t wait to share that your adding to our Interactive Halloween Gift Guide, that is what I say especially when it comes with a challenge! Which we’re talking about How to Catch a Witch, part of the popular How to Catch series from Sourcebooks.

And since we’re continuing our 10-Minute Reading Challenge, this is the perfect time to grab a cozy spot, pick up a book, and spend ten minutes reading together. If you’ve been following along with our reading challenge, you already know that we’re making reading part of our seasonal fun.

Here’s how it works: Read for 10 minutes = 1 ticket! That’s it. Your child can read How to Catch a Witch, another book from the How to Catch series, or any age-appropriate book they’d enjoy. For younger children, this can absolutely be a read-aloud. Parents, grandparents, older siblings, and homeschool teachers can read the book with them.

And if you combine reading with one of our Halloween activities, you can make the experience even more fun. The goal isn’t to see how many pages a child can get through. The goal is simply to take ten minutes to read while spending time with there family without electronics.

I sat down this morning and read How to Catch a Witch which was a new book for my family to read, and it is a fun one to add to our Halloween reading list. The book is by Alice Walstead, with illustrations by Megan Joyce, and is part of the bestselling How to Catch series.

The cover immediately caught my attention. The background of the book is orange, with a huge white moon and beautiful purple and white lettering spelling out How to Catch a Witch. There are black bats flying around, and you can see the witch flying off the side of the cover. She’s holding onto her hat with one green hand, her black hair flying behind her. It definitely looks like Halloween!

And then the story begins. It’s Halloween night, the pumpkins are carved and glowing, and the kids are getting ready for trick-or-treating. But something isn’t quite right. Ghosts and goblins are popping up everywhere! Then the kids discover a witch flying through the sky on her broom.

Oh no! I wondered if she a good witch Or a bad witch which is why I couldn’t wait to read the book. Then I wondered if she was simply there to cause a little Halloween mischief? You’ll have to read the book to find out because were not going to spoil the fun and tell you.

The kids aren’t going to sit around and wait for the witch to disappear. They’re going to try to catch her! And that’s where the fun really begins. There are traps. There are tricks. There are some pretty hilarious ideas. At one point, the kids climb a tree and use a box hanging from a string to try to drop it over the witch.

Do you think it’s going to work? I’m not telling! You’ll have to read the book yourself. There’s also a Tunnel of Tricks. There’s a sign that says: ENTER HERE I’m not sure I would be rushing into that tunnel! Would you? And then there’s a moment when a ghost sends a boy flying through the air.

Let’s just say I’m very happy it wasn’t me! I’d probably be freaking out. But that’s part of what makes this book fun. The story keeps moving, the illustrations give children plenty to look at, and you never quite know what the kids are going to try next. And I’m definitely not going to tell you whether they actually catch the witch. You’ll have to read it!

One of the things I like about the How to Catch books is that they’re easy to turn into a family reading activity. You don’t have to read an entire book in one sitting. Set the timer for 10 minutes. Read together. Talk about the pictures. Ask your child what they think is going to happen next. Then stop and talk about the story. That ten minutes can become a wonderful little break in the middle of a busy Halloween season. And if you’re homeschooling, you’ve got plenty of opportunities to turn the story into a lesson.

How to Catch a Witch can be a jumping-off point for several different subjects.

Reading Ask your child:

• What do you think the kids will try next?
• Which trap would you try?
• Do you think the trap will work?
• What clues in the illustrations help you predict what happens?
• What was your favorite part?

Writing

Have your child design their own witch-catching trap. They can draw it or write about it. What would they use? A box? A net? A rope? Something completely silly? Then have them explain how their trap would work.

STEM– This is where the How to Catch series can get especially interesting.

The kids are constantly thinking about how to solve a problem. What could make a trap work? What could make it fail? What happens if you change the height, position, or placement of something? You don’t have to turn this into a formal science experiment. Sometimes simply asking, “Why do you think that happened?” is enough to get a child thinking.

Art-:Design a Halloween trap! Draw the witch, the broom, the moon, bats, ghosts, pumpkins, and whatever else belongs in your Halloween adventure. And don’t forget to give your trap a name.

Because this is a Halloween book, it can also give parents an opportunity to talk about something children may see a lot of during October. In this story, the witch is part of a make-believe Halloween adventure. You can talk with younger children about how books sometimes use witches, ghosts, monsters, and other imaginary characters to create a spooky or silly story. And not every fictional witch in a children’s story has to be presented as frightening or evil.

You can keep the conversation age-appropriate and centered on fiction, storytelling, imagination, and the difference between a character in a book and real life. That’s one of the wonderful things about reading together. You get to decide where the conversation goes.

The How to Catch series is celebrating 10 years, and there’s quite a collection to explore. The series has grown beyond picture books to include board books, graphic novels, activity books, and other titles. According to Sourcebooks, the series has become popular with children, parents, and teachers because of its:

• Zany adventures
• Fun characters
• Colorful illustrations
• Rhyming text
• STEM-related ideas
• Interactive “how are they going to catch it?” plots

And if your family enjoys How to Catch a Witch, there are plenty of other books to discover. The newest title mentioned in the series information is How to Catch a Bookworm, which was released in April. In that story, a squiggly, giggly bookworm escapes

That’s one of my favorite things about putting together an interactive gift guide. A Halloween book doesn’t have to be something that gets opened once and then put on a shelf. It can become: A gift. A read-aloud. A homeschool lesson. A writing activity. A STEM challenge. A Halloween conversation. And, for our purposes, it can earn a 10-Minute Reading Challenge ticket!

So if you’re building a Halloween basket for a child, consider adding a book. Add some candy. Add a little Halloween activity. And maybe add a note that says: “Read for 10 minutes and earn a ticket!” Now your gift becomes an activity the whole family can enjoy.

Here’s today’s challenge: Choose a book or anything you can read. Set a timer for 10 minutes. Read. That’s your ticket! You can read How to Catch a Witch or choose another favorite Halloween book. And if you’re doing this as part of our larger challenge, remember that reading for ten minutes earns one ticket.

Want to make it a bigger activity? Pair the reading with a Halloween activity and you’ve got even more fun and you will earn 2 tickets. The tickets can be used toward whatever rewards your family decides to offer. Parents choose the rewards, so you can make the challenge work for your own family.

I love that we don’t have to tell children everything about a book before they read it. Sometimes it’s better to leave a little mystery. So I’m not going to tell you whether the traps work. I’m not going to tell you whether the kids catch the witch. And I’m definitely not going to tell you what happens in the Tunnel of Tricks. You’ll have to read it!

How to Catch a Witch is a fun Halloween addition to our reading challenge and a great book to tuck into a Halloween gift basket or reading basket.

And since we’re already thinking about next year’s Halloween… Maybe you should read it now and be prepared! Happy Halloween, everyone! Now grab a book, set that timer for ten minutes, and let’s get reading. Read for 10 minutes. Earn your ticket. Have some Halloween fun!

About the How to Catch Series; How to Catch a Witch is part of the How to Catch series from Sourcebooks.

The series includes picture books, board books, graphic novels, and activity books and has become a favorite with families, children, and educators. Families and teachers can also find activities and educator resources for the series through Sourcebooks.

Disclosure: This post is part of our Interactive Halloween Gift Guide and 10-Minute Reading Challenge. The opinions and enthusiasm shared here are my own.

Happy Halloween and happy reading!

About the book:

A New York Times and USA Today bestseller from the hit How to Catch series! Do YOU have what it takes to snatch a Halloween witch?

It’s Halloween night and something doesn’t seem quite right… When the How to Catch Kids head out to trick-or-treat, there are ghosts, goblins, and ghouls everywhere! Our heroes discover a witch on a broom has opened a magical portal that let out spooky creatures all over the neighborhood. Follow along in this frightfully fun story as they set zany traps for the witch to close the portal and save Halloween before all the candy is gone!

How to Catch a Witch is a treat sure to delight young readers and educators alike with STEAM concepts and classic hilarity and chaos. The perfect Halloween gift or basket stuffer that kids ages 3-7 will love!

You’ve been waiting all year long to trick-or-treat with friends.

But wait―a witch is on the loose! We’ll catch her before night’s end!

Also in the How to Catch Series:

• How to Catch a Monster
• How to Catch a Unicorn
• How to Catch a Mermaid
• How to Catch a Dinosaur
• How to Catch an Elf
• and more!

Happy Birthday, How to Catch! Celebrate the 10 Year Anniversary with How to Catch a Witch!

This fun book will also be found inside our Interactive Christmas Gift Guide/ Wish List because you can read a #Halloween book all year long and Santa might decide he wants to read this fun book to the Reindeer while were helping him load the SLEIGH to deliver the presents to on Christmas Eve.

Grateful. Thankful. Blessed.

GreatfulMoments.com

Thank you,

Glenda, Charlie and David Cates