The Ghost Who Was Afraid of Everything by Nadia Ahmed (Beaming Books). “Finn is scared to go out for Halloween. Humans are frightening. They make loud noises. They run from house to house to house. They shout, ‘Trick or Treat!’” Will the wee spirit learn to overcome his fears and enjoy the silly spookiness of October 31st? Of course! And tiny readers who join him on his adventure may just discover how to better handle the things that scare them, too!

The Night Whale by Bryher Mackenzie (author) and Gillian Eilidh O’Mara (illustrator) (Candlewick). “It feels as if I’ve been waiting forever for this night. Nana has been waiting longer…Nana says, ‘Tonight, I have a feeling.’ Tracing patterns up above, I feel it too. ‘She is coming—’ the Night Whale.” When the magical beast finally appears, the girl and her grandmother rejoice. Soon, they scramble aboard the spectral creature’s back and take off across the vast nighttime sky.

Color Makes the World Go Round! by Christopher Nielsen (Walker Books). “Here I am,” says the youngster with brown skin, black hair, a pink hat, blue overalls, and a rainbow scarf. “Now I’m here,” she adds, suddenly rendered in plain black and white. “What would happen if I did this?” she continues, stepping from a Technicolor page to a hueless one. What’d happen? Life would be way less vibrant, fun, and alive, that’s what!