76 Pumpkin Lane by Chris Mould

The Worst Witch to the Rescue by Jill Murphy

Horrid Henry and the Abominable Snowman by Francesca Simon

Clever Polly and the Stupid Wolf by Catherine Storr

How to Twist a Dragon's Tail by Cressida Cowell

The Tar Man by Linda Buckley-Archerramps

The Stuff of Nightmares by Malorie Blackman

NO HALLOWE'EN offering is quite as electrifying as Macbeth at the Gielgud Theatre, in Shaftesbury Avenue, but younger ones will shriek over Chris Mould's 76 Pumpkin Lane (Hodder, £14.99, offer £13.49 inc p&p, from 0870 1608080 or timesonline.co.uk/booksfirst), a pop-up in the Addams Family vein. Snake and kidney pie, and a Monster Mash laboratory give way to a full-blown house of horrors.

Jill Murphy's newest “Worst Witch” adventure has Mildred Hubble, a precursor of Harry Potter for early readers, back at Miss Cackle's Academy with her best holiday project, a spell that can make animals talk for two weeks. Unfortunately, her enemy, Ethel, learns about it and — like the unscrupulous witch she is — steals it. The Worst Witch to the Rescue (Puffin, £9.99/ £9.49) is the sixth in the series, and these gentle, lavishly illustrated books are perfect for witches and wizards of 5+.

Horrid Henry's sixteenth volume, with four new misadventures, proves that the appalling child has not yet defeated his author's ability to derive comedy from sibling rivalry, parental incompetence, wild imagination and bloody-mindedness. In Horrid Henry and the Abominable Snowman (Orion, £4.99/£4.74) the anti-hero for under-10s tries to rig a competition, writes his will and narrowly avoids singing the Happy Nappy song at school.

Jane Nissen, the publishing champion of lost classics, has reissued one of the best authors for 5+ in Catherine Storr's Clever Polly and the Stupid Wolf (Jane Nissen Books, £6.99/£6.64). Any child who suffers from night terrors will be encouraged by these engaging tales, in which the redoubtable Polly consistently outwits her hungry adversary. Funny, wise, charming.

Cressida Cowell's tales about Hiccup the boy Viking and his little dragon Toothless are coming to a cinema screen in a year's time. Her fifth in the series, How to Twist a Dragon's Tail (Hodder, £5.99/ £5.69), has Hiccup desperately trying to restore the stolen Fire Egg before some particularly nasty monsters called Exterminator dragons hatch out. Just how the Viking nerd and Toothless once again save the Hooligan tribe of Berk makes for a hilarious and gripping adventure, beautifully paced and studded with great dramatic scenes. (7-11s.)

Linda Buckley-Archerramps up the horror by having one of her children live out his adult life in the 18th century before his father and best friend can find him. Meanwhile, the villainous criminal who stole one of the machines is running through modern London like a fox in a hen coop. The Tar Man (Simon & Schuster, £12.99/ £11.69) is admirably complex and clever (9-12s.)

Malorie Blackman's Noughts & Crosses trilogy (children of 12+) imagines a world in which black people hold all the power and is a conceptual masterpiece. The Stuff of Nightmares (Doubleday, £12.99/ £11.69) has a boy being stalked by the ultimate predator, Death. The only way to avoid his fate is to go into other people's worst dreams. Blackman reaches reluctant readers like few others.

Nobody will ever persuade a child that a book is better than a bag of sweets obtained with menaces, but the best way to persuade them to enjoy the darkening days is to suck these titles and see.

76 Pumpkin Lane Chris Mould, Hodder, £14.99,

The Worst Witch to the Rescue Jill Murphy, Puffin, £9.99

Horrid Henry and the Abominable Snowman Francesca Simon, Orion, £4.99

Clever Polly and the Stupid Wolf Catherine Storr, Jane Nissen Books, £6.99

How to Twist a Dragon's Tail Cressida Cowell, Hodder, £5.99

The Tar Man Linda Buckley-Archerramps, Simon & Schuster, £12.99

The Stuff of Nightmares Malorie Blackman, Doubleday, £12.99

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