The 2005 Book Sense Halloween Top Ten

This week Book Sense announces the 2005 Halloween Top Ten. The list is produced in conjunction with the Association of American Publishers' Get Caught Reading initiative and is based on the nominations of independent booksellers nationwide.

Booksellers in the Book Sense program will be receiving the Halloween Top Ten in the September Red Box.

For a downloadable PDF file of the Halloween 2005 Top Ten, click here.

1. HAUNTED, by Chuck Palahniuk (Doubleday, $24.95, 0385509480) "I dare you. Watch yourself watch. Watch yourself shiver. Watch yourself gasp. Watch yourself watch yourself watch. Then, walking down the street, you'll hear simple words like 'calamari' and 'dibs,' and you'll watch yourself cringe. Books are supposed to affect readers. This book has made readers faint. With words. I dare you." --Josh Cook, Porter Square Books, Cambridge, MA

2. THE WOLVES IN THE WALLS, by Neil Gaiman, Dave McKean (Illus.) (HarperTrophy, $6.99 paper, 0380810956) "Fantastically creepy, the story will spook you and the illustrations will linger in your memory as decidedly jitter-making. Good luck sleeping after this one, kiddos!" --Suzanne Perry, The Secret Garden, Seattle, WA

3. FAERIE WARS, by Herbie Brennan (Bloomsbury, $7.95 paper, 1582349436) "A fabulous journey into the faerie realm. Teens and tweens will love this book!" --Suzanne Allen, Tattered Cover Bookstore, Denver, CO

4. PEEPS, by Scott Westerfeld (Razorbill, $16.99, 159514031X) "Being a 'parasite-positive' carrier of vampirism isn't easy for 19-year-old Cal, who has to keep a centuries-old secret while tracking the woman who has infected him. Awesome reading for teens and adults alike!" --Anna Cloninger, The Fountain Bookstore, Richmond, VA

5. FRANK WAS A MONSTER WHO WANTED TO DANCE, by Keith Graves (Chronicle, $13.95, 0811821692) "This is one of the happiest monster books I have ever read. I keep it on the shelf year-round." --Linda Matthews, Back Country Navigator, Lake City, CO

6. HERE THEY COME!, by David Costello (FSG, $15, 0374330514) "Told in rhyme, this entertaining children's book features a menagerie of ghosts, goblins, and assorted spooks." --Jeremy Brunaccioni, World Eye Bookshop, Greenfield, MA

7. COUNTRY LIVING PUMPKIN CHIC: Decorating with Pumpkins & Gourds, by the Editors of Country Living (Hearst, $12.95 paper, 1588162966) "This is another great addition to the Country Living line, filled with all kinds of ways to decorate with pumpkins and gourds. Some are complicated, and some a child could have fun with. The pictures are wonderful and make you eager for the fun days of autumn." --Brenda Spratt, Books on First, Dixon, IL

8. KNOCK, KNOCK: It's Halloween!, by Betty Schwartz, Barry Gott (Illus.) (Little Simon, $7.99, 0689846916) "This is a terrific boardbook of knock-knock jokes -- with a jack-o-lantern knocker! Kids will delight in the jokes, and it's perfect for a classroom party." --Bonnie Olesh, Fifth Avenue Book Center, El Centro, CA

9. GRIS GRIMLY'S WICKED NURSERY RHYMES, by Gris Grimly (Baby Tattoo Books, $15.95, 0972938877) "I expected that this would be a charming children's book, and then I read it. This is the darkest, most disturbing children's book I've ever laid eyes on. Suffice it to say, I loved it. The illustrations walk the fine line between eerie and disturbing, and the cleverly worded rhymes will have you alternately laughing and gasping in shock, as Grimly twists these beloved children's rhymes ... until they snap." --Josh Przybylski, Village Bookstore, Menomonee Falls, WI

10. ONE HALLOWEEN NIGHT, by Mark Teague (Illus.) (Scholastic, $5.99 paper, 0439755387) "Anything can happen on Halloween, and four youngsters discover how weird and wonderful that magical evening can be -- even if their costumes aren't right and a little sister has to come along trick-or-treating." --Janice Card, BYU Bookstore, Provo, UT