Halloween Treats

With Halloween around the corner, you may have stocked up on canned pumpkin to make pumpkin fudge...or pumpkin pies...or pumpkin scones (you get the idea). What to do when you have half a can of pumpkin left? You can do what we do and whip up a quick and easy snack: pumpkin yogurt.

I started making pumpkin yogurt when my kids were very young. Back then, I could easily trick them into thinking pumpkin was a delicious snack. I don't know why, but one day I mixed some pumpkin with some plain yogurt and a new treat was born. My kids still enjoy it but it's not something I make all the time. I tend to save it for the fall, when canned pumpkin is easy to find in the grocery stores.

Pumpkin Yogurt

Ingredients:

• canned pumpkin
• plain or vanilla yogurt
• cinnamon (optional)

This is so easy I don't know why I am bothering with directions, but here we go...

1. Combine equal parts pumpkin and yogurt. Stir together.

2. Sprinkle with cinnamon.

It's that easy. I like that it's both a taste of fall and a way to serve a fruit that we don't often eat.

With Halloween in just a few days, we've been making pumpkin yogurt and enjoying our stash of Halloween books. I am really not sure how we ended up with so many Halloween books, but over the years we've acquired quite the collection. Some of the ones my kids particularly enjoy:

Goodnight Goon by Michael Rex

As evidenced by the title, Goodnight Goon is a parody of the classic Goodnight Moon. One of my sons received this as a birthday gift last year. We get a kick out of it, especially the various monsters that wreak havoc in the little werewolf's room.

Happy Halloween, Little Critter! by Mercer Mayer




This is really a sentimental favorite in our house. After my second son was born, my husband took my older son (then two) to the bookstore to pick out a new book. This is the book he chose. It is a simple story about Little Critter greeting his costumed friends on Halloween. Flaps that open to reveal the friends underneath their costumes made this a hit with my kids when they were younger.

Haunted Castle on Hallow's Eve by Mary Pope Osborne



My older son has recently started reading the Magic Treehouse books out loud for his nightly reading homework. This one follows the typical storyline of siblings Jack and Annie on a magic mission for Merlin but the haunted castle at the heart of the story's mission gives this one a Halloween flair. We picked this one up at my son's school book fair last week.

Popcorn by Frank Asch



I have a full review of this book here but it is definitely a Halloween favorite around here. All of the action happens at a Halloween costume party.

Dick and Jane and Vampires  by Laura Marchesani



Um, okay. So I kind of think the whole vampire thing is a bit played out. I will admit right here that I am a huge Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan but I really did not gravitate toward Twilight (I tried and couldn't get through the first book) and the others that have followed. However, I saw this book in the bookstore and I couldn't resist buying it for my prereader for his birthday. The juxtaposition of these kids from yesteryear (maybe it's because I've been watching a lot of Mad Men and have been on a retro kick) with vampires just makes it so random and hilarious. I mean, there are pages with Vampire lurking behind bushes and under beds and it sounds vaguely sinister but it is really really funny. Over the course of several very simple chapters (like the original Dick and Jane books, this is an early reader meant for kids who are beginning to read aloud) Vampire reveals himself to be a nice guy who jumps rope with Dick and Jane and wears bonnets Mother makes for him. And, in the end, he finds a very special soulmate when Dick and Jane introduce him to a lady vampire. And everyone is happy happy.  Awwww.

What are your favorite Halloween books?