Haunted House

Reach for this book when your child is oscillating between being fascinated by spooky things and being a little bit afraid of the dark. It is the perfect tool for transforming bedtime anxiety into a game of discovery, allowing children to take physical control over the monsters that scare them through tactile interaction. Jan Pienkowski's masterpiece is a marvel of paper engineering that takes readers through a Victorian house filled with ghosts, ghouls, and a hungry crocodile in the kitchen. While the imagery is gothic, the tone is purely slapstick. By pulling tabs and opening flaps, children engage in a form of exposure therapy where they hunt for the scares rather than hiding from them, ultimately building confidence and a sense of mastery over their own imagination. It is a classic choice for the 4 to 8 age range, providing a safe, silly environment to practice being brave.