Your guide to activities and fun things to do with your preschoolers, toddlers and kids in Long Beach, CA

Looking for Halloween reads that won't scare the pants off your preschooler? Check out these books about witches:

Introduce Halloween to little ones with We're Off to Find the Witch's House. Kids will enjoy chanting along with the rhyming story.(Warning to parents: I couldn't get it out of my head for days!) On their way to the witch's house, four trick-or-treaters encounter a monster, a skeleton and other terrifying Halloween creatures, who turn out to be not-so-scary after all. After reading this book together, you can share some of your own fears, and talk about theirs.

In The Witch Next Door, a witch delights a little girl and boy by turning them into kites and super-sizing their lollipops. Alas, the other neighbors are not amused. The witch gets revenge on the NIMBY neighbors by transforming them into a prince and princess. The story teaches tolerance gently, with a dose of humor. With just a few lines per page, it will hold the attention of young preschoolers.

Strega Nona, a folk tale retold by Tomie dePaola, is about a witch with a magic pot that makes pasta all by itself. Despite Strega Nona's warnings to leave the pot alone, her assistant Big Anthony can't resist trying the magic himself, with disastrous results. The illustrations are rich in medieval detail, and Big Anthony's facial expression in the last picture always makes me laugh.

For more Halloween picks, check out Savvy Source's reviews of Room on the Broom and The  Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything.