Charlotte doesn't want to be scary for Halloween, but it is tradition for witches to wear frightening costumes, as she is told by her parents and friends. Will she be able to find a costume she really wants to wear? The message in this book about being true to yourself and enjoying Halloween however you want is positive and fun. I like the touch of having the quirky grandmother in a colorful house with an orange cat and butterflies instead of bats as a role model for Charlotte to be herself. The illustrations are super cute, rounded and colorful, and I especially love the playground with the spiderweb swings and the slide, as well as the adorable little bats being fed like birds by the old man and the fat, fluffy cats. This is a great, non-spooky story that is perfect for little kids who don't like scary but still want to feel included or just want to switch it up with a little non-nightmarish fun to kick off the Halloween season!

Note: I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley. I was not compensated in any other fashion for the review and the opinions reflected below are entirely my own. Special thanks to the publisher and author for providing the copy.

Charlotte does not want to be a scary witch for Halloween this year, but she is afraid to break the tradition until she finds a roll of shiny material in her friend Ruby's attic. Can Ruby be brave and wear a different costume, and help her friends be brave, too?

This book has wonderful illustrations that kids will love, with even the scariest costumes rendered in a fluffy, cute way. The story also reminds us that just because "that's the way we always do it" can be important, it is also important to listen to ourselves and do what is best for us.

(the kindle file, however, is a HOT MESS and needs to be looked at and redone)

This book was ok. I liked the overall message and the story had rich vocabulary, but something was lacking. The illustrations were lovely and it was a fun book for Halloween. Best for ages 5-8.

I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The physical book would be awfully cute with an interactive sequins cover I bet!

Just like Charlotte, Halloween is also my kid's favourite time of the year. After she read the book, she started thinking of Halloween costume ideas.

The holiday season has arrived, and I am ready for it! The back to school supplies were still in demand when my family began to plan for Halloween. I'm making the Thanksgiving menu, and have begun to read Christmas stories while I start shopping for presents while I impatiently wait for each holiday to arrive. My children are in the spirit as well, as we have begun to decorate our house. This means, it is also time to pull down our holiday books! Out TODAY is a book I happily added to our holiday book selection - The Secret Halloween Costume by Sophie Vaillancourt.

Breaking the idea that Halloween should only be scary is something that my daughter has done every year. She hates the scary aspects, but loves the fun of dressing up and playing with her friends. Seeing a little witch have the same feelings as her, really spoke to her and she asked me to read this story to her 3 times in a row. My son loved seeing all of the pictures and began running through the house shouting that he wanted to be a ghost for Halloween. I loved the message this story shared with children. Follow your heart, and you cannot go wrong!

For Halloween Charlotte is expected to be a scary witch. Her heart is not into being spooky and frightful. With the help of her friends and quirky grandmother she comes up with an idea. This book is about a little girl who doesn't follow what's expected of her and decides to follow her heart. With eye-catching illustrations this book is a fun read for all children who love Halloween and dressing up.

Thank you Netgalley and Chouette Publishing/Crackboom! Books for the opportunity to read this book.

The Secret Halloween Costume is a sweet picture book that shows the power of individualization and how your own voice can enact change. A story of a little witch named Charlotte who doesn’t want to dress scary for Halloween but feels the pressure of tradition. With the help of Charlotte’s grandmother, she finds a costume that showcases Charlotte unique personality. A gentle Halloween story that proves how Halloween has a place for all types of costumes. Thanks to Chouette Publishing and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are my own.

I love Halloween so giving a Halloween book 2 stars is not done lightly. The title, The Secret Halloween Costume, says it all unfortunately. This book is more than listening to your heart and being true to yourself. It's a children's book suggesting in order to be happy you may have to lie and keep secrets from your parents.

Spoilers ahead. The premise of this story is based on all witches are required to dress up as scary witches on Halloween because it's tradition according to Charlotte's mom. Charlotte doesn't want to.so she goes behind her parents' backs, deceives her parents by wearing her scary witch costume to school, changes at school into what she really wants to wear and brings more of what she thinks everyone should wear and passes out new costumes for all of her classmates. Everyone is happy. The End. I would not recommend this book to anyone. 2 stars for graphics only.

The Secret Halloween Costume has really cute illustrations, but those weren't enough to pull this out of "eh" status for my kids. Yes, it does have a message that not all costumes need to be scary, but the other overarching issues shadowed that. Some pages have absolutely no text at all while others try to cram too much in. The story line felt choppy, and the insistence of witches being mean and ugly for Halloween is rather ignorant of the history of women being persecuted and beaten as witches for having the audacity to do anything beyond being completely submissive. The history of witches being as crooked, bent over, and greenish all stems from the treatment of women who were accused of being witches due to their trumped up transgressions: being kept in cellars without decent food or water for days on end after having been beaten, often beyond recognition and left with no medical care.

Charlotte speaks up when she feels that a Halloween tradition should change. With the help of her Grandmother, she changes the minds of many in order to create a new tradition that they all enjoy!

A sweet and delightful story of halloween for the little ones. It's quick and easy to be read in an easy way, and with clear narrative. Enjoyed!

Charlotte wants to be herself this year at Halloween and not follow the little witches' traditions. She doesn't want to dress scary for Halloween. Everyone discourages her from bucking tradition. Everyone that is except Grandma Lily. Grandma Lily is a little different herself and she doesn't always follow traditions herself. So Lily enlist her help with her Halloween costume this year. So Halloween arrives and Charlotte does not have on scary make up. She announces she didn't want to be scary this year she is Super Charlotte. She then takes other costumes out of her bag to share with her classmates. Everyone should be able to be what they want for Halloween. And a new tradition was born.

The Secret Halloween Costume follows a young witch named Charlotte. Charlotte is told by her mother that it’s a tradition to be scary on Halloween. However, Charlotte doesn’t want to follow that tradition and wants to try something different.

I enjoyed the illustrations in this book. Each page was filled with vibrant colors and great attention to detail. This story inspires young children to follow their heart regardless of norms and traditions.

This is a sweet Halloween story about wanting to express yourself and break the mould! The illustrations are lovely, and this would be a great book to read to kids/students around Halloween. The writing gives the chance to introduce/discuss new words such as tradition, discouraged, etc. The story encourages people to be themselves and support one another. Good read!

This was the perfect Halloween set up for children. I as an adult adored the little fictional world created by this author in this cute fictional setting. Halloween is always a very fun time in the community and since we’re only one month away from that exact holiday, I thought it would be fun to gear up in to something that’ll come like this in the Halloween spirit, 5/5 stars!

I loved this story about little Charlotte. It teaches kids to be their own person and do what they want to do and be who they want to be! I would definitely read this story to my kids at this time of year. I can never pass up a cute Halloween book.

Charlotte doesn't want to be something spooky for halloween, even though it's tradition. She comes up with a plan to be something unscary. I read this to my 7 yr old and she absolutely loved it!

First of all, I'd like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an ARC of this book in exchange of an honest review.
The Secret Halloween Costume by Sophie Vaillancurt is a short story about Charlotte, a young witch who doesn't want to wear a scary costume for Halloween.
This book teaches children that they have to be themselves and make choices on their own, and it serves as a good bedtime story.

My daughter and I loved this children's book, which was so much fun to read. The book is about a young witch called Charlotte who wants to change what she wears for Halloween, from her costume being traditionally scary, to something that is more light and fun. Her grandmother sews her a new, secret costume, which she loves and this inspires her friends to follow their hearts too. The book has amazing illustrations and it is just so cute. My daughter now can't wait for Halloween, so that she can dress up and have lots of Halloween fun!

Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a cute little book about a little witch who doesn't know what she wants to be for Halloween. She knows that she is expected to be a wicked wish, but she just wants to be something not scary this year. How will she figure out what to be?

This was so adorable. I really loved the story. Charlotte was adorable. The art was also really great. I loved the vividness of the colors!