Let's face it, Halloween can be a pretty scary holiday for young kids. Last year, I went for a fall walk with my toddler, and when she spotted a life-size zombie hanging from a neighbor's tree she was understandably terrified. When you stop and look at Halloween through a kid's eyes, it does indeed seem pretty frightening. Fortunately, there are some great Halloween-themed children's books that set the stage for this spooky holiday, and help turn the fright into fun.

Looking at the range of Halloween-themed children's books out there, they cover everything from ghosts and goblins to pumpkins and potions. My daughters love the book, Ladybug Girl and the Dress-up Dilemma by Jacky Davis, ($15, Amazon) from the Ladybug Girl series. It covers a lot of key Halloween activities, like figuring out what costume to wear, a trip to the pumpkin patch and corn maize, and of, course, trick-or-treating.

This year I'm also excited to introduce my girls to Dia de los Muertos or Day of the Dead. For those unfamiliar with the traditional Mexican holiday, it is a celebration of life and death that is now celebrated in many countries all over Latin America, according to National Geographic. (Side note: if you haven't already seen Coco, the Dia de los Muertos-inspired animated children's film, you need to! It's so good.)

So to help you kick off your Halloween season on the right foot, here are 17 children's book all about the spooky day, in all its wonderful iterations.