Samhain: A Story About Halloween

Book cover for Samhain: A Story About Halloween by Jacqueline Cooper, part of the Changing Traditions series, showing two cloaked children with a hobby horse and turnip lantern in an autumn village landscape.

Samhain: A Story About Halloween is a nonfiction picture book for children about the history behind Halloween traditions. Written and illustrated by Jacqueline Cooper, it is the first book in the Changing Traditions series. Samhain is also known today as one of the seasonal festivals on the modern Wheel of the Year, and this book explores how older autumn customs helped shape the Halloween celebrations many families know today.

Long before Halloween became costumes, candy, and carved pumpkins, people marked the end of the harvest season in many different ways. Families gathered near bonfires, carved turnip lanterns, played games, shared food, dressed up, played tricks, and remembered those who had died.

Samhain: A Story About Halloween follows those traditions through time, from ancient autumn customs to the modern Halloween celebrations that we see each year. 

The book also includes fun historical details about where some familiar Halloween traditions may have come from, including turnip carving, apple games, guising, food left outdoors, and the journey from old harvest customs to modern trick-or-treating.

It is written for young readers, classrooms, homeschool families, libraries, and anyone curious about the history behind familiar traditions. 

The hardcover edition of Samhain: A Story About Halloween is available now from your favourite bookstores, libraries and the softcovers and ebooks are coming soon.

This book is also the first title in Changing Traditions: Stories Remembered Each Year, a series created to help children explore where celebrations come from and how traditions change as they are carried from place to place, generation to generation.

Perfect for readers looking for children’s books about Samhain, Halloween history, autumn traditions, or the Wheel of the Year, this book offers a child-friendly introduction to how old customs changed over time.

You can also read more about one of the traditions featured in the book here:
Why Do We Carve Pumpkins at Halloween?

Young readers can continue exploring the traditions in the book with our free educational resource guide and a separate printable turnip-lantern decorating activity you can download from our Resources page.

Watch the book trailer:



You can explore all of our current titles on our Books Page.

If you'd like to help share our works, visit our Libraries Page for circulation details and ISBNs.

Our books are available through major retailers including Chapters, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop, and Waterstones.


Location: Canada

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