This book was such a joy to read!! the spoops are so cute. The illustrations and rhyming story made this feel like an old nostalgic halloween tale. This is a story that I am sure people will be reading for generations to come. Get a cup of apple cider and snuggle up with this enchanting read you will not be dissapointed.

"Spoops" is somewhere between a picture book and a graphic novel. In rhyming test, we meet a family where the parents are dentists and their little girl loves everything spooky and Halloween. But of course, the dentists forbid any participation in the holiday. The little girl has so much Halloween spirit that she summons the spoops - little fairies or spirits of Halloween. They help the girl celebrate and eventually the parents are won over.
The book reminded me of a nursery rhyme/Peanuts book. It would be a good read aloud around the holiday.

I never have encountered a perfect book until now. As a lifelong Halloween lover, I felt so seen by Holly. The rhymes are so inventive. The illustrations are so fitting. I'm getting one of them tattooed, I love this book so much.

Ok this adorable little book is going to be a repeat in our house! First of all my little goth heart LOVED this! I was definitely this little girl as a child, at least the misunderstood part. The rhyming and story was excellent and both my 5 year old and 8 year old enjoyed this story. We all appreciated that Holly was helped by the Spoops and was able to talk to her parents about Halloween in the end. My oldest is now very excited to look for and listen for Spoops this Halloween!

This is an absolutely adorable fall/halloween book. It is the perfect length for my emerging reader child. She is no longer engaged in shorter picture books, but this one is long enough and had an engaging enough plot to keep her attention. We are beginning to read longer chapter books as well, but sometimes it’s nice to read a book that can be finished in a sitting, especially when it comes to seasonal books. The illustrations were so cute. I am not personally a fan of the couplet style, as it can be hard to read aloud and ends up leading to reading it in a very rhythmic way. This can be forgiven as the kids seem to like it.

🎃 Netgalley ARC Review 🎃

SPOOPS - The Little Spirits of Halloween
Written by A J Locascio Illustrated by Lauri A. Conley

Expected Publication Date: 12/08/2025

🧙‍♂️ What's it about?

Holly Hollowell absolutely adores Halloween, but trying to convince her dentist parents that Halloween is more than a cavity inducing holiday is going to take a lot of determination and some Halloween magic from the Spoops.

💭 Thoughts

Oh my ... This is such a cute book that my child self would have loved to cosy up with.

In classic Dr. Seuss, style rhyming, and orange and black detailed illustrations, you can't help but fall in love with it. It felt like I took a step back in time. It has a traditional feel.

I've included some pictures of the Spoops, and I think these would make such cute collectables around Halloween. I can imagine the characters in the little lucky bags (I would want the cat Spoop naturally 🤭🐾)

📨 Message

I think this would be lovely for a family with young children to share. It touches on what Halloween means for different people and the magic around this particular season. It also struck me about Holly wanting to be seen and that Halloween made her feel that she could be herself around this season.

🧡 Overall

It is a very enjoyable little book that captures the magic of Halloween in a very sweet way.
I would love a physical copy on my shelf 👻

A big thank you to the creators of SPOOPS, NetGalley, and publishers  @idwpublishing for the opportunity to read and review 🎃


#netgalley #netgalleyreviewer #idwpublishing #graphicnovel #traditionalvibes #halloween #augtober #spoops #spiritofhalloween #countdowntohalloween

Spoops: The Little Spirits of Halloween is a whimsical story for everyone that loves Halloween and for those that want to share the spooky and fun spirit. The story follows a young girl named Holly Hollowell who lives and loves Halloween year-round, ever since she was born. She's a sweet, creative girl that adores creepy-cute things and has always dreamt of celebrating the holiday. Sadly, her parents, two dentists, dislike the idea of celebrating it since they only assume that the main activity of this holiday is to eat candy-a nightmare for teeth. And so this Halloween is looking to be another year in which she will be unable to trick-or-treat and do other activities. While staying home alone, she makes a wish and the most adorable spoopy spirits-called Spoops- hear her wish; and they fly towards her to make it come true. Afterwards, we get to see all the fun and beautiful decorations, costumes and more activities that the Spoops show to dear Holly.

Spoops are absolutely the most adorable spoopy things I've seen in a while. As a person that loooves Halloween, this book is a must-have for the collection. The rhymes were beautiful, with amazing use of the word. I would like to add that some words may be too advanced for some readers. I recommend this book for both story time at libraries/schools, and for discussions at schools as well. The art is phenomenally done in a vintage-esque style of illustrated children's books I haven't seen in (many) contemporary books. The use of black, white and different shades of orange was very lovely and well done. Absolutely loved the book!

Thanks to NetGalley, IDW Publishing and the author for the arc copy in exchange for my honest review.

Please note: I will upload this review here on NetGalley and Goodreads. In October, I will release it in an infographic format on my Instagram. Thank you!

Spoops captures the halloween spirit in a delightfully whimsical way. The vintage-styled illustrations left me nostalgic for Halloween as it used to be celebrated and I was charmed by the modern addition of the Spoops themselves. As an adult trick or treating isn't a Halloween activity for me anymore. Instead, I collect my favorite Halloween stories from yesteryear and re-read them. Spoops is 100% going on the list!

Thank you to NetGalley and Top Shelf Productions/IDW Publishing for the ARC!


Spoops is a short, spooky book perfect for Halloween lovers of all ages! It follows 9 year old Holly Hollowell, who is obsessed with all things Halloween. She longs to celebrate and participate in the joy of spooky activities, but her parents are dentists and strongly discourage anything Halloween related.

On Halloween night, the Hollowells leave for a convention and Holly is left to sulk and watch the trick or treaters. But the Spoops are there to save the day! Spoops are the Halloween spirits that change the color of the leaves and provide the spooky atmosphere of Halloween! The Spoops help Holly celebrate and convince her parents to celebrate with her.

• This story is perfect to read to children on Halloween, or even just for a lover of spooky things to enjoy. I loved the black/orange color pallet of the art style, it contained all things I love about Halloween: ghosts, pumpkins, cats, bats, spiders, etc!

• Written in rhyme, Spoops reads like the storybooks I experienced in my elementary school classrooms. I loved the flow of the story, I feel like it wouldn’t be too hard for a child to understand even though there are some bigger, harder words.


I definitely recommend this to read during the fall/close to Halloween, or to pick up any time of the year when you might want some spooky vibes!

This is such a heartwarming tale that will resonate with anyone who has a passion for Halloween - the art is enchanting and it's sure to become a classic.

Honestly, before I started reading this book, I thought it was going to be a graphic novel, but it’s a picture book. I still enjoyed reading it, though. The illustrations were cute, and I loved the spoops. Holly was adorable and my favorite character out of everyone, and the parents were my least favorite. This is a cute read for fall and even summer! I recommend reading this book if you love Halloween.

Oh my spirits ! This book is such a joy. I couldn't believe my eyes at all the details that were packed in here.

You can tell the author and artist both love children and Halloween. The joy just seeps into you as you read the story.

It was well written and designed.

If my soul could be visually represented, it would look like the insides of Spoops. The artwork is so cute and kind of vintage-style but also a style of its own at the same time. I love that the only colors are the Halloween and Fall related things like it's representing the joy that these two bring.

Wholeheartedly recommended to Halloween lovers of all ages. I am now going to pre-order this!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy to review.

Thank you to NetGalley for sending me this cutesy little fall read! I went into this book blind and I loved it. This book is the perfect fall read for those with small children (or for adults who secretly want a little halloween spoop to follow them around). I loved the art style with its simple colour scheme and adorable character designs. I highly recommend picking this one up for the fall season!

This book is the cutest and most whimsical book I've read about autumn this year.
It encapsulates the magic of Halloween in a book for younger readers, middle-grade ones.
The illustrations are beautiful, and I look forward to purchasing it.
Spoops is perfect for the reader who loves the autumn vibes and starts decorating in August because Autumn is their favourite season. (not only for middle graders)
Thank you to IDW Publishing/Top Shelf Productions and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read such a cute book.

My first Netgalley ARC. I’m really thankful to the publisher for giving me the chance to read this early. This is a cozy mid grade story about a girl whose parents disapprove of her love for spooky, weird things. She’s not allowed to take part in the celebration, but one night silly little spirits called Spoops come to the rescue.

This book really captures the magic of Halloween perfectly and brings out the soul of autumn.
The artwork is wonderful, I love the color combination too. It’s minimalistic yet rich in detail.

This said, i do think some of the rhymes were a bit off, and a few of the words might be complicated for young readers.

If you are looking for a short, fun and easy read that describes the spirit of Halloween perfectly, this one is for you.

Español
Este es un cuento bastante adorable que, además de ser un tributo al Halloween, nos habla sobre la importancia de aceptar lo que le gusta a los niños, en lugar de imponerlo.
La pequeña Holly es la embajadora de todos los que alguna vez nos sentimos incomprendidos; ya que sus padres eran unos Grinch con el Halloween y ella lo amaba.

Los Spoops fueron de lo más tiernos y espeluznantes, en sí, todas las ilustraciones son muy bellas. Considero que este cuento funciona perfecto para los niños y adolescentes que gusten de las historias de la temporada otoñal.

English
This is a very adorable story that, in addition to being a tribute to Halloween, tells us about the importance of accepting what children like, rather than imposing it.
Little Holly is the ambassador for all of us who have ever felt misunderstood; her parents were Grinch-like about Halloween, and she loved it.

The Spoops were incredibly cute and creepy, and all the illustrations are beautiful. I think this story is perfect for children and teens who enjoy stories about the fall season.

It's beautiful, I'm a grown woman and I cried.
If my daughter understood English, I would totally read it to her.
The drawing is beautiful, Halloween-esque but cute for children.
I loved it

Fun book showing the spirit of Halloween. My kids would have loved this. I really enjoyed having mostly black and white, but with orange.

5 stars

Thank you to Top Shelf Productions and Net Galley for giving me the opportunity to read Spoops: The Little Spirits of Halloween before its release date. I absolutely LOVED Spoops! The illustrations are amazing and very nostalgic to the type of books I read as a child. Young Holly is such an amazing kid and as someone who LOVES Halloween, I can relate to her so much. Thanks to the adorable Spoops and their Halloween spirit, Holly didn't have to miss out on Halloween and she was able to prove to her parents how much fun the holiday is. I love a good ending!