LeBron James is kicking off spooky season with a special read-along from his newest children’s book, Happy Spooky Halloween!
In a video shared Thursday, Oct. 1, by the LeBron James Family Foundation, the NBA star was shown reading from the Halloween-themed story while seated in a leather chair surrounded by fake cobwebs.
“Now you guys know, this is my favorite holiday,” he told viewers. “Love Halloween, love costumes, love everything about it.”
The 32-page picture book was released July 21 by HarperCollins, with illustrations by Ariel Landy. Written for children ages 4 to 8, the story follows kindergartner Zara and her classmates to a Halloween party hosted by the fifth graders at Hickory Elementary.
The older students have gone all out with witches, wolves, zombies and other creepy surprises, but the party is far scarier than the younger children expected. The two groups eventually work together to create a celebration everyone can enjoy.
That part of the story reflects something James has learned while raising his own three children: kids do not all respond to the same situations in the same way.
“What I learned early on is that every kid is different,” James told ABC News. “What works for one may not work for another. You have to be in tune with how each one responds to certain situations and be mindful of how you approach them.”
James hopes the book can reach children who might not normally choose to read.
“The biggest win for Happy Spooky Halloween! would be to have a kid who may not enjoy reading reach for this book,” he said.
As a child, LeBron remembers how much easier it was to get excited about reading when he found books that actually captured his attention.
“I can remember when I was little and learning how to read, how excited I would get about the books that were interesting to me,” he shared.
Happy Spooky Halloween! marks James’ fourth children’s book. He previously released I Promise in 2020, co-wrote We Are Family with Andrea Williams in 2021 and followed with I Am More Than in 2024.
