Five more spooky shorts from the haunting Mr. Shivers.
Yet another box is found at the pseudo-author’s doorstep along with a note that promises “strange and scary stories.” This time, the box contains a rusty padlock, an owl’s feather, a flashlight battery, fingernail clippings, and a tuft of red hair. Each item correlates to one of the ensuing tales, all told in the third person. Hugh walks home late from school one night and encounters an owl—or is it a monster? Ruby drops her flashlight while looking for a creature under her bed. Tommy, a habitual fingernail chewer, starts using his teeth on other people. Sophie writes a message on the wall of her new room and gets an odd reply. Finally, there’s something—“SCRATCH-SCRATCH”—behind Emma’s locker. Brallier effectively repeats the screamworthy formula established in Beneath the Bed and Other Scary Stories (2019) to add a sense of familiarity to the foreboding. Rubegni’s full-color cartoon illustrations depict racially diverse schoolchildren. A combination of spot, panel, and full-page illustrations helps add drama to the pacing. The abrupt, disquieting endings mix the creepy and weird with the genuinely terrifying, creating a nice balance as readers jump bravely between stories. Each page has around 50 words or less, with longer paragraphs broken up with ample leading and spacing. The final page includes drawing instructions and a short creative writing prompt.
Easy to read but definitely not easy to forget. (Early reader/horror. 5-7)Pub Date: July 7, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-338-61541-8
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: April 11, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2020
Categories: CHILDREN'S PARANORMAL & SUPERNATURAL
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A boy is horrified as his older brother collects increasing numbers of scary and creepy creatures—and brings them all in the house!
Nesbitt delivers this overlong cumulative tale in a series of rhyming couplets. The awestruck younger brother narrates. “It happened just last Halloween, / the weirdest thing you’ve ever seen: / My brother went out after dark / and found a monster in the park.” Soon two hairy spiders, three rats, four toads, five black cats, and so on have invaded their house. The younger brother repeats, “I hope our parents don’t find out,” at the end of each new iteration. The text describes the mayhem that ensues while Slonim has fun giving the various animals hilarious expressions with his cartoon illustrations. Finally the dreaded moment comes when the parents arrive. But instead of gruesome unwanted visitors, there is a menagerie of more welcome inhabitants, including caterpillars, butterflies, geckos, kittens, and gerbils. The original monster that started the story is “a shaggy dog, just big and hairy.” The story takes yet another surprise twist after this one, and with few clues as to its internal logic, readers may find themselves scratching their heads.
This title could be a fit for those kids whose imaginations occasionally run amok or those whose memories of actual events get wildly embellished. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: June 30, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-545-65059-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Cartwheel/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2015
Categories: CHILDREN'S FAMILY | CHILDREN'S PARANORMAL & SUPERNATURAL
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If you give an imp a penny, he’ll ask for a glass of milk—er, a “coin bag” to go with it.
Shamelessly borrowed from the iconic If You Give a Mouse a Cookie (the authors thank Laura Numeroff in the dedication), this anemic reflection moves the story to a vaguely medieval and magical realm. The imp in question is orange and sort of pointy all over, and his fellow protagonist is a young white girl with long skirts and a snowy white apron. When he gets his penny and buries it in the yard with a borrowed shovel, he makes such a mess that she asks him to clean up. The imp sets the broom on fire, repairs it with straw from her mattress, and makes a collar for the cat—who does not take it, or the subsequent bath, well. But our heroine gives the imp her last apple, and he conjures up some gold coins in gratitude. That makes him think of his buried penny—and probably asking for another one. There’s not a lot of logic here: why would he even ask for a penny if he can conjure up treasure? The pictures have a quality of Disney animation about them, lively and familiar-looking without much verve.
It might be fun once, but Numeroff really holds a corner on this particular market. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4556-2144-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Pelican
Review Posted Online: Oct. 5, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2015
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