Sunday, October 23, 2011

Scary Books...

... but not too scary! I am not a big fan of Halloween. I very much dislike the ugly, death-exalting facets of it. I don't mind "Hallowee-lite" costumes; the innocent, playful Halloween of days past. I'd rather attend a Harvest carnival than trick-or-treat. I do like to read some 'scary' books to the Littles at this time of year. Here's are some favorites.

http://www.alsc.ala.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/littleoldlady.jpg

The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything is a classic. Every one of my children has listened to this repeatedly. Now, my older children are reading it to the younger.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51ToNX2TGXL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

Teeny Tiny is a teeny tiny paperback book that shares an ancient folktale. It's not a very long or complicted story, but children love it anyway.



We were introduced to the the Cranberry Family by FIAR. This is a fun story with engaging characters.

http://mymamasgoodnight.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/the-vanishing-pumpkin.jpg?w=406&h=475

Another illustrated by Tomie de Paola, The Vanishing Pumpkin tells the tale of a couple, each HUNDREDS of years old, bickering their way through a spooky adventure. I think it's a darling story!

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgHWRzhWavXzZfKvbmdf_cIA5QKgMPLkdy96pNprdaG9f-y4kgQRC-p5KncKDBZhDLKEmTm3OySKSsNgIDiSmRPP588s1O_CuE4Oz6kPZsXCVuRGLMgxFhMhKpolxf0lowhEyJm6-6-ipd/s1600/Theres+a+Nightmare+in+my+Closet+copy+copy.jpg

Mercer Mayer has a great series of books with monsters and such. I avoided these books with little-Littles until they were about six. No need to introduce the idea of things living under the bed or in the closet if they haven't made that up themselves already. If I did have a child with a fear of creatures, I would use these books to assuage them. He also has a series of Little Monster books that are similar to his classic Little Critter books.

http://cc.pbsstatic.com/l/35/1935/9780448261935.jpg

McBroom's Ghost is just part of the great McBroom series with which every child should be familiar. I can't say enough about McBoom and his family. I love their tenacity, their aplomb and the simple fact that they are always there for each other.

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY0BV8ne3ui6vm2lOre_f2x9feGZX6AI56NOYAWTfJ0VXWQ8Qs0P807P84gSHPU_Dblm4PyM4KcOl0zvM1GTzURPXiF9yEki8WU2NgZTMJ1S3ol7NtlpLOTBy2ipsW8ounfOPr1nb7ghE/s320/mommy+sendak.jpg

Mommy? is a great pop-up books that we have enjoyed. I have even blogged about it before.

http://cb.pbsstatic.com/l/52/1952/9780670061952.jpg

The Trip is a sweet book, like all Ezra Jack Keats books. It's another story in the Louie series.

http://covers.openlibrary.org/w/id/446296-M.jpg

Can I add another Tomie book? Four Scary Stories is always worth the read.

What about you, Do you have any favorite scary-but-not-too-scary stories? Please share! I'll post The Crew's favorite Autumn Books next time.

1 comment:

  1. Ooooh! I'm going to print this out and head to the library.

    Thanks,

    Kelly

    ReplyDelete

I love comments! Please feel free to leave kind words, new ideas, requests for recipes, even gentle criticism if needed in the spirit of Proverbs 16:24.

"Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones."