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HALLOWEEN ROUNDUP
2011
With All Hallows’ Eve looming around the corner, we at Kidsreads.com bring you an assortment of our favorite spook-worthy stories this season. Reaching far into the cobwebs of imagination are not just ghoulish tales, but also zombie games, haunted hamburgers, killer pizzas, scary schools, sleepless little vampires, and pumpkin-carving contests. Feel free to add a few of these books to your shelf of memory-making Halloween activities, right next to the leftover trick-or-treat candy.
THE 13 NIGHTS OF HALLOWEEN
written and illustrated by Guy Vasilovich
HarperCollins
ISBN: 9780061804458
Ages 4-8
40 pages
On the first night of Halloween, what does your mummy give you? A bright, shiny Skeleton Key, of course!
In fact, for each of the 13 nights leading up to the big night, your mummy is ready with gifts that include everything from singing skulls to demons dancing to icky eyeballs. The spookier and slimier, the better!
3:15 SEASON ONE: THINGS THAT GO BUMP IN THE NIGHT
Patrick Carman
Scholastic Inc.
ISBN: 9780545384759
Ages 9-12
176 pages
Read, watch and listen to each chilling story in 15 minutes or less!
3:15 means several things. It's a time when things go bump in the night. A place where spooky stories find a home. A feeling…that chill running down your spine.
It means 10 terrifying tales that you'll experience in three parts: A frightful audio introduction. Several spooky pages of text. And a creepy video conclusion you can watch online. All in 15 minutes or less.
Step into the world of 3:15 and you'll meet Cody Miller, whose greed leads to a grave mistake; Emma Franklin, who learns that not all childhood fears are foolish; Dylan Smith, who should know better than to show off his snowboarding skills on a haunted mountain; and more.
Don't get too attached to any of them.
ALPHAOOPS!: H IS FOR HALLOWEEN
written by Alethea Kontis
illustrated by Bob Kolar
Candlewick Press
ISBN: 9780763656867
Ages 4-8
40 pages
Ack! It’s time for the show, and A isn’t ready. But then again, Halloween can only start with one letter, no matter how the A-B-Cs normally go! The misbehaving alphabet is back, and there’s no telling who will take the stage next. Z for zombie? P for pirate? Will X think of something good in time? Neon-bright, comically detailed illustrations show a cacophony of costumed letters, each with a mind and personality all its own. Along the bottom, tiny pumpkins arrange the players in proper order, making this alphabet story letter-perfect for Halloween.
THE BLACK HEART CRYPT: A Haunted Mystery
Chris Grabenstein
Random House Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 9780375869006
Ages 9-12
336 pages
Halloween is nearing, the one day of the year when the ghostly plane is close enough to the human plane to allow mischief and mayhem. But the ghosts who have their eye on Zack aren't thinking mischief, they are thinking murder.
In this fourth volume of Chris Grabenstein's popular Haunted Mysteries series, Zack must once again do battle with malevolent spirits. And with his usual pluck, and the assistance of three dotty aunts, he must save his town from a 200-year-old threat.
BONES: Terrifying Tales to Haunt Your Dreams
Lois Metzger
Scholastic Inc.
ISBN: 9780545158916
Ages 8-12
112 pages
These spine-chilling, original ghost stories by some of today's top writers, including R.L. Stine, Richard Peck, Margaret Mahy and Todd Strasser, may keep you awake at night! Just remember:
- Skeletons don't always "rest in peace."
- Ghosts hate being ignored.
- Even cell phones can't be trusted.
If you mess with bones, you can get rattled!
DRAGONBREATH: NO SUCH THING AS GHOSTS
Ursula Vernon
Dial Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 9780803735279
Ages 8-12
208 pages
Danny Dragonbreath and his best friend, Wendell, have a carefully constructed trick-or-treating system designed to maximize their Halloween candy haul. But this year, despite Danny's awesome vampire costume, their plan is flopping. First, Danny's dad makes them trick-or-treat with Christiana Vanderpool, an annoying know-it-all (and girl) who doesn't even believe that dragons exist. And then the school bully dares them to go into a spooky old haunted house. Naturally, the house is inhabited by a creepy clown and a candy-crazed ghost of yore. It's going to take more than fire-breathing to get them out of this mess - they might even have to (horror of horrors!) perform a sacrificial candy offering.
THE GIRL BEHIND THE GLASS
Jane Kelley
Random House Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 9780375862205
Ages 9-12
192 pages
Eleven-year-old twins Hannah and Anna agree about everything --- especially that they don't want to move to the creepy old house on Hemlock Road. But as soon as they move into the house, the twins start disagreeing for the first time in their lives. In fact, it's almost as though something or someone is trying to drive them apart. While Anna settles in, Hannah can't ignore the strange things that keep happening on Hemlock Road. Why does she sense things that no one else in the family does? If she listens hard enough, it's almost as though someone is trying to talk to her. Someone no one else can hear. Someone angry enough to want revenge. Is the house haunted? Is Hannah crazy? Or does something in the house want her as a best friend --- forever?
HAMPIRE!
written by Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen
illustrated by Howard Fine
HarperCollins
ISBN: 9780061142390
Ages 4-8
32 pages
On the farm, the critters knew,
At night while they were sleeping,
Past barn and pens,
Past lambs and hens,
A HAMPIRE went out creeping.
One dark night when Duck can’t sleep, he ventures out in search of the perfect midnight snack. But when he runs into the dreaded Hampire, the chase is on, all across the farm! Will Duck --- and his snacks --- make it safely back to bed?
THE HAUNTED HAMBURGER AND OTHER GHOSTLY STORIES
written by David LaRochelle
illustrated by Paul Meisel
Dutton Juvenile
ISBN: 9780525422723
Ages 6-8
40 pages
What's scarier than a ghost story? Three ghost stories, of course. And these three stories, told to little ghosts at bedtime, are the scariest kind of ghost stories there are --- they're about people! From a ghost who becomes the victim of a baby in need of a diaper to a hamburger that can win a scaring contest just by lifting its bun, these hilariously illustrated silly stories are sure to bring laughs to even the littlest ghosts.
THE JOY OF SPOOKING: SINISTER SCENES
P.J. Bracegirdle
Margaret K. McElderry Books/Simon & Schuster
ISBN: 9781416934202
Ages 8-12
320 pages
Joy Wells is thrilled when Spooking --- the terrible town on the hideous hill --- is chosen as the location for a horror movie. She’s convinced the attention will finally prove that legendary author E.A. Peugeot set his creepy tales in her beloved hometown. And when a temperamental young starlet goes missing, Joy steps in to co-star alongside rock icon Teddy Danger. But Danger is delivering a terrifying performance that is entirely unscripted: Having rented a sinister old mansion in town, the aging musician has been possessed by a slumbering evil. In order to survive, Joy must turn once again to her old nemesis, Mr. Phipps. Old grudges and ancient curses collide as the true history of the terrible town is finally revealed.
KILLER PIZZA: THE SLICE
Greg Taylor
Feiwel & Friends
ISBN: 9780312580889
Ages 10-14
352 pages
Four months after they discover that their new place of employment, Killer Pizza, was a front for an underground Monster Hunting Organization, Toby and his fellow rookie Monster Combat Officers, Annabel and Strobe, have been invited to New York City to tour KP Headquarters. But the exclusive tour is cut short when a monster emergency sends the trio off on a secret mission delivering Calanthe, a beautiful 14-year-old, defecting monster with serpent-like abilities, into the Monster Protection Program. It seems like an easy assignment until the teens realize Calanthe is the sacrificial offering in a ceremony set to happen in a few days, and her people will stop at nothing to get her back!
LITTLE GOBLINS TEN
written by Pamela Jane
illustrated by Jane Manning
HarperCollins
ISBN: 9780061767982
Ages 3-7
32 pages
Over in the forest
Where the trees hide the sun
Lived a big mommy monster
And her little monster one.
"Scare!" said the mommy;
"I scare," said the one.
So he scared and he scampered
Where the trees hide the sun.
From monsters to ghosties to goblins, everyone's favorite beasties haunt and howl and rattle their way through their forest home in this silly, spooky twist on the beloved nursery rhyme "Over in the Meadow."
MOUSE AND MOLE, A PERFECT HALLOWEEN
Wong Herbert Yee
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
ISBN: 9780547551524
Ages 6-9
48 pages
Mouse likes Halloween. In fact, Mouse loves Halloween. And with only a few days to go before the big day, Mouse has lots of preparations to make. There are decorations to hang up and pumpkins to carve --- especially for the big pumpkin-carving contest! Mole does not like Halloween nearly as much. It is scary. It is creepy. And who left that broom on the front step? Thankfully a pumpkin-carving contest is not too scary.
But the pumpkin-carving contest is just the beginning of Mouse and Mole’s Halloween adventures. What’s Mouse to do when her best friend has turned into a big Scaredy-Mole?
THE OGRE OF OGLEFORT
Eva Ibbotson
Dutton Juvenile
ISBN: 9780525423829
Ages 8-up
247 pages
For excitement-hungry orphan Ivo, a mission to save Princess Mirella from the dreaded Ogre of Oglefort is a dream come true. Together with a hag, a wizard and a troll, Ivo sets out, ready for adventure. But when they get to the ogre's castle, the rescuers are in for a surprise: the princess doesn't need saving, but the depressed ogre does!
PUMPKIN CAT
written and illustrated by Anne Mortimer
Katherine Tegen Books/HarperCollins
ISBN: 9780061874857
Ages 4-7
24 pages
Through the seasons, Cat and Mouse work together in the garden. Together, they watch seeds that turn into plants in the spring, and plants that turn into flowers in the summer, and flowers that turn into pumpkins in the fall. And when their pumpkins are finally ready, Mouse gives the best surprise of all to his friend, Cat!
SCARY SCHOOL
written by Derek The Ghost
illustrated by Scott M. Fischer
HarperCollins
ISBN: 9780061960925
Ages 8-12
256 pages
First-time author Derek the Ghost takes readers on a wild, hilarious ride as they join Charles "New Kid" Nukid and his very Scary friends --- including Petunia, Ramon the Zombie, and Peter the Wolf --- and find out that Scary School can be just as funny as it is spooky! Energetic black-and-white illustrations by Scott M. Fischer add a burst of visual excitement.
SKELETON CREEK #4: THE RAVEN
Patrick Carman
Scholastic Press
ISBN: 9780545249959
Ages 10-15
240 pages
Strange things happen in Skeleton Creek --- and when they do, Ryan writes them down and Sarah captures them on video. They've solved old mysteries. They've followed clues all over the country and underground. They've investigated secret societies. They've found their answers.
Or so they thought. Because there are still some secrets that Ryan and Sarah haven't uncovered yet. And there's still a shadowy figure standing in their path --- someone who doesn't want Ryan and Sarah digging up any more of the past.
THE SLEEPLESS LITTLE VAMPIRE
written and illustrated by Richard Egielski
Arthur A. Levine Books/Scholastic
ISBN: 9780545145978
Ages 4-8
32 pages
Even creatures of the night can find it hard to sleep!
What could possibly be keeping a little vampire up tonight? Is it the growling of werewolves? Is it the cackling of witches? Is it the rattling of skeletons? No! It's that all scary creatures sleep during the DAY, silly!
TILL DEATH DO US BARK: 43 Old Cemetery Road, Book 3
Kate Klise
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
ISBN: 9780547400365
Ages 9-12
144 pages
When a dog arrives at Spence Mansion, Seymour is overjoyed. His adoptive parents, Ignatius B. Grumply and Olive C. Spence, are less enthusiastic --- especially when Secret, the dog, begins barking all night long. Is it possible Secret just misses his old companion, the late Noah Breth, whose children are fighting like cats and dogs over their father’s money? Or does Secret have a secret that, in the end, will make the entire town of Ghastly howl with delight?
TRICK OR TREAT, MARLEY!
written by John Grogan
illustrated by Richard Cowdrey
HarperCollins
ISBN: 9780061857553
Ages 3-8
40 pages
It's Halloween, the silliest and spookiest night of the year. And when Marley's around, it's also the messiest! This year the family is throwing a big Halloween party, and Marley wants to help with the preparations. But in typical Marley fashion, instead of helping he causes havoc. He gets his head stuck in a pumpkin, turns the streamers into confetti, eats all of the Halloween candy, and that's just the beginning!
ZOMBIE IN LOVE
written by Kelly DiPucchio
illustrated by Scott Campbell
Atheneum Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 9781442402706
Ages 4-8
32 pages
Mortimer is looking for love. And he’s looking everywhere! He’s worked out at the gym (if only his arm wouldn’t keep falling off). He’s tried ballroom dancing lessons (but the ladies found him to be a bit stiff). When it seems all hope has died, could the girl of Mortimer’s dreams be just one horrifying shriek away?
ZOMBIE MOMMY: A Pals in Peril Tale
written by M.T. Anderson
illustrated by Kurt Cyrus
Beach Lane Books/Simon & Schuster
ISBN: 9781416986416
Ages 10-up
224 pages
Our intrepid heroes are home from their Delaware crime-stopping excitement, only to discover that Lily’s mom has become possessed by a menacing zombie who wants to take over the world! (Or, at least, the world of stage and screen.) Thank goodness Lily’s friends Katie, Jasper and foxy Blue-Hen-State monk Drgnan Pghlik are around --- accompanied by Jasper’s Astounding High-Pressure Holy Water Extruder Gun, of course --- to help save the day.
But not before some truly scary things happen, things involving stuff like killer tarantulas, web-footed teen vampire boys, bad weather (it’s a horror novel, remember?), and, well…the rest is just too terrifying for words!
--- Compiled and written by Ashlyn Behrndt
WHAT? YOU WANT MORE SPOOKY TALES? CHECK OUT THESE:
2010 Roundup,
2009 Roundup, 2008 Roundup, 2007 Roundup, 2006 Roundup, 2005 Roundup, 2004 Roundup, 2003 Roundup, Spooky Books and More Spooky Books.
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