Publications about books for children and young adults
The following books offer chills and thrills with some laughs thrown in for good measure. What more do middle-graders and middle-schoolers need come October 31st? Invisible Inkling: Dangerous Pumpkins by Emily Jenkins picks up the story of fourth-grade Brooklynite Hank Wolowitz and his bandipat friend Inkling (an invisible, endangered, pumpkin-loving creature). It’s almost Halloween, and [...]
If your library is anything like the ones I worked in years ago, there were two types of holiday books we could never keep on the shelves regardless of season. Christmas books went out all year round, and books about monsters, ghouls, the Great Pumpkin and anything with a “scary story” were always in demand. [...]
Sounds like the makings for a horror movie or witch’s brew. However, the topics covered in four new nonfiction books are less gory than they are invitations to broaden readers’ understanding of the history of humankind. HP Newquist’s The Book of Blood: From Legends and Leeches to Vampires and Veins provides an intriguing, encyclopedic profile [...]
Who needs candy? These four new treats will satisfy picture book fans hungry for Halloween fun. While delivering invitations to his Halloween party, ghost Oliver, star of Leo Landry’s Trick or Treat, doesn’t notice when one slips away and floats down to two boys. When “a little cow and a little jack-o’-lantern” unexpectedly arrive at [...]
This time of year, vampires, zombies, and other things that go bump in the night — already omnipresent in YA fantasy — get an extra workout. These new novels are no mere creature features, though, presenting carefully crafted dark fantasy worlds and nuanced “monsters” more like us than we might want to believe. In The [...]
…and maybe chuckles! Here are some of our favorite recent Halloween reads, including scary and not-so-scary stories alike.
The books recommended below were published within the last several years. Grade levels are only suggestions; the individual child is the real criterion. PICTURE BOOKS Suggested grade level listed with each entry. Ghosts in the House! by Kazuno Kohara (Roaring Brook) After moving into a haunted house, a young witch hops on her broom [...]
Halloween’s not just for little boys and ghouls. Here are some funny, eerie, and downright creepy titles to scare up readers of all ages. The goofiest of the group is David LaRochelle’s picture book The Haunted Hamburger and Other Ghostly Stories. Ghost siblings Franny and Frankie demand a story before bed. Of course, one is [...]
