Scary Books for Kids, Summer Reading Part III

 The Graveyard Book and Coraline by Neil Gaiman
I love these two books. They are some of my all time fav children's books. I read Coraline out loud to my 8th grade class and they loved it. The illustrations are sooo creepy and actually the movie Coraline best depicts the tone and feel of the book.

The Graveyard Book

The Graveyard Book is very similar to Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling.  Both are more like a collection of short stories that fit together to form one whole story, a young boy is lost from his family and taken in by not his kind, and they both learn skills to help them survive. This is the story of Nobody Owens, Bod for short, who is taken in by the residents of the graveyard after his family is killed. Bod learns all sorts of new things, becomes friends with ghosts and has to navigate the dangers of the graveyard and supernatural perils. I listened to this book which is incidentally read by Neil Gaiman, who gives a great performance. What I wouldn't give to spin a tale like Neil Gaiman.

Coraline

Coraline is bored. Her parents ignore her, her neighbors mispronounce her name and she's left to her own devices most of the time. One rainy day, she discovers another door to another world. Her neighbors are better and fanciful, her Other Mother and her Other Father are attentive and doting. It seems to be great on the Other Side of the door. Until her Other Mother wants Coraline to stay forever. The summary really doesn't do it justice. The author in the teacher's guide in one of the books says that Coraline is one of the most interesting book he's ever written-- that kids who read it, relate to Coraline and see the wonder and adventure, but for the adults, it's downright scary.

Wait Till Helen Comes by Mary Downing Hahn
Some of you may recognize this cover. I always thought the young girl looked had an awful haircut and looked like a boy. Yes, this book is written for grades 4-7. So it'll be fast read and take you down memory lane (if you read this in school). Molly dislikes her young stepsister Heather and the new house with the graveyard at the bottom. Heather seems drawn to the graveyard and Molly discovers the spirit of Helen trying to lure Heather to her doom. It's fast-paced and it was scary when I read it last. A while ago, I'll admit.

Witches by Roald Dahl
Maybe the BFG is more your style with frobscotch and whizzpoppers, but The Witches is also a great read. Really anything by Roald Dahl is fun. Also one of those funny as a kid and slightly disturbing as an adult books. Read it if you haven't. It's about witches who want to rid the world of children and how one small boy tries to stop them.

Cirque du Freak by Darren Shan
Became a movie called the Vampire's Assistant, which flopped. This is a book for boys who don't like to read. I read 1-5 (?) and was fine until I got grossed out for the last couple of books. It's dark. Too much blood and gore, but it does get reluctant boy readers reading.  Not really recommending this book for summer reading, just keep it in mind for your boys down the road.

Abhorsen Trilogy by Garth Nix
No, there aren't that many books but there are many different covers. I read the ones in the middle and I think that covers speak volumes about the book. It matters. I look at the cover all the time when I'm reading. By the way, "Across the Wall" is a collection of short stories so I'm not really counting it. By the way, you can't tell from the cover, but Sabriel is a girl. This series follows strong female protagonists as they take on the heavy responsibility of being the Abhorsen, the person who keeps dead things dead in the kingdom of Ancelstierre. the concept could also be founded on Neil Gaiman's "Stardust" or the other way around. These books were actually the inspiration for the book I'm writing. I highly recommend listening to these books as they are read by Tim Curry. No one does a better "bad guy" than Tim Curry. Fantastic performance. Garth Nix weaves a wonderful world with a system of magic that is complete and whole. I wish he would write more from this series. It's just wonderful!