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[CCBC-Net] Scary stories
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From: Julie Corsaro <juliecorsaro2>
Date: Thu, 20 Oct 2005 09:01:34 -0400
Brian Selznick's The Houdini Box is not exactly scary but it works very well at this time of the year, particulary with second through fourth graders. Like Melody, I've also used Janice Del Negro's Lucy Dove and Tony Johnston's colonial-era The Ghost of Nicholas Greebe with this age group.
I've often had the experience of primary grade students asking for a scary book but then being told that a book is "too scary" based on the pictures. Bill Martin's The Ghost-Eyed Tree is one book that comes to mind. Hitch-Bradley mentioned Galdone's Taily-Po and Angela Shelf Medearis also has a version that can be used for a spooky compare-and-contrast lesson. I agree with Melody that folklore is a good way to go, and I like Mercer Mayer's Liza Lou and the Yella Belly Swamp (Mayer's There's a Nightmare in My Closet and its companions are great for kids as young as preschool). Molly Bang's beginning reader Wiley and the Hairy Man is terrific for storytelling. Storyteller Laura Simm's Rotten Teeth has a gentle gross factor.
Third and fourth graders asking for scary stories often want short stories and are usually more than satisfied with Schwartz's "scary" and San Souci's
"shivery" collections. The Thing at the Foot of the Bed and Whistle in the Graveyard are old but still gold. I also recommend Betty Ren Wright's novels to this age group. I've booktalked Wait Till Helen Comes by Mary Downing Hahn and The Ghost of Fossil Glen to students in grades four-six. There is always a waiting list for these titles. Adele Griffin's Witch Twin books aren't scary but fit in with the season and are popular with girls as early as third grade.
At middle school, the first chapter of Avi's thriller Wolf Rider makes a great booktalk. Kids still like Lois Duncan's and Joan Lowry Nixon's scary books. Paul Jenning's has a hilarious ghost story "The Skeleton in the Dunny," in his collection, Unreal!: Eight Surprising Stories. It's full of bathroom humor yet manages (though barely) to stay on the right side of the good taste fence
Julie Corsaro
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Received on Thu 20 Oct 2005 08:01:34 AM CDT
Date: Thu, 20 Oct 2005 09:01:34 -0400
Brian Selznick's The Houdini Box is not exactly scary but it works very well at this time of the year, particulary with second through fourth graders. Like Melody, I've also used Janice Del Negro's Lucy Dove and Tony Johnston's colonial-era The Ghost of Nicholas Greebe with this age group.
I've often had the experience of primary grade students asking for a scary book but then being told that a book is "too scary" based on the pictures. Bill Martin's The Ghost-Eyed Tree is one book that comes to mind. Hitch-Bradley mentioned Galdone's Taily-Po and Angela Shelf Medearis also has a version that can be used for a spooky compare-and-contrast lesson. I agree with Melody that folklore is a good way to go, and I like Mercer Mayer's Liza Lou and the Yella Belly Swamp (Mayer's There's a Nightmare in My Closet and its companions are great for kids as young as preschool). Molly Bang's beginning reader Wiley and the Hairy Man is terrific for storytelling. Storyteller Laura Simm's Rotten Teeth has a gentle gross factor.
Third and fourth graders asking for scary stories often want short stories and are usually more than satisfied with Schwartz's "scary" and San Souci's
"shivery" collections. The Thing at the Foot of the Bed and Whistle in the Graveyard are old but still gold. I also recommend Betty Ren Wright's novels to this age group. I've booktalked Wait Till Helen Comes by Mary Downing Hahn and The Ghost of Fossil Glen to students in grades four-six. There is always a waiting list for these titles. Adele Griffin's Witch Twin books aren't scary but fit in with the season and are popular with girls as early as third grade.
At middle school, the first chapter of Avi's thriller Wolf Rider makes a great booktalk. Kids still like Lois Duncan's and Joan Lowry Nixon's scary books. Paul Jenning's has a hilarious ghost story "The Skeleton in the Dunny," in his collection, Unreal!: Eight Surprising Stories. It's full of bathroom humor yet manages (though barely) to stay on the right side of the good taste fence
Julie Corsaro
_________________________________________________________________ Express yourself instantly with MSN Messenger! Download today - it's FREE! http://messenger.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200471ave/direct/01/
Received on Thu 20 Oct 2005 08:01:34 AM CDT
