Review: TESLA'S ATTIC by Neal Shusterman and Eric Elfman

Good characters, lots of humor, adventure...
... and Science!  

4.01 STARS from 170 GoodReaders

TESLA'S ATTIC is a smart, laugh-out-loud book from Neal Shusterman, Eric Elfman, and Disney-Hyperion. (At least I laughed out loud). 

It's a book that could have been written by Dan Brown, if he had Douglas Adam's sense of humor and ability to create engaging characters who had a wickedly sharp understanding of how the middle-school world churns. 

Back Story
After loosing his mother in a horrible house fire, Nick and his brother and father move from Florida to Colorado Springs where they take up residence in a weird old house.  In the attic there are a bunch of devices which they believe are old junk.  And since they need the money they decide to sell them at a garage sale.

What they don't know is that these are devices created by none other than Nikola Tesla, the famous physicist/inventor. And when Nick turns on a light to brighten the rainy day, events get bizarre very fast.  Crowds rush in, and items are scooped up by people who are apparently overwhelmed with a desire to buy them.  Items which they are destined to own.

As he looked around at this boneyard of uselessness, Nick Slate had a simple idea. An idea that would not only change the direction of his life, but the very course of human existence.

He would hold a garage sale.

~

In some ways this story is familiar.  It's like other middle-grade books were there is a group of young teens that find themselves facing off against an ancient organization of bad guys. But there's also a significant difference between this book and the others. And that is that Shusterman and Elfman do it right.  TESLA'S ATTIC is intelligent and carefully plotted.  They create imperfect characters and give them time to explain and express themselves.

I recommend this book for those that like quirky characters and weirdness.  The humor is geeky and pedantic.

Nick took a deep breath, his resolve setting in.  "We have to destroy it," he said. "We have to destroy them all."

The scorched-earth policy is a time-honored tradition of war.  Villagers about to be overrun by the enemy would burn their own homes and crops to deny the enemy shelter and food.  Armies would destroy their own munitions to prevent their attackers from using their own weapons against them.

The Russians used this strategy very successfully against a very irritated Napoleon, burning everything they had and retreating into Russia.  And since there was no end of Russia to retreat into, Napoleon was pretty much screwed.

Pam~

TESLA'S ATTIC

(The Accelerati Trilogy #1)

by Neal Shusterman (script writer for shows like Goosebumps, and books like UnWind, Everlost, and The Schwa Was Here)
and Eric Elfman (author of The Very Scary Almanac and The Almanac of the Gross, Disgusting & Totally Repulsive, and three X-Files novels)

Reading Information:
Word Count: 67,009
Page Count: 256
Accelerated Reader: 6.0 / points: 11.0
AR quiz: 16404

Thank you to Disney-Hyperion for providing me with an advanced copy of Tesla's Attic!

Review: BATTLING BOY by Paul Pope

**Starred Review** Kirkus
**Starred Review** PublishersWeekly

4.04 Stars from 132 GoodReaders

Being a hero isn't as easy as it looks.  And Battling Boy finds this out when he is suddenly thrust from his cozy home onto a world where he's expected to be a hero who can deal with crafty politicians, and defeat monsters and bad-guys.

Battling Boy and dad

Paul Pope's story is slick, quite funny, and definitely guy-friendly. It's the story of a hero-to-be, a hero in training. The story begins with Battling Boy at home.  He's expecting to go outside and play with his buddies; but unbeknownst to him, it's The Day!  And he's sent off to a world where the old hero was just buried.

I think a lot of readers are going to sympathize with Battling Boy's situation. The fact that he's growing up and struggling to find his unique identity.  I particularly liked the humor. There was one scene, for example, where Battling Boy calls his dad 'at the office'. He's facing his his first tough monster and  isn't doing well. The conversation between the two is choppy and curt because his dad is fighting his own monster. And without the images you'd think though that the two were talking about math homework, with the son frustrated, and dad a bit distracted at the office.

------------------------------------------------------------------
Review: STAR WARS Dawn of the Jedi series - FORCE STORM
Review: YUMMY: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty
------------------------------------------------------------------

Guy-friendly and one way to keep 'em reading.

Pam~


BATTLING BOY
Graphic Novel
by Paul Pope

Reading Information:
Word Count: 8,085
Page Count: 208
Accelerated Reader: 2.5 / points: 1.0
AR quiz: 160429
 -- sample pages and reviews available

Review: TURN LEFT AT THE COW by Lisa Bullard

4 STARS from 14 GoodReaders

Published October 8th 2013

TURN LEFT AT THE COW is a good, old-fashioned mystery book that has a lot of appeal.

Targeted Middle-graders, it's funny and has good characters and enough excitement and tension that moms, tweens, and young adults might also pick up.

Background
Travis is 13 and lives in California.  You might think that would be good, but the fact is that he's annoyed with his mom's new marriage. And when friction between Travis and his step-dad heats up, Travis decides to make a surprise trip to see his grandmother in rural Minnesota.

Grandmother is delighted to see him, however his arrival sets the community on edge because Trav looks a lot like his father; and his father is thought to have robbed a bank and either died or disappeared.


And thus begins the mystery.  Did Travis' dad steal the money?  Did he die?  Is he on a tropical island somewhere?  And why the heck did the stolen bank money suddenly appear in town?

With neighbor Kenny's and Iz's help, Travis sets out to discover what happened years ago; and exactly where the money has been all this time.  

Clue's abound in TURN LEFT AT THE COW and it's a solid little mystery suitable for almost age group.  I thought it was a good read, and I loved the humor, pot-lucks and other rural references. 

Pam~



TURN LEFT AT THE COW
by Lisa Bullard

Reading Information:
Page Count: 304
no reading information currently available
--get sample pages, reviews, and prices

Coretta Scott King Book Awards - Good Books for Kids

The American Library Association says of the Coretta Scott King book awards:

Designed to commemorate the life and works of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and to honor Mrs. Coretta Scott King for her courage and determination to continue the work for peace, the Coretta Scott King Book Awards annually recognize outstanding books for young adults and children by African American authors and illustrators that reflect the African American experience. Further, the Award encourages the artistic expression of the black experience via literature and the graphic arts in biographical, social, and historical treatments by African American authors and illustrators.

And here are the Winners...

2011 Winning Author


One Crazy Summer
by Rita Williams-Garcia

Other Awards and Mentions:
**starred review** Horn Book
**starred review** Booklist
**starred review** School Library Journal
**National Book Ward Finalist**

Description: Eleven-year-old Delphine has it together. Even though her mother, Cecile, abandoned her and her younger sisters, Vonetta and Fern, seven years ago. Even though her father and Big Ma will send them from Brooklyn to Oakland, California, to stay with Cecile for the summer. And even though Delphine will have to take care of her sisters, as usual, and learn the truth about the missing pieces of the past.

When the girls arrive in Oakland in the summer of 1968, Cecile wants nothing to do with them. She makes them eat Chinese takeout dinners, forbids them to enter her kitchen, and never explains the strange visitors with Afros and black berets who knock on her door. Rather than spend time with them, Cecile sends Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern to a summer camp sponsored by a revolutionary group, the Black Panthers, where the girls get a radical new education.

Set during one of the most tumultuous years in recent American history, one crazy summer is the heartbreaking, funny tale of three girls in search of the mother who abandoned them—an unforgettable story told by a distinguished author of books for children and teens, Rita Williams-Garcia.

• Reading level: Elementary/Middle-Grade
  
• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Amistad (January 26, 2010)
• ISBN-10: 0060760885
• Look Inside
• amazon
  

2011 Author Honors


Lockdown
by Walter Dean Myers

Other Awards and Mentions:
**starred review** Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Description: When I first got to Progress, it freaked me out to be locked in a room and unable to get out. But after a while, when you got to thinking about it, you knew nobody could get in, either.

It seems as if the only progress that's going on at Progress juvenile facility is moving from juvy jail to real jail. Reese wants out early, but is he supposed to just sit back and let his friend Toon get jumped? Then Reese gets a second chance when he's picked for the work program at a senior citizens' home. He doesn't mean to keep messing up, but it's not so easy, at Progress or in life. One of the residents, Mr. Hooft, gives him a particularly hard time. If he can convince Mr. Hooft that he's a decent person, not a criminal, maybe he'll be able to convince himself.

Acclaimed author Walter Dean Myers offers an honest story about finding a way to make it without getting lost in the shuffle.

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Amistad
• ISBN-10: 0061214825
• Look Inside
• amazon

Technical Stuff
Word Count: 45,613
Reading Level: 4.7
Interest Level: Young Adult/some Middle-Graders
Accelerated Reader: reading level: 4.7 / points: 7.0 / quiz: 135792




Ninth Ward
by Jewell Parker Rhodes

Description: In New Orleans' Ninth Ward, twelve-year-old Lanesha, who can see spirits, and her adopted grandmother have no choice but to stay and weather the storm as Hurricane Katrina bears down upon them.

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
• ISBN-10: 0316043079
• amazon
  

Technical Stuff
Word Count: 32,545
Reading Level: 3.3
Reading level: Tweens/Middle-Grade
Accelerated Reader: reading level: 3.3 / points: 4.0 / quiz: 139032





Yummy: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty
Written by G. Neri
Illustrated by Randy DuBurke

Other Awards and Mentions:
**starred review** Kirkus
**starred review** Booklist
**starred review** Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Description: A graphic novel based on the true story of Robert "Yummy" Sandifer, an eleven-year old African American gang member from Chicago who shot a young girl and was then shot by his own gang members.

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Lee & Low Books (July 30, 2010)
• ISBN-10: 1584302674
• Look Inside
• amazon
  

2011 Illustrator Winner


Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave
Illustrated by Bryan Collier,
Written by Laban Carrick Hill

Description: Dave was an extraordinary artist, poet, and potter living in South Carolina in the 1800s. He combined his superb artistry with deeply observant poetry, carved onto his pots, transcending the limitations he faced as a slave. In this inspiring and lyrical portrayal, National Book Award nominee Laban Carrick Hill's elegantly simple text and award-winning artist Bryan Collier's resplendent, earth-toned illustrations tell Dave's story, a story rich in history, hope, and long-lasting beauty.

• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (September 7, 2010)
• ISBN-10: 031610731X
• amazon
  

Technical Stuff
Word Count: 1,736
Reading Level: 6.0
Reading level: Elementary
Accelerated Reader: reading level: 6.0 / points: 0.5 / quiz: 139661 /



2011 Illustrator Honoree


Jimi Sounds Like a Rainbow: A Story of the Young Jimi Hendrix
Illustrated by Javaka Steptoe
Written by Gary Golio

Other Awards and Mentions:
**starred review** Kirkus
**starred review** School Library Journal

Description: Jimi Hendrix was many things: a superstar, a rebel, a hero, an innovator. But first, he was a boy named Jimmy who loved to draw and paint and listen to records. A boy who played air guitar with a broomstick and longed for a real guitar of his own. A boy who asked himself a question: Could someone paint pictures with sound?

This a story of a talented child who learns to see, hear, and interpret the world around him in his own unique way. It is also a story of a determined kid with a vision, who worked hard to become a devoted and masterful artist. Jimi Hendrix--a groundbreaking performer whose music shook the very foundations of rock 'n' roll.

• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Clarion Books (October 4, 2010)
• ISBN-10: 0618852794
• Look Inside
• amazon

Technical Stuff
Word Count: 1,740
Reading Level: 5.6
Reading level: Elementary/Middle-Grade
Accelerated Reader: reading level: 5.6 / points: 0.5 / quiz: 140255 /

Shakespeare's Hamlet for Kids by Brendan P. Kelso

I have long been a proponent of 'The Classics' for kids. Not that we haven't read all about The Pigeon, and Thomas & Percy, and Knufflebunny; but there's room too, I think, for Odysseus and the Greek gods, the Little House on the Prairie, and the poetry of Sandburg and Frost, amongst others.

Shakespeare was on my list too, but after re-reading the Richard plays, I realized that they would be a bit much for my two children, even though they are now 8 and 10. But not willing entirely to give up, I girded myself for battle with the internet and I started on a search for kid-friendly 'takes' on the bard's tales, which is how I discovered Mr. Kelso's "Hamlet".

Mr. Kelso writes that his entire purpose is to instill "the love of acting and Shakespeare into kids", and from my home experience I think his strategy works. He essentially sums up what Shakespeare says and puts those thoughts into terms that kids can understand. (Go see the sample at amazon.com to see for yourself.)

And the nice bit is that he includes quotes from the original, highlighting the words that appear in the 'adult' version of Hamlet. So that if your children are paying attention they will actually note the lines that we Americans are most familiar with. Lines like: "something is rotten in the state of Denmark", and "neither a borrower and lender be."


Now, for how the book is organized. The interesting thing about Brendan's Hamlet for Kids is that the book actually contains 3 versions of the play. All of the versions take about 10-15 minutes to read, but the number of speaking parts varies according to how many people you wish to have involved. It could be a reader of one, or a cast of nearly 2 dozen.

But let me give you an example of how this works.

Here are the characters with dialog in the first version of Hamlet for Kids:

Hamlet
Claudius
Gertrude
Polonius
Ophelia
Laertes
Ghost

**My daughter Laura and I read this version first and only had a little side-spliting confusion reading all the parts ourselves.


The Second version has all of the above characters plus:

Rosencrantz
Guildenstern
Horatio
--an unnamed actor
Osric
Forinbras
a Sailor

The final version adds Marcellus, Bernardo and the Grave Diggers, as well as a few other minor characters.


Having these different 'stagings' allows the adult(s) and child(ren) to pick the best version for them. Older children might prefer to read a longer version, younger children the shorter. Or vice-versa.

In any case, I'm excited by this series because it allows me to introduce Shakespeare to my children much earlier than I had thought possible. It allows us to discuss the plays on their level, and it introduces them to the Bard's best known lines so that when we hear them in other places, they will be reminded of where they come from.

THE SKINNY:::
Love this book. My daughter and I read it aloud together -- each taking parts -- and now we're in the process of re-reading it (acting it out?) with her little brother.

I really like that the grisly parts -- not to mention the 'adult' elements -- have been toned down and even made humorous, making Hamlet Totally Kid appropriate.

I also like that there are three different stagings of "Hamlet". By which I mean that there is a version that features just the 'basic characters', and then two others where the dialog is made more complicated, and where more characters are included. This allows you to adapt the reading to your child's age level. Or conversely, if you are a teacher or adult in charge of a large group of children, to include up to 20 of them in a production/reading.


Shakespeare's Hamlet for Kids:
3 Short Melodramatic Plays for 3 Group Sizes

• Paperback: 62 pages
• Publisher: CreateSpace (September 20, 2010)
• ISBN-10: 1453641548
• Look Inside
  
• amazon
  

OTHER Shakespeare for Kids books:

Julius Caeser for Kids | our review
Macbeth for Kids

See our Listmania list of Brendan's other books at Amazon

Pam's Picks - Best Tweener/Middle-Grade books of 2010

Here's my list of The BEST Middle-Grade Books that I read in 2010. (Most of these would also be suitable for Tweeners.)

Out of this list of 33 there are quite a few books that would fall into the Historical Fiction category. I've noted these --by putting them in green -- because they make great additions to history studies. Those books that I thought were OUTSTANDING have **'s of glory.

In the order I/we read them:

1. Riding Freedom by Pam Muñoz Ryan (historical fiction that both La-la and I enjoyed)
2. Odd and the Frost Giants
3. Keepers of the School: We the Children
4. Dead Guy Spy (Nathan Abercrombie, Accidental Zombie)
5. Brian's Return
6. Brian's Hunt
7. The Rifle (This one not recommended for Tweeners)
8. Mr. Tucket * (great boy-friendly series)
9. Notes From the Dog ** (exceptional!)
10. Call Me Francis Tucket (in the Tucket series)
11. Tucket's Ride (in the Tucket series)
12. Tucket's Home (in the Tucket series)
13. George Washington's Socks (outstanding historical fiction) *
14. Marvin Redpost, Kidnapped at Birth (didn't like this one, it's a series though)
15. Bug Boy *
16. Horse: A Genuine and Authentic Guide
17. Life-size sharks and other underwater creatures (fun book!)
18. Alcatraz versus The Evil Librarians (fun boy-friendly book in a series)
19. Trouble River (historical fiction, American West)
20. Shiloh ** (historical fiction, 19th Century, award winning book in a beloved series)
21. Sign of the Beaver
22. Red Pyramid **
23. Stinker from Space (scifi classic)
24. George's Marvelous Medicine (not my fave R. Dahl)
25. Black Jack: the Ballad of Jack Johnson (poem, early 19th Century)
26. Ender's Game: Battle School a graphic novel
27. The Witches Kitchen ** (by Allen Williams. Not for tweeners)
28. Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave *
29. Romeo and Juliet for kids **
30. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Ugly Truth *
31. You wouldn't want to be a crusader! *
32. The Amulet of Samarkand : a Bartimaeus graphic novel
33. A World Without Heroes ** (pre-order. Brandon Mull fan's will love this one)
34. Hamlet ala Brendan P. Kelso **


You can check out my Top KidLit picks here.
Top YA books of 2010 can be found here.

Shan's Top Lists of Picture books can be found here.
Her Top List of books for Middle-Schoolers can be found here.

The Boneshaker by Kate Milford, Andrea Offermann (Illustrator)

We've all heard about what can happen at the crossroads. It's where a person's path can change, sometimes for the good and sometimes for the bad. And that's where the Devil stands, waiting to tempt. But it's not the devil that comes to the small turn-of-the-century town of Arcane (1913), but Doctor Jake Limberleg's "Nostrum Fair and Technological Medicine Show".

After Limberleg's wagon looses a wheel at the crossroads, he decides to set up shop. He and his "4 Paragons of the Sciences" offer restorative cures via the sciences of phrenology, hydrotherapy, magnetism, and amber therapy. At first, the town is skeptical, but gradually they succumb to the group's soft sell, and it's then that it becomes apparent that there's a hidden cost for every asking.

Our witness to events is young 13 year-old Natalie; a girl who takes her own tom-boy path, showing more interest in machines than dresses. The 'smoke and mirrors' of Limberleg's Medicine Show offends her and she finds herself compelled to dig down and find out what's really going on.

In a way this is very much a coming-of-age story. Natalie finds that the reality of her childhood isn't the reality she is going to spend the rest of her life in. Her family isn't as strong as she thought, and her even her father isn't the invincible, all-knowing person she thought. A wonderful, layered Young Adult tale.

THE SKINNY:::

This is Kate Milford's first book and it's a doozy. Well written, it's beautifully paced. and has a nice dark edge to it. There's none of that mid-book sluggishness; and though there's a promise of further books to come, the ending is completely satisfying.

Other strengths include well drawn characters and a gentle unfolding of one mystery after another. And while the review copy I read doesn't have finalized art, it promises to be exactly right. (Yay! for the inclusion of art. I'm an adult and I love art.)

As far as age range, I'd say that this is a book for 13+. There's no bad language, sex, nor adult situations.

4 to 4.5 STARS. Younger readers will likely to find this to be entirely new and innovative. Old reading geezers like myself will find one or two familiar elements. I think of it as a homage. But all in all, very good writing, good characterization, lots that's original.

Pam
Somewhere in the X-burbs



The Boneshaker

• Accelerated Reading level : 6.0
  
• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Clarion Books (May 24, 2010)
• ISBN-10: 0547241879
• Take-a-Peek
• amazon

Technical Stuff
ATOS reading level 6.0
Word Count: 86,347
AR Quiz No. 137437


Praise:::
*starred review* Booklist

Review: THE WITCHES' KITCHEN

3.62 Stars from 84 GoodReaders

THE WITCHES' KITCHEN would be an good choice for a middle-grader who is looking to pick up a spooky read for October. 

The story is set in a dark and shifting landscape, where the principle characters aren't your usual set of pretty faces.

The tale begins with a bewitched toad who wakes to find herself dangling over a boiling, goat-legged cauldron. She manages to escape the seething pot, but soon discovers that while she doesn't feel comfortable in her present green skin, that she can't remember what she was before.

Quickly falling to the company of some of the Kitchen's minions, Toad sets out to solve this riddle, only to find that the two witch sisters, who had captured her in the first place, have not given up the hunt.

------------------------------------------------------------------
Review: MALICE (the series) (MG/YA)
Review:  THE MONSTRUMOLOGIST (YA)  
Reading List: RL STINE'S HORRORLAND series (MG)
------------------------------------------------------------------

THE WITCHES' KITCHEN is likely to please most middle-grade readers who like a spooky story. I would say that it's a step up from the popular Goosebumps series: more sophisticated writing and darker tone.

The Kitchen itself is a wondrous place that defies the rules of physics, and this provides the perfect setting for the evil that's afoot.

With a quick moving plot, young readers aren't going to be bothered by the slight flaws in writing that might give an adult pause.

The artwork, which is only in draft form in this Review Copy, promises to be fantastic and second to none.

Violence: yes. It's relatively mild, though descriptive. Imp biting off the tip of a nose... that sort of thing.
Read-aloud: I am actually reading this book to my children who are 8 and 10. It's a surprisingly good read-aloud.
Language:  yes. There are a few (perhaps 4) instances of the use of 'damn' and one 'pissed'.

Pam~

THE WITCHES' KITCHEN
by Allen Williams

Reading Information:
Word Count: 55,191
Page Count: 288
Accelerated Reader:  5.7 / points: 9.0
AR quiz: 140146
Lexile: 820L
--sample pages and other reviews available

More Spooky Books for Middle-Schoolers

Since you can't have enough spooky reads this time of year. Here are some more suggestions for Middle-Graders on up.



If you're looking for spooky reads for younger readers, take a look at Shan's List for Younger Children.

The Graveyard Book
By Neil Gaiman
*Starred Review* from Booklist

It takes a graveyard to raise a child.

Nobody Owens, known as Bod, is a normal boy. He would be completely normal if he didn't live in a graveyard, being raised by ghosts, with a guardian who belongs to neither the world of the living nor the dead. There are adventures in the graveyard for a boy—an ancient Indigo Man, a gateway to the abandoned city of ghouls, the strange and terrible Sleer. But if Bod leaves the graveyard, he will be in danger from the man Jack—who has already killed Bod's family.

Word Count: 67,380
Accelerated Reading level: 5.1 / points: 10.0
AR quiz: 125535
Lexile: 820L--amazon

In a Dark, Dark Room and Other Scary Stories
Retold by Alvin Schwartz

Seven spine-tingling stories in this one.

Word Count: 835
Accelerated Reading level: 2.5 / points: 0.5
AR quiz: 20232
Lexile: 430L--amazon



Closed for the Season
By Mary Downing Hahn

Winner of the 2010 Edgar Award for Best Juvenile Mystery

Two 13-year-old boys, Arthur and Logan, set out to solve the mystery of a murder that took place some years ago in the old house Logan's family has just moved into. The boys' quest takes them to the highest and lowest levels of society in their small Maryland town, and eventually to a derelict amusement park that is supposedly closed for the season.

Word Count: 43,034
Accelerated Reading level: 4.4 / points: 6.0
AR quiz: 130870
Lexile: 670L
--amazon

Mary Downing Hahn has written
a long line of excellent spookers.

• The Doll in the Garden: A Ghost Story
• Promises to the Dead
• Wait Till Helen Comes: A Ghost Story

...and many more.


The Halloween Tree
By Ray Bradbury

Fiona Webster --Eight boys set out on a Halloween night and are led into the depths of the past by a tall, mysterious character named Moundshroud. They ride on a black wind to autumn scenes in distant lands and times, where they witness other ways of celebrating this holiday about the dark time of year. Bradbury's lyrical prose whooshes along with the pell-mell rhythms of children running at night, screaming and laughing, and the reader is carried along by its sheer exuberance.

Word Count: 24,531
Accelerated Reading level: 4.7 / points: 4.0
AR quiz: 56490
--amazon


The Kneebone Boy

by Ellen Potter

Life in a small town can be pretty boring when everyone avoids you like the plague. But after their father unwittingly sends them to stay with an aunt who’s away on holiday, the Hardscrabble children take off on an adventure that begins in the seedy streets of London and ends in a peculiar sea village where legend has it a monstrous creature lives who is half boy and half animal. . . .

One of Pam's favorite reads for 2010. This story isn't particularly a Halloween story, but it is a great, fun mystery romp. (YA and Adults will like this one too.)

Word Count: 65,977
Accelerated Reading level: 5.5 / points: 10.0
AR quiz: 140523
Lexile: 850L--amazon



The Boneshaker
by Kate Milford, Andrea Offermann (Illus.)*Starred Review* from Booklist

We've all heard about what can happen at the crossroads. It's where a person's path can change, sometimes for the good and sometimes for the bad. And that's where the Devil stands, waiting to tempt. But it's not the devil (or is it?) that comes to the small turn-of-the-century town of Arcane (1913), but Doctor Jake Limberleg's "Nostrum Fair and Technological Medicine Show".

Accelerated Reading level: 6.0/ points: 14.0
AR quiz: 137437
--amazon


Don't miss Librarian Shan's List of Spooky Picture Books in three flavors: Very Mild, Slightly Spookier, Spookier Still!

Spooky Picture Books for Kids chosen by Shan

Every child has their own level of spooky and scary they can handle, so I’ve tried to pick a range of books here for the Halloween and October season.

3 Flavors of Scary:
Very Mild
Slightly Spookier
Spookier Still!

**all ratings from GoodReads


Very Mild:

Go Away Big Green Monster!
By Ed Emberly

4.18 avg rating — 7,415 ratings

A masterful book for toddlers and pre-k kids that allows them to construct, then deconstruct a monster’s face. They get to be in control and assert they’re not afraid!

The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything by Linda Williams—For the very young, this is a nice repetitive text as the woman encounters various items of clothing along the road that follow her. Never becomes too scary because, well, this little old lady is not afraid of anything. Has a cute ending too. Ages 3-6.

Lexile: AD550L

in Spanish!
Fuera de aqui, horrible monstruo verde!

Leonardo the Terrible Monster
by Mo Willems

**Starred Review** SchoolLibraryJournal
4.24 avg rating — 5,966 ratings

What happens when a monster just can’t scare anyone? This adorable little tale of what it takes to be a monster—and what it takes to be a friend, isn’t likely to scare anyone, but it’s worth a few chuckles. Ages 3-8.

Reading Information:
Word Count: 263
Page Count: 48
Accelerated Reader: 2.3 / points: 0.5
AR quiz: 88782
Lexile: AD670L

Boogie Knights
by Lisa Wheeler
pictures by Mark Siegel

**Starred Review** Kirkus
**Starred Review** SchoolLibraryJournal
**Starred Review** ALA BookList

3.74 avg rating — 155 ratings

The knights of the castle are awoken by the sounds of the madcap monster ball going on in the castle. At first a bit alarmed, they finally join in the fun. Ages 3-8.

Lexile: AD440L

The Squeaky Door
by Margaret Read MacDonald

3.93 avg rating — 188 ratings

Not so much spooky as hilarious as a squeaking door scares a little boy and the grandmother keeps trying to remedy the situation with more and more sleeping companions (a cat, dog, pig, etc.). Worth a read and great for those who really don’t like books with monsters or other spooky stuff.

Word Count: 862
Page Count: 40
Accelerated Reading level: 1.7 / points: 0.5
AR quiz: 105562
Lexile: AD250L

A Dark, Dark Tale
by Ruth Brown

3.83 avg rating — 180 ratings

You’ve probably heard a version or two of this tale before. It gets repetitive and is best read allowed in a slightly eerie voice. The dark, dark, wood leads to a dark, dark, house . . . and so forth. Everyone waits for the surprise at the end, which in Ruth Brown’s tale is very tame and adorable. Ages 3-6.

Lexile: 400L

Cinderella Skeleton
by Robert San Souci

**Starred Review** Kirkus
3.93 avg rating — 624 ratings

A rhyming version of the Cinderella story, but with skeletons! Not really all that spooky, but I thought it deserved a mention here. Ages 5-8.

Word Count: 1,139
Page Count: 32
Accelerated Reader: 5.2 / points: 0.5
AR quiz: 51023
Lexile: NP

There’s a Nightmare in My Closet
by Mercer Mayer

4.20 avg rating — 7,913 ratings

A young boy decides to confront the monster in his closet. Adorably illustrated and told in classic Mercer Mayer style! Ages 3-6.

Word Count: 153
Page Count: 32
Accelerated Reading level: 2.3 / points: 0.5
AR quiz: 5545
Lexile: AD670L


Slightly Spookier

The Teeny-Tiny Woman
by Paul Galdone

3.84 avg rating — 182 ratings

Another story that’s got plenty of retellings out there. A teeny-tiny woman finds a teeny-tiny bone and winds up with more than a teeny-tiny haunting for her trouble. The last line is a great one for some chuckles. Ages 6-8.

Lexile: NC880L


The Funny Little Woman
retold by Arlene Mosel
Blair Lent (Illustrator)

**1973 Caldecott Winner**
3.92 avg rating — 1,268 ratings

The folk tale of a woman who chases her dumpling that falls into a crack in the floor and winds up facing a family of Oni demons. Now she must escape the Oni and return home! Ages 6-9yrs.

Word Count: 845
Page Count: 40
Accelerated Reading level: 3.6 / points: 0.5
AR quiz: 7568
Lexile: 570L

The King of the Cats
by Paul Galdone

4.10 avg rating — 21 ratings

An old irish tale that Galdone retells here of a gravedigger who has a chilling encounter with cats. Spooky and atmospheric without every being truly frightening, it’s a great one for reading aloud and storytelling on a dark evening. Ages 6-12 yrs.

A Big, Spooky House
by Donna Washington

4.25 avg rating — 20 ratings

An old ghost story revisited where progressively larger and larger cats ask the visitor to the house “are you gonna be here when John gets here?” This great retelling leaves the ending a bit open, so your readers can decide who “John” is. Deliciously spooky. Ages 8-12.

  The Dancing Skeleton
by Cynthia C. DeFelice
illustrated by Robert Andrew Parker

3.83 avg rating — 24 ratings

An ornery man who dies refuses to stay in his coffin when a fiddler comes to pay respects to his widow. A fun and creepy tale to tell aloud. 6-12.

Word Count: 837
Page Count: 32
Accelerated Reader: 3.2 / points: 0.5
AR quiz: 110866


Spookier Still!

Fergus and the Night Demon
--an Irish ghost story 
AND HERE
by Jim Murphy
illustrated by John Manders—

3.83 avg rating — 35 ratings

Fergus, the laziest boy in town encounters a demon one night who declares his time has come. But our clever lad figures a way out of certain doom—and learns his lesson! Ages 8-12.

Word Count: 1,460
Page Count: 32
Accelerated Reading level: 4.8 / points: 0.5
AR quiz: 110644

The Tailypo
by Joanna and Paul Galdone

 4.19 avg rating — 150 ratings

A bit scarier than King of the Cats! In this story a man cuts off the tail of a strange beast and eats it for dinner, only to have the beast come back, looking for it’s tail! Nicely Chilling. Ages 8-12.

Word Count: 922
Page Count: 40
Accelerated Reading level: 3.5 / points: 0.5
AR quiz: 6500
Lexile: AD880L

Nightmares: Poems to Trouble Your Sleep
by Jack Prelutsky

4.21 avg rating — 102 ratings

Master children’s poet Jack Prelutsky penned this creepy poetry collection back at the beginning of his career—and also pennedThe Headless Horseman Rides Tonight. These poems are ghastly, grim and gross—delightful fare for the Halloween season! Ages 8-12

Lexile: NP
Reading Counts!: 6.3 / points:2.0

The Ghost of Sifty-Sifty Sam
by Angela Shelf Medearis
illustrated by Jacqueline Rogers

4.17 avg rating — 29 ratings

A cook desperate for the money reward offered takes up the challenge to stay at a haunted house overnight. Sifty-Sifty Sam comes calling and our hero finds a way to satisfy a hungry ghost. Ages 8-12.

Word Count: 1156
Page Count: 32
Accelerated Reading level: 4.4 / points: 0.5
AR quiz: 18676

The Spider and the Fly
based on the poem
AND HERE
by Mary Howitt
illustrations by Tony DiTerlizzi

4.19 avg rating — 4,711 ratings

You might be familiar with this creepy poem, but DiTerlizzi’s illustrations are brilliant in helping convey the mood and providing for an eerie counterpart. Fun to read with older kids! Ages 9-12.

Word Count: 692
Page Count: 40
Accelerated Reading level: 4.8 / points: 0.5
AR quiz: 64285
Lexile: NP


See also,
More Spooky Books for Middle-Schoolers




compiled by Shan
updated by Pam - October 2013