Shadow in the woods and other scary stories

Max Brallier

Book - 2020

Hugh does not like walking home alone through the woods which the other children say is inhabited by a monster, but today he has no choice, and it is not only his shadow that follows him--and that is only one of five scary stories included in this collection.

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Children's Room Show me where

jREADER/Brallier Max
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Location Call Number   Status
Children's Room jREADER/Brallier Max Due Apr 13, 2024
Subjects
Genres
Horror fiction
Readers (Publications)
Published
New York : Acorn/Scholastic Inc 2020.
Language
English
Main Author
Max Brallier (author, -)
Other Authors
Letizia Rubegni (illustrator)
Edition
First edition
Physical Description
55 pages : color illustrations ; 18 cm
Audience
Ages 5-7.
Grades K-1.
ISBN
9781338615425
9781338615418
  • Shadow in the woods
  • The monster in my room
  • Fingernails
  • The writing on the wall
  • The animal behind the locker.
Review by Kirkus Book Review

Five more spooky shorts from the haunting Mr. Shivers. Yet another box is found at the pseudo-author's doorstep along with a note that promises "strange and scary stories." This time, the box contains a rusty padlock, an owl's feather, a flashlight battery, fingernail clippings, and a tuft of red hair. Each item correlates to one of the ensuing tales, all told in the third person. Hugh walks home late from school one night and encounters an owl--or is it a monster? Ruby drops her flashlight while looking for a creature under her bed. Tommy, a habitual fingernail chewer, starts using his teeth on other people. Sophie writes a message on the wall of her new room and gets an odd reply. Finally, there's something--"SCRATCH-SCRATCH"--behind Emma's locker. Brallier effectively repeats the screamworthy formula established in Beneath the Bed and Other Scary Stories (2019) to add a sense of familiarity to the foreboding. Rubegni's full-color cartoon illustrations depict racially diverse schoolchildren. A combination of spot, panel, and full-page illustrations helps add drama to the pacing. The abrupt, disquieting endings mix the creepy and weird with the genuinely terrifying, creating a nice balance as readers jump bravely between stories. Each page has around 50 words or less, with longer paragraphs broken up with ample leading and spacing. The final page includes drawing instructions and a short creative writing prompt. Easy to read but definitely not easy to forget. (Early reader/horror. 5-7) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.