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Halloween Scares for Beginning Series Readers

Series books get a bad rap. Newly minted independent readers LIVE for series books. As in any genre fiction, there are conventions to every series book– similar structure, predictable plots, characters who appear consistently (and can usually be described in just a couple of words) and character types that repeat (obnoxious jokester, daredevil, athlete, etc.)

These are great for beginning readers. They follow the familiar characters through a story that allows them to use their new skills to predict what happens next and solve a mystery or survive an adventure. Series books allow kids to put into practice the skills they have mastered to really become independent readers.

Are series books for beginning readers great literature? Most are probably not. But, while some of them drive me stinkin’ crazy (Geronimo Stilton, anyone?) some are really good, fun reads, occasionally informative, and with mystery, adventure, and suspense to grab any reader… and often, they include kids just like the ones who might be reading the books. And whether you or I like the writing style or the characters or not… these books are sticking around. Goosebumps and its related series, which aren’t included on this list, are now reaching a second generation of readers! Got a series reader looking for a Halloween book? I’ve got some lists for you. The first is a list of series that touch on scary or supernatural topics, usually with a generous dose of humor. Following that, I’ve got a list of Halloween titles from series you might already recognize on the shelf that you can hand to your favorite Geronimo Stilton fan. Enjoy!

 

Scary and Supernatural Series for Kids 

43 Old Cemetery Road: Dying to Meet You (book 1) by Kate Klise and M. Sarah Klise (grades 3 and up)

Nathaniel Fludd, Beastologist: Flight of the Phoenix (book 1) by R.L. LaFevers and Kelly Murphy (grades 3 and up)

The Poison Apple Books: The Dead End (book 1) by Mimi McCoy. This series is written by various authors. (grades 3 and up)

My Sister the Vampire: Switched (book 1) by Sienna Mercer (grades 3 and up)

Scooby-Doo Readers, Level 2: The Map in the Machine (book 1) by Gail Herman (grade 1 and up)

The Hamlet Chronicles: Seven Spiders Spinning (book 1) by Gregory Maguire (grades 3 and up)

The Bailey School Kids: Vampires Don’t Wear Polka Dots (book 1) by Debbie Dadey and Marcia Thornton (grades 2 and up)

Dragonbreath: Dragonbreath (book 1) by Ursula Vernon (grades 3 and up)

Tales from the House of Bunnicula: It Came From Underneath the Bed! (book 1) by James Howe and Brett Helquist (grades 2 and up)

Creepella von Cacklefur:  The Thirteen Ghosts: A Geronimo Stilton Adventure (book 1) by Geronimo Stilton (grades 1 and up)

 

If you have a series lover already and want to get them into the Halloween spirit, you are in luck… many popular children’s series have titles that are specifically targeted for Halloween or have a supernatural tie-in.

 

 Individual Halloween Titles in Popular Series Books

Geronimo Stilton: Cat and Mouse in a Haunted House (book 3) by Geronimo Stilton (grades 2 and up)

Ivy and Bean: The Ghost That Had To Go (book 2) by Annie Barrows and Sophie Blackall (grades 1 and up)

Stink Moody: Stink and the Midnight Zombie Walk (book 7) by Megan MacDonald and Peter Reynolds (K and up)

Magic Tree House: Haunted Castle on Hallows Eve (book 30) by Mary Pope Osborne and Sal Murdocca (K and up)

Junie B., First Grader: Boo! And I Mean It! (book 24) by Barbara Park and Denise Brunkus (grades 1 and up)

Bailey School Kids: Mrs. Jeepers’ Scariest Halloween Ever (Bailey School Kids Super Special #7) by Debbie Dadey and Marcia Thornton Jones (grades 1 and up)

Bailey School Kids: Aliens Don’t Carve Jack O’Lanterns (Bailey School Kids Holiday Special Edition) by Debbie Dadey and Marcia Thornton Jones. (grades 1 and up)

A to Z Mysteries: Sleepy Hollow Sleepover(Super Edition #4) by Ron Roy(K and up)

Dragonbreath: No Such Thing As Ghosts (book 5) by Ursula Vernon (grades 3 and up)

American Girl: Meet Molly, An American Girl: 1944 (book one) by Valerie Tripp and Nick Backes (grades 3 and up)

Piper Reed: Piper Reed, Campfire Girl (book four) by Kimberly Willis Holt (grades 3 and up)

Nate the Great: Nate the Great and the Halloween Hunt (book twelve) by Marjorie Weiman Sharmat and Marc Simont (K and up)

Cam Jansen: The Mystery At The Haunted House by David Adler (book thirteen) by David A. Adler and Susanna Natti (grades 2 and up)

Henry and Mudge: Henry and Mudge Under the Yellow Moon (book 3) by Cynthia Rylant  and Sucie Stevenson(K and up)

 

I hope you and your series reader find something here that works for a nice creepy Halloween read. Enjoy!

Posted on October 30, 2012 by , Reply

Is Any Book A Good Book?

Well, the answer to that question is obvious, I think. Of course not. Some books are just not very good. As a review site, of course we discriminate between what makes a story worth reading, and what doesn’t. Otherwise, what good would we be as a resource for readers and librarians? We all have limited time and money for books.

But MonsterLibrarian.com is just that. A resource. People see what we have to say and make their own choices based on that, and probably also recommendations from friends, colleagues, Goodreads, and other review sites, advertisements on the Internet, catalogs and flyers in your mailbox (if you’re a librarian) and reviews in magazines and publications of various kinds. You choose where you’ll go for recommendations, and who you’ll trust to direct you to the “next good book” as we like to say here. I hope you choose to come here and take advantage of our hard work.

To go a little further, is any book that gets people reading a “good book”? I think Dylan, the Monster Librarian, would say yes. And this is a philosophy that I see a lot. Are the Twilight books good books? They got a lot of people reading. That’s a good thing… but are they good books? I think the writing is pretty bad, so I’m going to say no, I don’t think they are. Would I buy them for my YA collection, if I were buying for one? With such high demand, you’ve gotta give them what they want. You don’t take books out of the hands of people who are desperate to read them, especially if this is the first time they’ve ever really wanted to read a book. And I do know people for whom Twilight was the first book they read from cover to cover. But not the last.

I don’t especially like the school of thought that says “well, it’s okay to let them get the bug with R.L. Stine, because at least they’re reading, and that will transfer into a love of great literature in the future”. Maybe, but that’s condescending to those kids. Stine doesn’t even pretend that his books have classic literary value. Like a lot of series books, his books use fairly simple language, predictable structure, and cliffhangers at the endings of chapters to keep kids going. Not everything kids read is great literature, even in the classroom. If you have seen some of the little phonics readers kids use you know that is not even expected. “I put my hat in the van. I put the map in the van. Dad gets in the van”. Simple language, predictable structure (no cliffhangers, though, sadly). We can share the cool books that aren’t Goosebumps or Twilight without seeing them as just a stepping stone. They’re where the reader IS. And maybe the reader will be there for a long time. There are enough Goosebumps books and knockoffs to last the kid who wants them or needs them for a very long time.

But there are also a lot of other books– fiction, nonfiction, and graphic novels for kids that are funny and suspenseful and unbelievable. And someday kids will be done with Goosebumps, just like kids from 30 years ago eventually outgrew the series adventures of Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield and kids from 60 years ago eventually outgrew Nancy Drew to go on to other kinds of books. Maybe their interests will take them in the direction of new, similar series and genre fiction(which is often, despite its disreputable status in literary circles, extremely good) and maybe their reading will be shaped by other interests and experiences. Some of those books might be food for thought– but maybe not the ones we might expect. And some may be pure escapism (also maybe not the ones we might expect).

Not every book is a good book. But sometimes it’s enough to tell a good story, one that fits readers at their particular time and place. But those books don’t exist in isolation, even if the reader has a narrow view. Put those stories in the midst of many, and let serendipity take us on its meandering course on the shelves and through the stacks, whether that’s in the classroom, in the library, or at home.

Posted on September 19, 2012 by , Reply

Monster Kid Request: Move Over, Judy Moody!

If you are a children’s librarian, or a school librarian, or anyone who works with upper elementary aged kids, you are probably familiar with Judy Moody. Judy Moody is one of the less annoying protagonists that appear in series books targeted to girls. She isn’t concerned with looks or popularity, she wants to be a doctor, and her concerns go beyond the superficial. I find her annoying anyway. She rolls her eyes and says “boring” a lot, and she’s not very nice to her younger brother, who she’s nicknamed Stink.

But Stink is now coming into his own. He has his own series of books, with witty cartoons (supposedly drawn by him) and fun stories that even manage to sneak in a little learning. These books are aimed at kids who are a little younger, and my kids, who are 4 and 6,  will sit and listen to me read a Stink book for over an hour. I can’t say I like everything about the books, but they are enjoyable and funny without having nearly as much name calling or gross humor as some other books aimed at kids this age.

What’s really interesting to me, though, is that the Stink Moody website has zoomed in on one particular book (that I haven’t read) and created a whole event kit around the theme. The book is Stink and the Midnight Zombie Walk and the event is… wait for it… Reading Is Undead. The kit even ties in last summer’s movie, Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer, which, in addition to Stink’s extensive hunt for the elusive Bigfoot (which resulted in some pretty fun movie tie-in books that we do own, due to the Monster Kid’s obsession with Bigfoot and other cryptids) also has a fairly memorable zombie scene. Now, the Monster Kid is not allowed to watch zombie movies, and we try to tone the whole zombie thing down here, but there it is- another kid his age who gets into monsters, at probably the most age appropriate and non-gory way possible (yes, you may laugh at me now).

I think Stink and his friends could appeal to both girls and boys, especially because of the Judy Moody connection (the series is very popular) but, given how many books are already in the series and how many themes they address, I think it’s crazy fun that Candlewick Press is promoting reading, and the Stink Moody books, with cryptids and zombies. There are so many ways to get kids to read using this promotion, I encourage you to check it out, as well as the other Stink Moody books and resources, available here.

Posted on June 20, 2012 by , 3 comments
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