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Book List: Grady Hendrix’s Summer Scares Recommendations (Middle Grade)

Well, we’re about halfway through summer now, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have time for more summer reading!

The HWA’s summer reading recommendation program, Summer Scares, is ongoing. Earlier this summer, I went over committee member Kiera Parrot’s middle grade suggestions, but she isn’t the only one on the committee to have made additional recommendations.  Grady Hendrix, author of a number of excellent books including the reference book Paperbacks from Hell, which covers paperback novels from the 1970s and 1980s, recommended a few older titles.

 

Wait Till Helen Comes by Mary Downing Hahn

HarperCollins, 1987

ISBN-13: 978-0380704422

Available: Library binding, paperback, Kindle edition, audiobook, MP3 CD

 

You might remember that Kiera Parrot recommended a recent book by Mary Downing Hahn, The Girl in the Locked Room, in our previous booklist of middle-grade recommendations for Summer Scares. Mary Downing Hahn has been writing since the 1970s, and Wait Till Helen Comes is one of her earlier books.  Published in 1986, it has received multiple reader’s choice awards and was made into a movie. A reread of Wait Till Helen Comes shows that it is still seriously creepy. The story starts with narrator Molly’s mother remarrying to a man named Dave, whose daughter Heather is troubled and possessive of her father after her mother died in a fire. The new family moves to a converted church in the middle of nowhere, under Molly’s protest. Molly’s mother tells Molly that as the older child, it is her responsibility to take care of and get along with Heather, who is openly hostile to both of them, to Dave’s obliviousness.

Together, Molly and Heather discover a graveyard on the property, with a stone that has the initials H.E.H, the same as Heather’s. Heather becomes obsessed with discovering who it is, and Molly witnesses her having a conversation with a ghost girl called Helen. When Molly brings it up with their parents, Heather denies it and Dave and Molly’s mother dismiss it as superstition and imagination. When Heather and Molly are alone, though, Heather threatens Molly, and one day when the family is out of the house, they return to discover that Molly’s and her mother’s things have been destroyed. Once again, their parents accuse Molly of making things up to make things more difficult for Heather.

After learning that Helen drowned after escaping a fire where her parents died, and that a number of girls have drowned since then in a nearby pond, Molly decides she must break Helen’s hold over Heather before someone dies. The climactic scene between Helen, Heather, and Molly, will leave your heart pounding fast.  While far from perfect, the story is atmospheric, suspenseful, and compelling enough to overlook any flaws, especially if you’re 9 years old. The book does deal with death, grief, and suicide, so some people have raised objections to it in the past, but in the fantasy context I don’t think it’s likely to lead to more.

 

The House With a Clock in Its Walls (Lewis Barnavelt, #1) by John Bellairs, illustrated by Edward Gorey

Puffin, 2004 (reprint edition)

ISBN-13: 978-0451481283

Available: Library binding, paperback, Kindle edition, audiobook, audio CD

 

First published in 1973, this is another classic, not just in middle-grade horror (or Gothic mystery, if you’d rather), but in children’s literature. It is 1948, and 10 year old Lewis Barnavelt’s parents have died, so he is sent to live with his eccentric Uncle Jonathan. Jonathan and his neighbor, Mrs. Zimmerman, are magicians, and Jonathan’s house previously belonged to Isaac Izzard, a warlock, or black magician, who has a clock with an unknown purpose ticking away in the walls. As a result, Jonathan has filled the house with clocks to cover over the sound. It’s enough to make a magician uneasy enough to stop the clocks in the middle of the night, and Lewis is just a kid.

If Lewis only had to interact with Uncle Jonathan and Mrs. Zimmerman, the book would be filled with oddities, quirky moments, minor wonders, and an illustration of what the friendship of long-term, close, and very different friends looks and feels like. And it does have those things. But when school starts, Lewis has to find a place among his peers, and as he’s not athletic, he’s soon left in the dust. One of the popular, athletic boys breaks a leg and starts spending time helping Lewis with athletic skills, and in hopes of continuing the friendship Lewis boasts of his uncle’s magical powers, first claiming that Jonathan can block the moon and then suggesting that the two boys use his spellbook to raise the dead. Sneaking out in the middle of the night, Lewis and his friend recite the spell in front of an unknown tomb and really do manage to raise the dead. Unsettled by his experiences with magic, Lewis’ friend abandons him, leaving him on his own, to deal with the person he has raised from what turns out to be Isaac Izzard’s crypt– a person who wants to find the clock in the walls of his uncle’s house.

This is a great book for so many reasons. Lewis himself is kind of an oddball kid, reading historical lectures late into the night and reciting Catholic prayers when he’s anxious. Awkward around his peers, he is interested in puzzles and spells, and brave enough to confront his fears. While he doesn’t want to admit his mistakes, in the end he takes responsibility for his actions and resolves what has become a terrifying situation in a creative way. In a strange environment, he adapts to becoming part of the rather odd friendship/family of Mrs. Zimmerman and Uncle Jonathan, who may bicker with each other but are loyal and stand up for each other when it counts. You might have to get today’s impatient kids to stick with the book through the first few pages of Lewis’ train ride and Latin recitations, but upon meeting Uncle Jonathan, they’ll want to know more. Even though the story has a slow build, it is interesting along the way, and once it speeds up, readers won’t want to stop.

I can’t not mention that Edward Gorey illustrated this book. His illustrations are what set the mood for the story, and the book wouldn’t be the same without them.

 

Gegege no Kitaro  (The Birth of Kitaro) by Shigeru Mizuki

Drawn & Quarterly, 2016

ISBN-13: 978-1770462281

Available: Paperback

 

Kitaro is a manga series by artist Shigeru Mizuki that dates back to the 1960s, described by David Merrill as ” the seminal yokai-busting horror-fantasy-folkore-adventure-comedy manga”. The titular character, Kitaro, is a young boy with one eye who serves as a diplomat between humans and yokai (Japanese folk monsters).  Originally a more adult title called Graveyard Kitaro, the series really took off when it was retooled as GeGeGe no Kitaro to be more of a funny-scary series for elementary-aged kids, and was even spun off into several different television shows.  While Kitaro is somewhat of a pop culture phenomenon in Japan, it hasn’t been well-known in the United States. The publisher Drawn & Quarterly has been releasing English-language volumes of Kitaro over the past several years. The first is out of print, but The Birth of Kitaro shares Kitaro’s origin story, so it might be a good place to start. I haven’t had the opportunity to examine these myself, but I saw and (briefly) blogged about Mizuki’s yokai art last year, and it is amazing. For some adult manga lovers, Kitaro may have more nostalgia or historic value than anything else, but it looks to be a great choice for middle-grade readers who love monsters.

 

Wait Till Helen Comes and The House With a Clock in Its Walls are pretty well known in the world of children’s literature, but Kitaro won’t be familiar to a lot of librarians or middle-grade readers. Summer Scares gives you the opportunity not only to introduce some old, familiar favorites, but to bring to light some lesser-known titles that deserve more of a spotlight and increase the breadth of kids’ exposure to manga as well as to creatures and stories from another country and culture. Enjoy!

 

Posted on July 10, 2019 by , Reply

Book List: Summer Scares Recommendations (Middle Grade)

With school nearly out and summer reading just around the corner, we can probably expect to see programming and suggestions from the HWA regarding their Summer Scares program.

I think it’s really cool that Summer Scares includes middle-grade fiction. Middle-grade fiction is a slippery creature. As a children’s librarian I have always identified it as what’s appropriate for and aimed at ages 8-12.  However, there are 11 and 12 year olds who are already in sixth grade, which can be elementary or middle school depending on your district, and if sixth grade is in the middle school, then MAYBE some people stretch it  a few years later. Problem is, there starts to be an overlap with YA fiction by the end of middle school, and it’s a huge developmental leap from grade 3 (yes, there are 8 year olds in third grade) to grade 6, much less to grade 8.  In my world, middle grade fiction is ages 8-12.  If I can’t put it in the elementary library, it’s not middle grade. I don’t think this is necessarily the age range the Summer Scares committee was considering, though. Kiera Parrot, one of the committee members, made some additional recommendations for middle-grade horror, which I want to share with you.

 

 

Out of the Wild Night by Blue Balliett

I am a huge fan of Blue Balliett, so when the school librarian at my kids’ middle school handed this to me and said, “You like these kinds of books, right? I just can’t get into this, would you give it a shot?” I said yes right away. I can’t begin to tell you how disappointing Out of the Wild Night was for me. Balliett does a good job of building atmosphere but it is so slow, and the plot is confusing, while the vocabulary is advanced. Only very persistent readers will push through to the end. I would love to be able to recommend this as an outstanding ghost story for middle grade students, especially as an author’s note explains that this story was very close to her heart, but there are better ones out there, and much better books by Balliett.  I did review this one in detail here.

 

Dreaming Dangerous by Lauren DeStefano

This didn’t really strike me as horror– it’s more of a science-fictiony dystopia where scientists are experimenting on children. It’s horrific that anyone would do that, but I’d call this more of a dystopian thriller. The main character, Plum, and three of her peers, have been dreaming in tandem since they were babies, and based on the way the book starts, with the kids getting blood tests and psychological testing, it’s not terribly surprising to find out that the adults in charge don’t really have the children’s best interests at heart.  Booklist  suggested this for fans of Stranger Things (which I hope is not being watched by elementary-aged kids, although I’m sure it is) but this lacks the 1980s aesthetic or realism on the show. I can see it maybe appealing to kids who liked Gathering Blue. 

 

Nightbooks by J.A. White

This is a dark, fairytale-like story both fantastic, wondrous, and frightening, perfect for the young horror lover feeling out of place. A boy on his way to destroy the scary stories he has been writing is lured into the equivalent of a gingerbread house by the promise of getting to see his favorite movie, Night of the Living Dead. He is forced to tell the witch a new scary story each night, as he tries to find a way to escape, and comes to the realization that he actually has something to be proud of, rather than something to hide. The same librarian who gave a thumbs-down to Out of the Wild Blue ran excitedly up to me with this one, saying, “You’ve gotta read this!” At that point, I already had. It’s probably one of my favorite books for any age that I’ve read this year. J. A. White is also the author of The Thickety, and we’ve reviewed a couple of the books in that series. We are fans.

 

The Girl in the Locked Room by Mary Downing Hahn

This one starts out promisingly, with a truly disorienting beginning, but I quickly started to feel like Hahn was phoning it in. As with many a ghost story (and many of Hahn’s ghost stories) a family is involved with an old house in need of repair. In this case, Dad restores old houses, Mom is an absentminded writer, and Jules is the resentful daughter who is tired of moving from place to place. The three move into a modern addition to the old house that will be their home over the course of the renovation. Jules has nothing to do except wander around. She’s pretty sure she’s seen a ghost but her only company is her skeptical parents. She makes one friend on a visit to the library, who comes to visit and investigate the old house. There’s not a lot at stake for Jules here. The ghost is silent, afraid, and in a locked room. The backstory is interesting, but while there’s tension, this isn’t something that will make the heart race. Hahn has done so much better; her previous book, Took, was much more suspenseful and definitely scarier, with better character development, even though there were many more characters and the story was more complex. Hahn has written many excellent ghost stories, including All The Lovely Bad Ones and Deep and Dark and Dangerous. Author Grady Hendrix, also on the Summer Scares committee, recommended another, older, book of Hahn’s, Wait Til Helen Comes, which is well-known as a classic children’s ghost story. Many kids in the target age range for this book will enjoy The Girl in the Locked Room, but if I had a shelf of her ghost stories to choose a recommendation from, this wouldn’t be the first one I suggested.

 

City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab

I first encountered Victoria Schwab when we were sent her first book, The Near Witch, for review, many years back. Since then, she’s written the Shades of Magic books as V.E. Schwab, but on the cover of City of Ghosts, she is back to Victoria Schwab again. Our main character, Cassidy, fell into an icy river with her new camera and drowned a year ago, but was brought back by Jacob, a ghost, who is now her best friend. Cassidy can now cross the “Veil” and see ghosts. Her camera, altered by her fall, can capture photos of the ghosts. When Cassidy starts losing track of herself, Jacob is always with her to bring her back from beyond the Veil.

Cassidy’s parents are “ghost hunters.” One is a historian, the other is a storyteller, and while they don’t actually believe in ghosts, they do make a living writing and talking about them. Her parents are offered a “reality” show where they will travel to haunted places, tour them, and talk about them. They decide to take Cassidy with them, and their first stop is Edinburgh, in Scotland. The catacombs, cemeteries, and execution grounds they visit are not for the weak even if they can’t see ghosts, but Cassidy’s ability means we experience her panic and dread.

City of Ghosts is creepy, ominous, and at times terrifying. Schwab is great at creating atmosphere; you feel like you are in Edinburgh, especially the oppressiveness of the “haunted” areas.  It is compelling and, at times, truly scary. There’s also a mystery– clearly unsolved– that will lead to sequels I can only look forward to.

The House in Poplar Wood  by K.E. Ormsbee

Reminiscent of Tuck Everlasting, this fable/fairytale feels “out of time”.  Twin brothers Felix and Lee are the sons of the apprentices of Death and Memory, tricked by Passion into falling in love. While they live in the same house, Felix must live with his father in Death’s half of the house and Lee must live with his mother in Memory’s half of the house. Their parents are not allowed to meet or see each other. Their father can only see Felix, and their mother can only see Lee. Outside the house, the two boys can meet, but never inside. When they come of age, both boys will have to choose whether to also become apprentices or to walk away. Gretchen is the daughter of the town’s Summoner, who is responsible for keeping the balance between Death, Memory, and Passion to benefit the town. When Passion’s apprentice dies in a mysterious accident, and her father covers it up, Gretchen decides to do some detective work, and involves Felix and Lee in her schemes. Death in particular is horrific in this book, abusing his power and disciplining Felix in an abusive manner that his father is unable to act against. At heart this is a story about family, friendship, and self-determination, but with strong mythic bones that take it out of the everyday and into the universal.

 

Well, that’s all for now. I’m compiling some additional middle-grade recommendations, but this should get you, and the young readers you know, started with your summer reading!

 

 

 

 

Posted on May 29, 2019 by , 1 comment