Praise for A Walk in the Dark and Other Scary Stories (Mister Shivers #4):
"With topics ranging from a bizarre hotel to a magical pen, the tales are reminiscent of scary stories told around a campfire...The illustrations provide an added level of suspense, mixing dark shadows and spooky characters to keep the excitement going. Spooky fun!" — Kirkus Reviews
Praise for Beneath the Bed and Other Scary Stories (Mister Shivers #1):
Selected by the New York Public Library as one of 2019's Best Books for Kids!
* "Brallier's (The Last Kids on Earth and the Cosmic Beyond, 2018, etc.) strong horror chops translate well into this Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark-lite package for early chapter-book readers... Simplified spooks for the we-want-it-just-scary-enough crowd." — Kirkus Reviews, starred review
Praise for Shadow in the Woods and Other Scary Stories (Mister Shivers #2):
Selected by the Chicago Public Library as one of 2020's Best Books for Kids!
"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... The abrupt, disquieting endings mix the creepy and weird with the genuinely terrifying, creating a nice balance as readers jump bravely between stories... Easy to read but definitely not easy to forget." — Kirkus Reviews
Praise for Doll in the Hall and Other Scary Stories (Mister Shiver #3):
Selected by the Chicago Library as one of 2021's Best Books for Kids!
Praise for The School Is Alive! (Eerie Elementary #1):
"Give this early chapter book to readers who want something scary but aren't ready for the 'Goosebumps' or 'Scream Street' series." — School Library Journal
Praise for The Last Kids on Earth:
A New York Times bestseller
* "Middle-grade readers, particularly boys, will find Jack's pitch-perfect mix of humor, bravado, and self-professed geekiness impossible to resist." — Kirkus Reviews, starred review
01/24/2020
Gr 1–3—Brallier's offers well-written and rather scary stories based loosely on relatable fears: things lurking under the bed; toys that come to life; noises at the window; and swallowing something that should never be found in one's stomach. Each short story closes in suspense. Open-ended denouements encourage the imagination to run wild and may even lead readers to write their own conclusions. Framed by an entertaining and intriguing introductory letter from storyteller Mister Shivers, and concluding with a bonus feature showing how to draw a one-eyed bear from one of the tales, these five short stories are reminiscent of Alvin Schwartz's "Scary Stories To Tell in the Dark." VERDICT With darkly charming, detailed, and abundant illustrations, this palm-sized volume is sure to appeal to child fans of the mildly macabre.—Lindsay Persohn, University of South Florida, Tampa
★ 2019-06-10
A series debut with five screamworthy short stories.
Acquired from a strange box left at pseudo-author Mr. Shivers' doorstep, the tales are initially introduced via a note to readers. Presented in a mix of first- and third-person narration, the tales run the gamut of eerie episodes. Classmates dare siblings John and Beth to visit a haunted house at night. A child feels a hair in the bottom of their stomach. A creepy statue draped with a tattered quilt haunts a living room. Oliver leaves his toys outside in the rain, but when he looks outside they've moved. Lucy hears scraping at the window at night, but mom and dad say it's just a tree. Brallier's (The Last Kids on Earth and the Cosmic Beyond, 2018, etc.) strong horror chops translate well into this Scary Stories To Tell in the Dark-lite package for early chapter-book readers. Rubegni mixes high-contrast spot and full-page illustrations, positioning sharply outlined characters against smudgy charcoal backgrounds. The atmospheric, full-color illustrations also aid in decoding. Each page contains fewer than 10 sentences; longer sentences are broken up in multiple lines with ample leading. Occasional words are set in boldface for emphasis and add a little extra thrill factor to the well-paced plots. The final page includes instructions on how to draw Oliver's teddy bear as well as a few simple creative prompts.
Simplified spooks for the we-want-it-just-scary-enough crowd. (Early reader/horror. 5-7)
