Mary McScary

by R. L. Stine, Marc Brown (Illustrator)

Overview

BEWARE OF MARY MCSCARY, a fearless, fierce and funny new picture book heroine on a mission to scare her cousin Harry, from beloved, best-selling children's book icons, RL Stine and Marc Brown.

A Barnes and Noble Halloween National Storytime pick! Meet Mary McScary. Mary likes to be scary. She scares her mom, her dad, her pets, and even a balloon! But there's just one person Mary can't scare -- her cousin, Harry McScary. He's not afraid of the usual things, like spiders, snakes, and other creepy crawlies. But Mary doesn't give up that easily, and one way or another she'll find a way to give Harry the scare of his life. . . Beware of Mary McScary!Renowned bestselling children's book talents R.L. Stine, creator of the Goosebumps series, and Marc Brown, creator of the Arthur Adventure series, join forces once again in a spine-tingling, wildly funny picture book story featuring a fearless anti-heroine that will have kids and their parents cheering, "BOOOOOO!"

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781338184693
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	08/29/2017
Sold by:	Scholastic, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Pages:	40
File size:	175 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

R.L. Stine is the creator of the bestselling Goosebumps series, which has more than 400 million copies in print worldwide and celebrated 25 years in 2017. Goosebumps is one of the bestselling children's series of all-time and inspired a popular television show, as well as a feature film starring Jack Black that opened at #1 at the box office. His other popular children's books include the series Fear Street, Mostly Ghostly, The Nightmare Room, and Rotten School, and his picture books, with Marc Brown, The Little Shop of Monsters and Mary McScary. R.L. Stine lives in New York City. You can connect with him on Twitter at @RL_Stine or Facebook: facebook.com/rlstine. For more information, visit rlstine.com and scholastic.com/goosebumps.
Marc Brown is the beloved creator of the bestselling Arthur Adventure book series and creative producer of PBS's Peabody and Emmy award-winning television series Arthur, now the longest-running children's animated show in history. He also has illustrated many other books for children, including the New York Times bestseller Wild About Books, as well as The Little Shop of Monsters and Mary McScary, both written by R.L. Stine. For more information, visit marcbrownstudios.com.

Hometown:

New York, New York

Date of Birth:

October 8, 1943

Place of Birth:

Columbus, Ohio

Education:

B.A., Ohio State University, 1965

Website:

http://www.rlstine.com

Editorial Reviews

06/12/2017
This second collaboration between Stine and Brown, after The Little Shop of Monsters, turns on one of the oldest jokes: boys hate being kissed by girls. Mary McScary, who “has fun scaring dogs” and “likes to scare goldfish, too,” is primed to frighten her Cousin Harry. But sweet-natured Harry—he’s essentially Brown’s Arthur without the self-doubt—is so at home in the world that when Mary unleashes an angry gorilla, an asphyxiating snake, and a hungry hippo on him, he instantly establishes a relationship with all three creatures. It takes Mary’s weaponized kiss—proffered with the girliest of puckers—to send Harry fleeing in horror. Brown’s generous sense of scale plays up his pictures’ lush textures and bold palette, and few artists are his match when it comes to making good-heartedness a compelling character trait. But there’s no real tension: Mary is a one-dimensional brat (her last words are “I told you I was scary!”), and seeing the game-for-anything Harry bolt, even if a not-unreasonable reaction, feels stale. Ages 4–8. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for Mary McScary:"[A] trove of ideas for mischief-making young readers." —Kirkus ReviewsPraise for The Little Shop of Monsters:"Frightfully funny. Children will scream for repeated visits to The Little Shop of Monsters." — School Library Journal"Readers are sure to visit this shop again and again for its fantastical creatures and its slightly sinister tone." — Kirkus"Readers looking for friendly, cuddly monsters should shop elsewhere–as Stine ominously reminds readers, 'When you come to the Little Shop of Monsters, you don't choose a monster... a monster chooses YOU!'" — Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

09/01/2017
PreS-Gr 2—In this their second picture book collaboration, Stine and Brown introduce Mary McScary. Mary delights in scaring everyone but can't find a way to frighten her cousin Harry, so she pulls out all the stops when he comes to visit. Giant spiders, a ferocious gorilla, slimy snakes, a hungry hippo—Mary moans in despair as each dastardly deed backfires. Harry cuddles with the spiders, rides the gorilla, hugs the snakes, and tickles the hippo. Just when it seems like the red-haired fiend will give up, Mary concocts her most devious scheme yet: a kiss! With a long scream, Harry flees, and Mary reminds readers why she is truly scary. Brown's collage illustrations are the real showstopper in this cute, if slightly predictable, story. Mary's expressive close-ups, especially her evil mastermind realization that leads to Harry's downfall, perfectly capture her terrifying charm without plunging the story into depths too spooky. Bright, bold colors stretch across the pages, and Brown's inclusion of famous artwork on the walls, such as Edvard Munch's The Scream, is a subtle nod to the macabre. Stine's use of repetition and patterning makes this an ideal choice for sharing aloud with children, and Harry's humorous responses to Mary's scares allows it to be a gentle choice for younger audiences. VERDICT A first purchase holiday selection for school and public libraries.—Rachel Zuffa, Racine Public Library, WI

School Library Journal

2017-07-15
Mary McScary takes her name very seriously, but will she manage to scare her unscarable cousin Harry? The cover illustration embodies Mary's personality: flaming red hair in braided pigtails, an obviously unique sense of style, and quirked mouth and slanted eyebrows signaling her determination. Even the white girl's stance speaks volumes: arms flung out to open a set of double doors, legs widely spaced. The thought of tangling with Mary might bring to adult readers' minds the boy from O. Henry's "Ransom of Red Chief." Indeed, Mary lives to scare, and she practices her art on her family members and pets at every opportunity. But she has yet to scare Harry, who has come for a visit. Will her hairiest monster costume work? A gorilla or jarful of spiders? What about snakes or a hippo? All fail. But just when Harry believes Mary's pronouncement that she's quit, she turns to him to admit defeat and puckers up. That sends him running away screaming! Brown's illustrations just may be the bane of parents everywhere, as they are a trove of ideas for mischief-making young readers. Mary's cat is especially expressive, and adults will chuckle at some of the artwork on the wall. Readers should indeed heed Stine's repeated refrain and "Beware of Mary McScary!" (Picture book. 3-7)

Kirkus Reviews