Published by Scholastic

Summary:  Mister Shivers begins his book with a letter to the reader, relating how he found a box on his doorstep that contained a tree branch, a doll’s eye, a piece of an old quilt, and a toy’s rusty head.  Beside the box was a dead mouse. He is sharing the five stories that were in that box. A brother and sister go into a house and find a creepy doll…that talks. A girl is annoyed with a long hair in the back of her throat…until the doctor grabs it and pulls out a dead mouse.  A boy’s mother buys a creep statue that always has to be wrapped in a quilt. When Oliver forgets to bring his toys inside, the unhappy toys seek revenge. Finally, a girl is told that the nighttime scraping sounds he hears is caused by a branch, but she wakes up to find her window scratched on the inside.  Includes instructions for drawing Buddy [the creepy] Bear. 64 pages; grades K-2.

Pros:  Most scary story collections for this age group are silly, but some of these tales are genuinely creepy.  I confess that those vengeful toys freaked me out a bit, and the endings of that and the scratched window one were certainly unsettling.  The dark, somewhat gothic illustrations channel Edward Gorey, adding to the spooky fun. I can almost guarantee this series will be a huge hit with newly independent readers.  Book 2 is due out July 2020.

Cons:  While many will love this book, some kids may be truly scared by these stories.  Proceed with caution!

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