From School Library Journal
Grade 5-8-A unique concept for a horror anthology. Thirteen authors, many of whom are best known for their adult work (e.g., John Jakes, Ramsay Campell, and F. Paul Wilson), were commissioned to write short stories in collaboration with their children or grandchildren. Although all of the selections feature youthful protagonists, they vary widely in theme, style, and "scare quotient." Some are shockers in the "Goosebumps" (Scholastic) vein-giant spiders, alien abductions, and walking scarecrows. They feature lots of physical action, vivid emotional reactions, and usually gruesome conclusions. Other tales are evocative explorations of childhood terrors-darkness, closet monsters, and loneliness. They are less graphic and produce their own kind of terror. The young characters face their personal demons alone, and must rely on their problem-solving resources to defeat evil forces. Significantly, all of the stories of this type end successfully. Wilson's humorously eerie full-page black-and-white illustrations add shivers to the collection. The variety of stories should make the book popular, and the fact that it is an intergenerational collaboration makes it an excellent model for writing projects.?Elaine E. Knight, Lincoln Elementary Schools, IL
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Kirkus Reviews
Sleuths eager for less formulaic company than Nancy Drew or the Hardy Boys will enjoy this pulse-quickening second collection of collaborations between writers and children (Great Writers and Kids Write Spooky Stories, 1995, not reviewed). A brief introduction by Morgan and Weinberg defines the elements of a good mystery, as well as its many sub-genres (the cozy, the police procedural, etc.), then the fun begins as bodies start to drop. Sharyn McCrumb and her children choose the unlikely setting of an old-age home for a compelling mystery about the disappearance of a child years ago that continues to haunt one of the elderly patients; readers will love the McCrumbs' wry tone, the crusty but endearing geriatric characters, and the memorable and disturbing ending. A similar sense of the sinister charges Ed and son Joe Gorman's tale of the inexplicable rise to popularity of a high school nerd. Scott Turow and daughter Eve offer more of a fairy tale than a whodunnit--a mystery concerning the human heart. Stuart Kaminsky and daughter Lucy play a varying riff on a family's twisted relations, where a mother's seeming devotion leads to the permanent damage of her son. Whether readers go through these contributions front-to-back or pick and choose among them, the collection provides both an opportunity and a motive for diversion. (Short stories. 8+) --
Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
