Customer Reviews

The Ankle Grabber (Creepies) (Creepies)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This book is one of four by Rose Impey known collectively as The Creepies, and that is exactly what they are. They are not intended to comfort children; where did that idea come from? Great for overnight camp-outs when your kids want to scare the bejeezus out of each other.

Don't you think it's funny how dead wrong the School Library Journal review is, especially since they should know kids. Ah, well. This book is very scary, because it preys on a fear I haven't seen addressed anywhere else but is one of the most common (at least I have it and most kids I knew did). I will say that another book in the same series, "The Flat Man", is even scarier. It scared my daughter to death and she still remembers it fondly. I'm ordering both for my library. Every child deserves to be scared witless.

The Ankle Grabber, which is one of Rose Impey's Creepies' series, is the agreeable story of a little girl with a vivid imagination that encounters various monsters in her room at night. As she prepares for bed, her mother checks her room for the usual culprits, who include The Flat Man and Jumble Joan. However, on this particular night there is only one nighttime dweller that weighs heavily on the mind of our little protagonist and that is The Ankle Grabber. This sinister fellow resides in the secret swamp beneath her bed and she fears that he will come out of his hiding spot to grab her by the ankle and pull her down below. This book is made even more enjoyable due to the beautiful illustrations by Moira Kemp, especially her rendering of the book's nemesis - The Ankle Grabber, who is delightfully creepy. The book continues with our protagonist finding herself in a dilemma in which she may be forced to face her fears. I had a lot of fun reading this book with my children, especially with it being so close to Halloween. However, I do have to warn that this particular monster book may be a bit too scary for smaller children, so use your own good judgment with your children.

I first read this book in 2nd grade. I still remember it as the first concept of fear I have ever experienced in my life. I don't know what inspired the author to write such a series, but it is just twisted.

I still dread the thought of this book and its illustrations. I enjoy suspense, but for a kid just 7-9 years old, this book scarred deep.

I DO NOT recommend this book for children. The Ankle Grabber, with its formless body, piercing eyes and oversized hands, touches on a deep psychological fear that freaked me out for years after reading it.

It's twisted. So much so that now, almost twenty years later I remembered it, then looked it up, and wrote this review.

It's amazing how wrong the Library Review is. I think this is a great book, especially if your child LIKES to be scared. Every parent knows their kid and what's appropriate, but for me it had a lasting effect!

I haven't read this book since I was in the 3rd grade (I'm now 24 years old), but to this very day I am cautious of dangling my feet over the edge of the bed or standing by the bed for too long. It's silly I know, but it's how the story of the Ankle Grabber effected me.

My nearly 7 year old was read this at school a year ago & just last week & both times have caused endless tears & fears at bedtime. NOT a good book for a sensitive child with an active imagination.

I loved this book my dad got it for me when I was like 6 I went from stories like this to R.L. Stine and then to Stephen King. It's a book I look foward to giving my children

Rose Impey and Moira Kemp are 'Brits' who team up to craft shivery stories for young ones. They unleash all the scariness of a child going to bed in a room alone, and this theme never fails to reach out and grab readers. Their scary stories are best read by someone who will comfort and reassure with conviction, and also share laughs over this very common dilemma of childhood . . . and for however many nights the story is demanded.

Artist Kemp is in command of slimy greens and sly purples, and draws her characters knowing that all of us are 'scaredy cats' to a degree. Children seem to require an ounce or two of scariness on their reading lists - - something to give them an excuse for squealing & high drama.

When Reviewer mcHaiku was growing up, someone read "Little Orphant Annie" with such hair-raising gusto that the words of Hoosier poet James Whitcomb Riley have never been forgotten.

I read this book when I was younger. I remember, my mum told me not to read scary stories before I went to bed, but I just had to. And, unsurprisingly, found myself too scared to sleep in my own bed.

I barely even remember the story now - but I had to sleep bang-smack in the centre of the bed for months, and take running jumps up to my bed for YEARS after reading that, no kidding. It drove my parents mad. (But then, I always was a wimp!)

Don't get me wrong, I remember liking the book! If you like stories to leave an impression, then yes, this certainly does...just, don't let your kid read it before bedtime, if they're anything like me!

The kindergarten teacher at my 5 year olds school read this story in the middle of the year. It is now July 24th and 10:00 pm and my 5 year old is crying, sitting on my lap, and afraid that the ankle-grabber is under her bed. She's never been afraid of anything before.

This is a horrible book. Another parent has had to put her daughters mattress on the floor in an attempt to remove the ankle-grabber swamp.

Do not let your children read this book unless you want your child sleeping in your bed every night, or making excuses not to go to bed.

There is no reason to create fear in our children.