Favorite Scary Stories of American Children (Grades 3-6) [Paperback]

Richard Young (Author), Judy Dockrey Young (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up

Everybody loves a scary story, and nobody more than kids, but these tales collected from kids themselves are particular favorites. These are the traditional scary stories kids tell most often and most often ask to be told.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-5-- The Youngs have collected 23 scary (and not so scary) stories for classrooms, storytelling settings, sleepovers, and read-aloud sessions. Many of the tales will sound familiar, but may not have been seen in written form before. Others are old standards such as "The Golem," " The Hobbyahs," "Wylie and the Hairy Man," and "The Red Velvet Ribbon." Still others are new and will be sure crowd pleasers. Each yarn is one to four pages in length--very lean--giving just enough detail to hold readers' attention. At the beginning of each story, a symbol rates its age level and appropriate audience. Collection notes and a pronunciation guide are included; both are useful for searching for similar tales and points of origin. The pen-and-ink illustrations are not particularly distinguished. A book that will serve its purpose well, especially if used in conjunction with other spooky story collections. --Molly Kinney, North Dade Regional Library, Miami, FL
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: August House; 1 edition (December 19, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0874835631
• ISBN-13: 978-0874835632
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #85,483 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #56 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Literature > Short Story Collections

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Some Scary Stories, July 26, 2004

By 

Karen Woodworth Roman "Happy Librarian" (DeKalb, IL) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Favorite Scary Stories of American Children (Grades 3-6) (Paperback)

Richard and Judy Young, professional storytellers based at Silver Dollar City, Mo., collected the favorite scary stories of American children. The authors admonish tellers to tell these stories responsibly in the introduction.

There is a table of contents, but the twenty-three stories are in no apparent order. The illustrations are simple ink drawings with blue accents. They are not integral to the stories.

Most of the tales are American or European in origin and a few are from Asia brought here by immigrants and soldiers returning from Viet Nam.

The stories are mostly quite short and easily told as written. The stories are divided into three groups: for ages 5 or 6, 7 or 8, and 9 or 10. The older group could also enjoy reading the stories.

The source notes, though brief, are detailed. The authors list the history of the tale and in many cases who they first heard it from.

The "Afterword for parents, teachers, and librarians" discusses the importance of storytelling and what to be careful of when telling scary stories.

There is a useful guide to pronunciation.
Karen Woodworth-Roman

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Just what I was looking for, June 4, 2002

By 

Melanie M Blunk (Smiths Grove, KY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Favorite Scary Stories of American Children (Grades 3-6) (Paperback)

I have three children, ages 8-2. The oldest two enjoy me telling "scary" stories around the campfire. Some stories were just too scary to tell them. These are just right for their ages. Scary enough to make them huddle close, but not so scary that they have bad dreams or are too scared to go to the camper alone! The stories are also short enough that they can be committed to memory easily enough. Thank you!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Chills and Thrills, April 5, 2011

By 

M. Heiss (USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Favorite Scary Stories of American Children (Grades 3-6) (Paperback)

Every child needs a few stories they can tell at campfires or sleepovers. This book has stories with funny endings, and stories with happy endings, and stories with mysterious endings. I've been reading them to my kids in the kitchen, after dinner is over but with all the lights on and all the comforts right there. My kids enjoy them, although you can tell when the little ones get a little nervous.

It's good for kids to overcome feeling afraid. In fact, there is a section at the back of the book on why scary stories help children master their fears. The stories in this book are coded with a symbol for age-appropriateness.

This collection is written by the storytellers at Silver Dollar City near Branson, MO - another connection for our family. There are stories from many different parts of America, and many different ethnic groups.

Some of our favorites in this book are:

Skunnee Wundee and the Stone Giant
Raggelugg
The Golem
Rap...Rap...Rap
She's Got Me!
The Changelings
Red Velvet Ribbon
Wylie and the Hairy Man