The Oxford Book of Scary Tales [Hardcover]

Dennis Pepper (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 29, 1992 | Age Level: 10 and up

There is a Great Swallowing Monster who eats up whole villages, tribes, herds of cows, even clumps of trees. Then there's the terrible Slitherydee who slips out of the sea (but doesn't catch me...yet). What about a Bush woman who transforms before our very eyes into a savage lion (or does she?--don't believe everything you hear or see), and Timmy, an imaginary friend, who knows games to play that will curl your toes and rattle your bones. They're all here--and more--in The Oxford Book of Scary Tales.
Children know that it's great fun to be scared (but not frightened), and Dennis Pepper has carefully collected classic and contemporary legends, folktales, and poems that are sure to do the trick. From the mysteriously chilling to the comically bizarre, a wide variety of cultures and traditions are represented, retold and illustrated in cheerfully gruesome detail by some of the finest artists and writers for children. These are great stories to read aloud or by yourself over and over again to savor the chills of suspense and shivers of delight.
Beautifully packaged and designed, this collection not only entertains but also testifies to the exceptional powers of literature to heighten our emotions and stir our hearts.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-8-- The wraiths seen winding about trees and house on the title and contents pages set the tone for this good, spooky collection--as does their haste to depart at sunrise, pictured on the acknowledgment and endpages. The 35 stories and poems (half of them written for this book) vary in scariness, eschew the gruesome, and some--like that of the gravedigging great-grandfather--share a laugh. Although mostly British, there are retellings from Africa, India, Japan, and the United States, while the girl who must stab a gravesite to prove her visit on a dare has done so in many countries and times. Wiley escapes the Hairy Man in a colloquial version; a feverish small boy gets lost in a nighttime supermarket; oppressive caregivers come to bad ends; and ghosts are met unawares. The mixed-media format lends an almost magazine appeal with various styles and artists and use of tinted pages, similar to Hunt's Ghosts, Witches, and Things Like That . (Oxford, 1984). --Ruth M. McConnell, San Antonio Public Library
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"A good, spooky collection."--School Library Journal

"The poems here are as good as the tales, direct in voice and domestic in detail. The whole collection is clearly meant for reading aloud and sharing."--Booklist

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (October 29, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0192781316
• ISBN-13: 978-0192781314
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 8.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,081,810 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars An October's worth of diverse, literate and chilling stories, October 12, 2000

By 

Linda Lucille Murphy (Washington, DC United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Oxford Book of Scary Tales (Hardcover)

There is nothing like a scary story to make me appreciate my save, warm home, and this book is filled with such stories. The Oxford Book of Scary Tales has all kinds of chilling stories written in a wide variety of styles. It begins with a poem entitled "This is the key to the castle" by Dave Calder, which like "The House that Jack Built" adds one new clause each stanza building a repetitive rhyme children will love. My favorite is:

"where the black rat runs with yellow teeth
sharp as sorrow and long as grief"

The editors include more narrative poems, a cartoon that reminds me of Edward Gorey, a story written as a series of letters that tell of a real camp horror, and a story purporting to be an interview with a novelist who explains why she writes horror stories. The book includes a grave-digging story one's grandpa might tell if he had a particularly keen sense of humor and irony, and there are enough traditional tales of horror and terror for any of us, all toned down to a kid's level. The collection even includes several friendly ghosts.

The language of the stories is also marvelous, filled with picturesque similes and not a cliché in sight. Consider these snippets:

"He's got about as much idea of sailing as a camel up an apple tree with its eyes shut." (From "Dear Jane" by Shelia Lavelle)

"... a smile like stretched elastic." (From "A Change of Aunts" by Vivian Alcock)

"They dodge ... the long snakes of reclaimed trolleys, their guides at the rear slumped like galley slaves." And "The aisle is crowded. Trolleys lie in all directions like ships of a scuttled fleet. But his mother negotiates them and the people clinging to them like a confident pilot...." (From "Supermarket" by Dennis Hamley. btw, "trolleys" is brit speak for "shopping carts.")

The illustrations are almost as varied as the styles of the stories and were a bit distracting until I became absorbed in the stories. I just thought of the experience like reading short stories form one children's magazine after another or like reading from a stack of picture books. All different stories, all different illustrators.

With over thirty short stories, The Oxford Book of Scary Tales gives an October's worth of reading and will take a reader all the way to Halloween. I bought this book for my daughter years ago because I was so fond of another collection of scary tales written for adults and entitled The Oxford Book of English Ghost Stories. That book is edited by Michael Cox and R. A. Gilbert. Older children may want to progress to that collection for next October's reading.

Linda Murphy
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