Short and Shivery: Thirty Chilling Tales [Paperback]

Robert D. San Souci (Author), Katherine Coville (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up

Robert D. San Souci, acclaimed for his retellings of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and other favorite works, brings his story-spinning skill to hair-raising tales from the Brothers Grimm, Nathaniel Hawthorne and many more.



"Wholesome and well-written."--Library Talk.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4 Up A collection of spooky stories, competently adapted and retold (sometimes quite freely) from world folklore, including Japan, Africa, and Latin America, as well as Europe and the U.S. Fairy tales are represented, from Grimm's The Robber Bridegroom to the modern urban folktale Lavender, a reworking of the phantom hitchhiker story. Some tales are familiar, appearing in one form or another in various collections, e.g., Tailypo, but many are not. Stories have also been adapted from the work of Nathaniel Hawthorne, John Bunyan, and Washington Irving. The stories drawn from collections of regional American folklore are not only the freshest, but often the scariest. Sources are fully documented at the back of the book. The cover has just the right touch of gruesomeness to attract readers, with bats, rats, weird faces, and a skeleton arm escaping from the grave. Almost every story is illustrated with a full-page picture in pen-and-ink and wash. These are well crafted but, with some notable exceptions, don't always capture the true terror of the tales, and don't enhance the text in a spine-tingling manner. Many of the stories will be effective as read-alouds. There are some delicious shivers here, with plenty of fodder for an active imagination, as well as excitement. Annette Curtis Klause, Montgomery County Department of Public Libraries, Md.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"There are some delicious shivers here, with plenty of fodder for an active imagination." — School Library Journal

"Demons, vampires, skeletons, goblins, werewolves, witches, wizards, and ghosts aplenty inhabit these tales from various parts of the world." — Booklist

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday Books for Young Readers (August 1, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385264267
• ISBN-13: 978-0385264266
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,303,064 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars MY FAVORITE SHORT HORROR STORY COLLECTION, October 22, 1999

By 

Naomi Williams "aka dragonmama" (Santa Rosa, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Short and Shivery: Thirty Chilling Tales (Paperback)

I love short horror stories, and I have quite a collection of them. Robert San Souci's "Short and Shivery" series is definitely the best; he blows Alvin Schwartz out of the water. The sophistication level is high; it's not just a bunch of "gross out" tales.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Awesome Campfire Book!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, October 22, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Short and Shivery: Thirty Chilling Tales (Paperback)

I got this book years ago when I was younger and the Alvin Schwartz books (Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark) were popular. But the stories in this book were of a higher craft (and longer). If you need a book to scare little kids at camp I'd recommend this book wholeheartedly.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Perfect Campfire Book! Spooky Tales and Illustrations!, November 11, 2000

By 

Ryan Costantino (Nowhere, Special) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Short and Shivery: Thirty Chilling Tales (Paperback)

These 30 tales from around the world are much more complex and comprehensive than the stories you'll find in the Alvin Schwartz books. Relying more on story content than the gross out factor of illustrations, the Short & Shivery series are must have books for any kid going to sleepaway camp. The best stories in this volume are:

The Cegua

Tailypo

The Soldier and the Vampire

Boneless

The Loup-Garou (The Werewolf)

and

The Golem

But every story is good in its own right. If you want to introduce your kids to scary stories or folklore but don't want the nightmares induced by the Schawrtz books, pick up any one of the Short & Shivery books without fear. Well, without too much fear(:=