Some Things Are Scary [Hardcover]

Florence Parry Heide (Author), Jules Feiffer (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: K and up

A list of scary things includes "roller skating down hill when you haven't learned how to stop, getting hugged by somebody you don't like, and finding out your best friend has a best friend who isn't you."

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

When cartoonist Jules Feiffer was little, he thought parents were scary. Florence Parry Heide's main fear was that she'd never learn how to be a real life grownup. (She never did, she says.) So, years later, these two star creators of children's books have teamed up to confront the things that go bump in the night (or day) in the splendid picture book Some Things Are Scary. This litany of frightfully familiar scenarios, brilliantly illustrated with Feiffer's scritchy, expressive cartoons, ranges from stepping on something squishy when you're in your bare feet to getting a shot to discovering that your hamster cage is empty. The encompassing fleshy arms of the woman in the depiction of "getting hugged by someone you don't like is scary" are positively smothering to behold. The rapidly moving arms (all seven of them) of the boy in "telling a lie is scary" image perfectly evokes the scittery discomfort of fibbing. Feiffer's distorted perspectives on the things that "loom large" capture a range of human emotion with his usual deftness. Kids will commiserate with the saucer-eyed boy as he skates out of control, is afraid he won't be picked for either team, or gets stuck high in a tree. And maybe things won't be so scary next time. (Ages 3 and older) --Karin Snelson

From Publishers Weekly

In this new edition of a 1969 manuscript, inventively illustrated by Feiffer (Meanwhile...), the hero demonstrates that some things are scary, and those same thingsDwhen they happen to someone elseDare darkly funny. When the panicky character zooms across a blindingly white spread on in-line skates ("Skating downhill when you haven't learned how to stop/ is scary"), the stressful situation is comical because it hits so close to home. Other suspenseful sequences depend on reversals of fortune: "Waiting to jump out and say BOO! at someone/ is scary," but so is "Waiting for someone to jump out and say BOO! at you..." Using childlike phrasing, Heide (The Shrinking of Treehorn) makes a list of anxiety-provoking moments-in-progress. She suggests that everyday problems ("Finding out your best friend has a best friend that isn't you/ is scary") can be as startling as daydreams ("Thinking what if you'd been born a hippopotamus/ is scary"). Feiffer's hyperactive sketches seek an edge between silly and horribleDnot unlike embarrassmentDand the design shows off the visual and verbal pacing. The frantic boy, always tiptoeing and suffering from indecision, floats in negative space and never comes to rest. With perceptive examples and over-the-top images of physical comedy, Heide and Feiffer acknowledge, and perhaps demystify, some shared fears. Ages 5-9.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Candlewick; 1st edition (October 2, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0763612227
• ISBN-13: 978-0763612221
• Product Dimensions: 10.4 x 8.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,233,571 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Winner!, December 5, 2000

By 

Roz Levine - See all my reviews

This review is from: Some Things Are Scary (Hardcover)

Do you remember what it was like to be hugged by someone you didn't like or thinking you weren't going to be picked by either side for a game on the playground? What about holding on to someone's hand that isn't your mother's when you thought it was or having people looking at you and laughing and not knowing why? Fortunately for us, Florence Parry Heide does. This collection of childhood fears really captures the essence of the young mind in a clever, funny and light hearted way so that kids will be reassured that they're not alone out there in the world (the SCARIEST thought of all). Jules Feiffer's humorous, imaginative, expressive artwork adds just the right touch to the text and together they let all kids know that everybody's afraid of something sometimes and it's okay. This masterpiece is perfect for those as young as 4 or 5 and will have even more meaning to 8-10 year olds. So think back and remember what it felt like to watch in the mirror while getting a bad haircut and smile...

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Some Things Bring Back Great Memories, December 11, 2000

By 

Whitney (Raleigh, NC USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Some Things Are Scary (Hardcover)

Aaagh, this is not a new book. I read this when I was 6 years old! It was one of my absolute favorites. I've been keeping an eye out for it for my children. One "scary" thing that I remember most from this book is holding an adult's hand on the escalator, only to realize it is a stranger. That illustration has set in my mind for 30 years. What is especially funny, now, is that little children do that. They will hold my hand or grab my shirt, thinking I am their parent, only to look up at me with terror when they realize I'm the wrong "mommy". Gotta get it for yourself as well as the children.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Conversation Starter, June 5, 2005

By 

Amber L. Moreau (Vancouver, WA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Some Things Are Scary (Hardcover)

This book is an excellent book for parents and or teachers to read to students before discussing dealing with the fears and the types of things that scare them. It is a book that reassures children that these types of things scare other people too. It would be an excellent book for parents to read to start a conversation to find out what scares their children. For teachers it could be a great book to read to have children write a class book on their own fears or as an example for writing about any emotion.