Short & Shivery: Thirty Chilling Tales


Robert D. San Souci - 1987
    Those who are found the next day, if they are still alive, will have gone mad.”  Chills and thrills to make your flesh crawl with fear! Turn the lights down low and grab your favorite reading chair. But first, you’d better check behind you. . . .   Ghosts, monsters, murders, and madmen! These thirty stories have been collected for your reading displeasure from all over the globe, and represent the world’s best scary stories and frightening folktales, featuring famous authors such as Washington Irving and the Brothers Grimm. Welcome to a chilling world of hair-raising tales!

Just So Stories


Rudyard Kipling - 1902
    The Butterfly That Stamped, and How the Alphabet Was Made..

Beanstalker and Other Hilarious Scarytales


Kiersten White - 2017
    Let's try again.Once upon a time, a boy did a horrible job as a sheep-sitter and burned his tongue on stolen pie.No, children in these stories are always good and virtuous. From the top.Once upon a time, a king and queen tried to find a princess for their son to marry, and he wound up fleeing from a group of very hairy vampires.Hmmm...What about, once upon a time, a bunch of fairy tales got twisted around to be completely hilarious, a tiny bit icky, and delightfully spooky scarytales... in other words, exactly what fairy tales were meant to be. Grab some flaming torches, maybe don't accept that bowl of pease porridge, and get ready for a wickedly fun ride with acclaimed author Kiersten White and fairy tales like you've never heard them before.

Dance in the Desert


Madeleine L'Engle - 1969
    Describes an encounter in the desert when the animals came to a caravan campfire and danced with a child because fear was absent.

The Dong with a Luminous Nose


Edward Lear - 1968
    The end of the story is sad but sweet, and it stars a nose that can light up a forest, light up the sky! The Dong is some kind of hero, certainly, and he can't help but win our hearts with that protuberant proboscis of his.The Dong with a Luminous Nose and The Jumblies (also published by Pomegranate Communications) present two of the most finely rendered suites of drawings ever created by Edward Gorey. With Edward Lear's irresistible verses, the books are timeless classics to be enjoyed through generations, by children of all ages, four to eighty-four.Text by Edward Lear; illustrated by Edward Gorey. 48 pages with 22 black-and-white illustrations. Smyth-sewn casebound book with jacket. Size: 8.5 x 6 inches.

Always October


Bruce Coville - 2012
    Even if it turns out LD may be the key to saving the world—or destroying it. Soon Jake and Lily are on a perilous quest through Always October, a land populated with monsters.Perfect for fans of Bruce Coville's beloved books, such as Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher, the Unicorn Chronicles series, and My Teacher Is an Alien series.

The Roly-Poly Spider


Jill Sardegna - 1994
    Parodying the classic The Itsy Bitsy Spider, the hilarious story tells of a Roly-Poly Spider who has all of her friends for lunch—literally—and becomes so chubby that she cannot get up the water spout.

Everything I Need To Know I Learned From a Little Golden Book


Diane Muldrow - 2013
    In this age of debt, depression, and diabetes, could we adults use a refresher course in the gentle lessons from these adorable books, she wondered—a "Little Golden guide to life"? Yes, we could! Muldrow's humorous yet practical tips for getting the most out of life ("Don't forget to enjoy your wedding!" "Be a hugger." "Sweatpants are bad for morale."), drawn from more than 60 stories, are paired with delightful images from these best-loved children's books of all time—among them The Poky Little Puppy, Pantaloon, Mister Dog, Nurse Nancy, We Help Mommy, Five Pennies to Spend, and The Little Red Hen. The Golden greats of children's illustration are represented here as well: Richard Scarry, Garth Williams, Eloise Wilkin, J. P. Miller, and Mary Blair, among many others. Sure to bring memories and a smile, this book is a perfect gift for baby boomers, recent grads, lovers of children's literature—or anyone who cherishes the sturdy little books with the shiny cardboard covers and gold foil spines!

Vampires, Wine, and Roses


John Richard Stephens - 1997
    Featuring a rare story by Anne Rice, a classic chiller by Edith Wharton, and song lyrics by Sting, this eclectic and original collection of vampire stories covers the gamut of genres, from the dark pleasures of Shakespeare to the twilight terrors of Rod Serling.

It Ate Billy on Christmas


Steven Daily - 2007
    But then a funny little monster appeared and ate Billy right up! Lumie knows it's not really a good thing to let a monster eat your brother, but she can't help but notice that things are, in fact, much nicer now that he's gone. Now that things are looking up a little in her world, Lumie has to decide what to do with her new little monster friend, and — most importantly — what she's going to feed him.

Cautionary Tales for Children


Hilaire Belloc - 1907
    Collected here and illustrated to wonderful haunting effect by Edward Gorey, these short, funny pieces offer moral instruction for all types of mischief makers—from a certain young Jim, "who ran away from his nurse and was eaten by a lion," to the tale of Matilda, "who told lies and was burned to death”—and add up to a delightful read for any fan of Roald Dahl or Shel Silverstein.

Ghost: Thirteen Haunting Tales to Tell


Illustratus - 2016
    a wood where the trees look back... a basement door blocked by a brick wall so thick, it stifles the screams from below ... This original collection of chilling poems and tales contains the only true ghost stories in existence (as the book itself will tell you)—13 eerie encounters perfect for sharing...if you dare. Accompanied by striking illustrations and building to a truly spine-tingling conclusion, this haunting book will consume the imagination and keep readers of every age up long past their bedtimes.

Snoopy to the Rescue


Charles M. Schulz - 2017
    Helping the Peanuts gang through various adventures (and misadventures), Snoopy continues his standoff with the Red Baron, finds every opportunity to kiss Lucy on the nose, and ventures out to find the mysterious Lila. Meanwhile, Charlie Brown faces anxiety over saying good-bye, Lucy tries ever more desperately to get Schroeder to notice her, and Linus ponders what life would be like without his blanket. Can Snoopy save the day? Find out in this new collection of the classic Peanuts comics.

Night of the Gargoyles


Eve Bunting - 1994
    In this stunning collaboration of two exceptional talents, the striking charcoal illustrations and nimble text reveal what happens at night when the gargoyles come to life.

Vile Verses


Roald DahlJoann Sfar - 2005
    But he was also the creator of some astonishingly imaginative, outrageous, and wonderfully disgusting verses. From oozing grobes to slimy slugs, this extraordinary collection is bursting with Dahl’s poems, verses, and songs. And with full-color original illustrations from a distinguished group of more than twenty artists, including Quentin Blake,William Joyce, and Lane Smith, this lavish volume is a must-have for any Dahl fan’s library.