| October 2003
Dear Fellow Book Lovers:
Ghosts. Vampires. Witches.
Black Cats. Mummies. Goblins. These creatures have come to
symbolize Halloween and are merchandized beginning in late
summer. They are in shopping malls, store windows, and supermarkets.
They come in all sizes and forms –chocolate candies, marshmallow
treats, all day lollipops. But some adults have a problem
when they come on the covers of books. I think it is apropos
that Banned Books Week is celebrated the month preceding the
celebration of Halloween. Many school and public libraries
have been pressured to abandon Halloween. There are teachers
who tell me that they are instructed to decorate with pumpkins
and call it fall festival. Others totally ignore it. All the
while, children are out searching for the scariest costumes,
planning the silliest pranks, and plotting strategies for
hitting their neighborhood for treats. It seems to me that
we should use this time to invite children and young adults
into books. Ghost stories, mysteries, fairy tales with witches
and magic, folk stories filled with ogres, goblins, and other
weird beings have delighted young readers for generations.
They find joy in sitting in a dark room overtaken by the fright
of a good tale. And they want to be led to books that create
a lingering feeling of suspense. Let’s celebrate with them.
Here are a few of my book suggestions for this great holiday:
The
Mystery of the Talking Skull
(ages 9-13) by Robert Arthur
It all started with
a dollar. One dollar paid at auction by Jupiter Jones for
a dusty old trunk that once belonged to The Great Gulliver,
a magician who vanished as mysteriously as one of his tricks.
The trunk attracts a host of bizarre characters, like Zelda
the Gypsy, Three-Finger Munger, and Maximilian the Mystic.
But what's inside the trunk is even more bizarre--a
skull that talks! Other books in The Three Investigators
series that students will enjoy for Halloween are:
The
Mystery of the Strutting Parrot and The
Secret of Skeleton Island.
The
Halloween Tree (ages 8-12) by Ray Bradbury
Eight trick-or-treaters
are terrorized when one is grabbed while they are on a mission
in a haunted house.
The
Ghost in the Big Brass Bed (ages 8-12) by Bruce Coville
Two eleven -year-olds
encounter a ghost when they are researching the history of
a house and the truth behind a strange painting. Students
who like this book will also enjoy The
Ghost in the Third Row and The
Ghost Wore Gray, also by Coville.
The
13 th Floor (ages 8-12) by Sid Fleischman and illustrated
by Peter Sis
The 13 th floor of
an abandoned building takes Buddy and Liz back in time.
The
Ghosts of Rathburn Park (ages 8-12) by Zilpha Keatley
Snyder
There are strange
things going on in Rathburn Park and it is up to 11-year-old
Matthew to figure it out.
For Teenagers (ages
12-up):
Vampire books by Amelia
Atwater-Rhodes:
Demon
in My View
In the Forests of the Night
Shattered
Mirror
Midnight
Predator
Favorite titles by
Lois Duncan
Down
a Dark Hall
Summer
of Fear
Stranger
with My Face
The Twisted
Window
You may email me at pscales@scgsah.state.sc.us.
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