Help! My Brother's a Zombie

November 1, 2014

Gr 2-4-Each book in this short, snarky, and slightly spooky series begins with a slightly different introduction by Graves in which she describes how the club works (friends gather to tell scary tales). The language and mood make these titles very similar to stories told around a campfire or by friends at a sleepover. Help! is about a boy with a teenage zombie brother locked in the attic, while Mirrored tells of a girl who switches places with her evil reflection. There are stories about a boy who gets turned into ham, a pet guinea pig that may have come back from the dead, and a Dr. Frankenstein-esque mad scientist. With the exception of Mirrored, none of the stories are particularly dark, so those desiring a truly frightening tale should look elsewhere. However, the lightly spooky nature of the selections combined with the brevity of the text and inclusion of illustrations makes this series a good choice for younger readers who aren't yet ready for R.L. Stine's "Goosebumps" (Scholastic) or Alvin Schwartz's "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark" (HarperCollins). The narrator's interjections are similar to those in Adam Gidwitz's A Tale Dark and Grimm (Dutton, 2010).-Jessica Ko, Los Angeles Public Library

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2015
A Halloween sleepover at which each guest must tell a scary story sets up this series of self-contained tales. The author embraces the idea that things unseen are scarier than those described to keep the stories age-appropriate without sacrificing spookiness; a jaded, slightly meta tone adds levity. Jagged line illustrations on roomy pages complete the accessible packages. There are four other spring 2015 books in this series.

(Copyright 2015 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)