Friday, February 9, 2007

Traditional Review--Strange and Scary Things

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Schwartz, Alvin. 1981. Strange and Scary Things. Ill By Gammell, Stephen. New York, NY: Harper Collins Publishers. 0397319274.

PLOT SUMMARY
Schwartz’s collection American folklore is full of tales of creepy terror and vengeance that will give you sleepless nights. Skeletons with torn and twisted heads and legs drop down from the chimney of haunted houses. For example, the tale “The Big Toe” has a dead person groaning and saying “Where is my t-o-o-o-o-o-e”? The reader can create a lot of drama by groaning and hoarsely enunciating each syllable of the word toe to engage the listeners in a suspenseful mood. The selections are meant to be read aloud and are short enough to read in a few minutes. As the reader and listeners get caught up in the stories and are waiting in suspense to expect the worst, the author switches to selections that are funny and provide some comic relief.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

The book covers nearly every type of scary tale possible. The stories are filled with ghosts, witches, monsters, animal-like creatures, skeletons, and dead people who come alive. The author retells the stories he has collected from other well-known folkloric and mythical literature. Even though the book is for young readers, many of the tales are intended for adults.

The author uses rhyming and onomatopoeic words to stir the imagination. The following excerpt from the story, “Aaron Kelly’s Bones” describes a dead man dancing. “Crickety-crack, down and back, the dead man went hopping, and his dry bones kept dropping—this way, that way, the pieces just kept popping”.

Schwartz uses repetition of words and action to intensify the terror of the person reading or hearing the story. Stephen Gammell's superb and spine-chilling drawings thoroughly depict the mood of all the scary stories and songs. The graphic black and white illustrations give the stories a macabre twist. The drawings of characters in the humorous tales are weird but not as frightening as they are in the horror stories.

The book is perfect for reading alone on a dark, gloomy night or for reading aloud in the dark to a group of scared kids at a slumber party.


REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

Booklist(June 1, 1996)
Gr. 5^-7. This collection of stories about witches and ghosts includes "jump" stories as well as macabre songs, contemporary psychic tales, and frightening legends from the past. Gammell's smudge drawings expand the ghoulish atmosphere.

Children's Books 1981 (NY Public Library)."A fine collection of short tales to chill the bones of young and old with interesting notes for folktale buffs."

CONNECTIONS

“Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark” will work well with young readers, especially boys. Most youngsters these days find horror fascinating. The suspense of the tales and the creepy illustrations will keep them engrossed. Some young-at-heart adults may also find these legends appealing.

If you liked “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark”, you will also enjoy the following books collected by Alvin Schwartz:

More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (0064401774)
Scary Stories 3: More Tales to Chill Your Bones (0064404188)

Similar scary stories by other authors:

13 Scary Ghost Stories (0613720253) by Marianne Carus
13 Monsters Who Should be Avoided (1561451460) by Kevin Shortsleeve
Scary Stories (0811854140) by Barry Moser

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