Book Description

Walking corpses, dancing bones, knife-wielding madmen, and narrow escapes from death -- they're all here in this chilling collection of ghost stories. ... Read more

Reviews (24)

Don't pass this boxed set up!!!
Most of you that are glancing at this item are familiar with the "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark" series, if you are not now is the time to familiarize yourself. These books are great scary children stories and the illustrations are beyond creepy and just as fun for the young adult reader. For those of you familiar with my reviews you know I can be a bit stinchy with my awarding stars to items, but this collection deserves it. The covers are even given a polished off modern look. I didn't like the metallic covers at first as they seemed to ruin the nostalgia, but this little addition makes the boxed set seem more like a collector's item. I'd still have to give the work itself a 3.75 stars so we'll just say 4, but the overall value and revamped look knock this terrific item up to 5 stars. If your a fan of the series or scary stories in general you can't miss this. GET IT!!!

VERY SPOOKY!! IT'LL GIVE YOU NIGHTMARES!!
This boxed set of "Scary Stories To Tell In the Dark" is absolutly incredible! I am now 18 years old and still can't get enough of this spooky stuff. The stories aren't too scary, but the illusions are very scary, morbid, eerie, and will give you nightmares!! Hey, ... these books still give me chills even after all these years. I love 'em. Stephen Gammell has given readers a rare treat with all the spooky and realistic black & white illusions. Alvin Schwartz is a heck of an author! These books are wonderful. Get em' all in this incredible boxed set. Enjoy it.

"Harold" still gives me chills, 10 years after I read it!!
I grew up loving these books, and have many a fond memory of reading them by flashlight at sleepovers and scaring my friends. I even had a scary-story themed birthdy party once, where we sat in the dark and my mom read some of the stories by flashlight and then passed around bowls of peeled grapes (eyeballs) and pasta (guts), even jell-o (brains). We had a lot of good screams that night!

I would reccomend these stories to any kid, or to any parent to buy for their kid. They're terrifying, the illustrations are gruesome, but they fuel the imagination unlike any other kid-themed horror story I've ever read, and I read 'em all in my day. I found that the story "Harold" disturbed me the most, and every now and then my mind will wander to it and I'll shudder. There's something to be said for a story that still has the power to unsettle ten years after it's been read.

So sad.
I had this once and I got rid of it!!!!!! I still regret it and I'm going to order a new one. DON'T pass this up! It's a great book. Has the old stories and some new ones(well, new twists from when it was made). It was a sad, sad day when I got rid of the box set I had. My brother was sad too. I think he may have hated me for a brief second.;)

Super Freaky!
First, of all I didn't give it a one because its horrible, I gave it a one because Alvin Schwartz stories are REALLY creepy. And I agree with danny the illustrations are freaky, those alone would make me want to burn the book. And I've reached the college level age and I'm still affraid of those books! lol I have a very low tollerence for horror of any kind....... Some stories aren't that scary their just pretty weird folklore...Like the story of the WolfGirl in vol. 3. Or the Hog... Though Harold was a freakish story....the pictures are the main reason though... ::shivers:: college student and still afraid...lol ... Read more

Book Description

This spooky addition to Alvin Schwartz's popular books on American folklore is filled with tales of eerie horror and dark revenge that will make you jump with fright.

There is a story here for everyone -- skeletons with torn and tangled flesh who roam the earth; a ghost who takes revenge on her murderer; and a haunted house where every night a bloody head falls down the chimney.

Stephen Gammell's splendidly creepy drawings perfectly capture the mood of more than two dozen scary stories -- and even scary songs -- all just right for reading alone or for telling aloud in the dark.

Reviews (54)

Stephen Gammel is a genius!
The first book I read out of the three in the series was "More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark," but this is my favorite one by far. No other scary story book(s) alive will EVER compete with this one and its two other sequels. Like almost everyone has said, it's not so much the stories that make this one and it's counterparts scary, it's the damn illustrations! Now let me tell you, Alvin Schwartz does do a very good job of putting stories of old folklore together with a couple of his own stories that he made up himself, but without the help of Stephen Gammel I highly doubt this book (and the other ones) would be so popular. These books are definitely not for the little ones, well maybe they would be if you don't show them the illustrations because there's a VERY good chance they will have nightmares. I swear though if I could draw and paint like Gammel does I would be a happy man, that's for sure! Anyhoo, let me get to the part of where I tell you why this book is my favorite. Not only does it have the best stories in it (in my opinion anyways) but out of the entire series this one has the most unbelieveably nightmarish drawings. "The Thing" and ESPECIALLY "The Haunted House" are VERY good examples! "The Thing"'s illustration is pretty scary but while reading "The Haunted House," I have to put a piece of paper over the illustration to cover it up while reading the story itself, it's that bad trust me. Overall, while I wish very badly that Alvin and Stephen would collaborate again to make more of these books (and I don't think they will, tis very sad) I am glad I have all three of these books, they are well worth the price. However I very rarely read them anymore, it's not like I'm tired of them or anything it's cuz they're too damn scary! I just read all of them yesterday and I predict it's gonna be another 3 years or so before I read them again. That being said, if you don't buy all 3 of these books ..., plain and simple.

Awesome
I read these books (all three of them) when I was in third grade. They were so popular at my school, the library had 4 copies of each book, and you still had to put your name on a waiting list. The first time i read them, I was totally freaked out (Steven Gammell's illustrations added imensly to the horror that Schwartz weaved), I remember not sleeping well the first night after I read them. Its now 8 years later (I'm a senior in high school) and I had completly forgotten that they existed. I stumbled upon them when I was searching for Stephen King (I've always been a fan of the horror genre) and ordered all three of them. If you're into fokelore and scary stories, these three books (Scary Stories, More Scary Stories and Scary Stories 3) are all must-haves in your collection. Enjoy, they're WICKED good :)

I am still totally creeped out.
So ten or fifteen years ago, when I was in elementary school, this was definitely the NUMBER ONE MOST FREQUENTLY CHECKED-OUT LIBRARY BOOK, EVER. If you wanted this book in your hot little hand for just two days, you had to stand at the counter and wait for someone to turn it back in, just so you could snatch it up before the librarian got it back onto the shelf. No joke.

America's a young country, of course, so our idea of "American folklore" often falls into the sphere of Urban Legend. That doesn't mean this book is any less literary, of course: children will learn what REAL short story pacing is, thanks to Alvin Schwartz's suspenseful collection of concise, tense, and often outright nightmarish stories.

But the real thing that will haunt kids a decade or two later will be Stephen Gammell's illustrations. Yipes! I've asked my peers, and not one of us has forgotten those awful, macabre, dripping-flesh-decay illustrations. Ick! Just remembering this book gives me the creeps!

But parents, don't worry: this book is a must-have for any well-rounded childhood, so long as you don't mind sharing your bed with your kid for a week or two.

Great collection of scary stories for kids
This is the greatest collection of scary stories for kids and pre teens ever. I have collected many scary stories books through out my childhood and this is the only one whos storys have actually stuck with me and the only ones i can remember. Every book in the series , this one , more scary storys to tell in the dark and scary stories 3 are all good. The storys were so creepy i can still remember them to this day and i have recently got the other scary stories books so i can see if they were as good as i remember and they are. I first got this book when i was about 10 years old and lost it over the years then i re ordered a copy and the stories still have same effect and value as i remember. They have great illustrations and even some songs in a couple of the books. I used to stay up at night and read this with my friend and we would read the stories to eachother , i was so excited cause the book was so good and most of the stories gave me chills and i was not one to scare easy. For 6 bucks this is well worth it and the memories and storys will last forever.

Scary Stories to tell in the Dark
My book is the best book ever! It is called Scary Stories to tell in the Dark. Since there is more than one story you can never get bored with it. There is a scary part of about 5 chapters long, and there is a funny part. (It is only one chapter.) One of the scary stories you will love is the White wolf. In this story a pack of wolves keep eating farmers' sheep. Then a butcher says he will help get rid of the sheep even though he has retired from hunting. I will not tell you any more of the story, you will just have to read it. One of the funny stories is the Viper. In this story a widower gets a phone call from the Viper, and he calls about 3 times. Then the widower calls the police. I will not tell you any more, but I will tell one more thing. I highly and truly recommend this book. On a scale of 0-10 I would give this a 9. ... Read more

Book Description

Creak...
Crash...
BOO!

Shivering skeletons, ghostly pirates, chattering corpses, and haunted graveyards...all to chill your bones! Share these seven spine-tingling stories in a dark, dark room.

... Read more

Reviews (15)

It was so good and so memorable
When I was in the third grade I read this book and now on this day I'm in the tenth grade and I still remember this book as my favorite even though I haven't seen it in years it's a great book and I've been searching for it the book stores don't seem to have it but now here I found it the book is filled with grate stories that your children will love as much as I do my favorite story is the green ribbon.

I loved this book.
I remember when I got this book. It was near Halloween and I had to go to Burlington coat factory with my grandma. I saw this book and asked her if I could get it. She said okay. I was eight years old. I took it back to her house and read it that night. My favorite story was 'The Green Ribbon'. I took it to school with me the following Monday so that my teacher would read it to us and she got excited when she saw 'The Green Ribbon' because it was a story she was looking for that was told to her when she was a child. I love this book and I recommend it to you, but I do think that if you're a parent, you might want to see if your child can handle some of these stories. Aside from that, this is a fine bit of literature and will be cherished by many people for years to come.

horrible
This books is horrible. I was given this book by my mother as a child & was traumatized by the story "The Green Ribbon". The pictures are too scary, not just the picture off the severed head, but pretty much all of them. Every time i think about these stories I feel like sleeping with my lights ON. I would not recommend this book!!

THE GREEN RIBBON
I remember first looking at this book after my Kindergarten teacher had finished reading it. I loved it so much and I remember thinking it was the most wonderful book in the world. I had totally forgotten what the title of the book was and it wasn't until recently that I stumbled upon it and bought it. The stories are great and sometimes a bit humorous if you have a morbid sense of humor that is. Anyway, I now read it to my little brother and he loves it. This is one of those scary story books that's scary, but not too scary to keep kids up at night. It's an excellent investment to make and it's something I'm almost positive a child will treasure forever.

A good source of short stories for telling!
This book contains six very short "scary" stories and one "scary" poem. The stories are actually shortened verions of old folk stories. The poem, which is quite good, was collected from an eight-year-old, but it's unclear as to whether it was authored by that eight-year-old. This is all documented at the end of the book.

There is even a short FOWARD to the book which encourages young readers to TELL these stories. Even though I didn't realize this was part of the book, this is exactly the reason I purchased it--for my students to use in learning storytelling.

Even though shortened for young readers, the stories are complete. And even though they are written so that beginning readers can handle the text, the stories don't suffer. (But, please be ready to help the young reader with a couple of the words!)

Without actually testing the text, I would estimate the readability level to be appropriate for later second grade.

Finally, be advised that these stories DO contain an element of "scariness" that MIGHT play on some childrens' minds. ... Read more

Book Description

All those who enjoyed shuddering their way through Alvin Schwartz's first volume of Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark will find a satisfyingly spooky sequel in this new collection of the macabre, the funny, and the fantastic.

Is it possible to die -- and not know it? What if a person is buried too soon? What happens to a thief foolish enough to rob a corpse, or to a murderer whose victim returns from the grave? Read about these terrifying predicaments as well as what happens when practical jokes produce gruesome consequences and initiations go awry.

Stephen Gammell's splendidly creepy drawings perfectly capture the mood of more than two dozen scary stories -- and even a scary song -- all just right for reading alone or for telling aloud in the dark.

Reviews (32)

This Amazing book More Scary Stories to tell in the dark
If you like scaring people out of their mind this is a book you would want to read. More Scary Stories to tell in Dark by Alvin Schwartz is a great book.
One story called 'The Wreck' takes place in the woods. Fred and Jeanne are at a dance and Jeanne wanted a ride home. She had run her car into a tree on the way to the dance and Fred ended up giving her a ride home. After he dropped her off he realized he didn't know her last name or her phone number, so on the way back something amazing happened. If you want to find out what happens remember to read this amazing collection of scary tales.

More Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark
Alvin Schwartz can write some really scary stories. While I was reading this book I kept getting scared. Some parts in this weren't very scary though. But most of the time the stories were scary or funny. I would recommend this book to people who like getting scared or like to read funny stories. I like the fact that this book has lots of short stories. They leave you wondering what will happen next.

this is a book for all ages , excitingly scary yet wonderful
Alvin Schwartz has created his folklore masterpiece that you can enjoy alone or with family . this book is way bettere than the first but not overshadowed by the third . all three are good but this one is the best by far . Stephen Gammell's art is one of the key parts that make this a classic . this gives a good look at the american horror mind . this is good for first graders and collage studants alike . buy this book .

The scaries book
This book is one of the books I enjoyed the most because it had many different kind of scary stories that had read in the past and made into one book. Some stories had picturess in them, and they lookedvery scary. The pictures help to tell you to know what going on in the book. It is best to read it in the dark whith your friend or whoever you read it to will be shaking and shivering from the first stories to the end of the book. I try it once and it made the book scarier. Tis is one of the scariest book I had read in the past two years. This book is terrifying, it's scarry and it will chill your bones.

More Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark
This book that I read is a magnificent book. It is also scary because I think some of the stories are real and some of them are fake. They also have many diffrent kind of stories, but the absolute favorite story is called The Drum. It's about a haunted house and two people that died there. Their souls are captured in the house then two people moved into that house every night they come out beating a drum. Every time the people that moved they never see nobody beating a drum. Every time they get out of bed they stop druming and when they go back to sleep they start to do it again. While they are beating the drum as hard as they can they also scream GET OUT OF OUR HOUSE! ... Read more

Reviews (18)

Scary Stories 3: More Tales to Chill Your Bones
I think this is one of the best book that Alvin Schwartz has ever written. I really enjoyed his last two books so I decided to read this book and I was not disapointed. I really liked the short story form for the book because it left me wondering what would happen next. Some of the stories are some what alike. But all of them were still fun to read. I really enjoyed all the stories because they were really funny. I would recommend this book to everyone. I would especially recommend this book to people who has read the other books by Alvin Schwartz.

Still Scary, but not as rich
Scary Stories 3 offers up more tales of terror and madness, but it seems to me Schwartz has gone to the urban legends well for what should be the last time. While many of the stories are still suspenseful and scary, the same impact does not hold up against the first two volumes. Gammell's artwork is still wonderfully morbid, but I felt like I was reading stories which were only being written for another paycheck. Not as much heart. Don't get me wrong, I did still enjoy the book and WOULD recommend it to other readers, but feel, unfortunately, that a fourth volume would hold little for horror fans of all ages. Then again, maybe I just grew up.

The best of scary stories
Well, by the title you can probably tell what the book is about. This book is about scary stories.
There is an very interesting part of this book it is called Hello Kate! It is about a ghost named Kate. She had died last year. Tom Conners was going to a dance. He was walking through the woods when he heard a strange sound. When he turned around he saw Kate. Then all of a sudden he remembered Kate was dead. He turned back around again but faster this time and didn't see her.
People who would like this book best would be teenagers,people that are older, and older children. Little children who don't like scary stories would defiantly not like this book.
I would give this book 10 out of 10 stars because it is a very scary books is a good but scary book.

The Best Of Scary Stories
Scary Stories More Tales To Chill Your Bones by Alvin Schwartz
Well, by the title you can probably tell what the book is about. This book is about scary stories.
There is an very interesting part of this book it is called Hello Kate! It is about a ghost named Kate. She had died last year. Tom Conners was going to a dance. He was walking through the woods when he heard a strange sound. When he turned around he saw Kate. Then all of a sudden he remembered Kate was dead. He turned back around again but faster this time and didn't see her.
People who would like this book best would be teenagers,people that are older, and older children. Little children who don't like scary stories would defiantly not like this book.
I would give this book 10 out of 10 stars because it is a very scary book. This is a good but scary book.

so scary i couldve sworn my hair was turning gray!!!
this book is basically a bunch of stories by Alvin Schwartz that tell stories of ghosts,Haunted houses,poltergeists,and some funny/scary stories. my favorite one was the one called "A true story" it is about......well, if i told you it would give away the best part. if you like this one which i know you will if u like horrors, read the other two books by Alvin Scwartz, "Scary Stories to tell in the Dark" and "More Scary Stories to tell in the Dark. ... Read more

Book Description

Creak...
Crash...
BOO!

Shivering skeletons, ghostly pirates, chattering corpses, and haunted graveyards...all to chill your bones! Share these seven spine-tingling stories in a dark, dark room.

Now the beloved characters and adventures from this popular line of books come to life with I Can Read Book & Cassettes. Each package includes a best-selling beginning reader storybook and a lively audio recording featuring:

• Word-for-word narration
• Music and sound effects
• Turn-the-page signals on Side I
• Uninterrupted reading on Side 2

... Read more

Reviews (2)

Scary
This book is a collection of short scary stories for children, perfect for Halloween season. I remember reading these stories when I was younger and think that they where they scariest things. If you read the stories to the children, you could then have them come up with their own scary stories. Plus it is a great way to introduce the genre of mystery and suspense and teach the children what qualities a book must have to actually be a mystery. Most of all these short stories are fun to read and they are not so scary that a child would be left with nightmares, and they are short enough that they keep the child's attention long enough

great scary stories
These stories may not be frightening to the average reader, but they are enjoyable to younger readers who want to know what a scary story is all about. Five stars all the way. ... Read more

Book Description

A tongue twister will twist you tongue and make you laugh. Just say it three times as fast as you can.

There is a spider
inside the cider
beside her.

Alivin Schwartz presents a delightful collection of forty-six easy-to-read tongue twisters that will challange the smoothest talkers. And he's even included one that will cure hiccups! Now in full color, with whimsical drawings by Paul Meisel adding to the fun, this book will have young readers laughing, coming back for more -- and inventing their own clever ways to twist a tongue!

Reviews (1)

Saad's Talkaty Talker
A remarkable guy from Downtown, Known for reading his book upside down, Chose to stand on his head In his bed while he read And developed a permanet frown. A talkaty talker named Wade Took Tina to watch the parade, When he said, " Sweet miss-miss, Would you like a kiss-kiss?" She doused him with cold lemonade. A hot-air balloonist named Betty Flew over a sea of spagetti. It looked quite suspicious, But tasted delicious With Parameson cheese and confetti. There once was artist named Nallie, Who painted her cottage with jelly, And then on one shutter She spread peanut butter And slid down the stairs on her belly. A happy musican named Joe Went out play in the snow. He played up a storm To keep himself warm, While everyone shouted, "bravo!" A sleepy-time baby named Pammie Loves to sleep over with Grammie, Who bakes apple pies, And sings lullabies, And rocks her to sleep in her jammies. ... Read more

Book Description

Meet the
silliest family
in the world!
Grandpa Brown tries to hatch a baby horse. Mr. Brown shouts at his underwear. And Jane Brown grows a carrot in her ear (she planted a radish). Here are six stories to make you giggle and laugh.

... Read more

Reviews (2)

iT WILL AMUSE 99%
What a cleverly written children's picture book. Parents andteachers will enjoy reading this to their children as it will amuseand get children interested in reading. Children will want it read to them over and over again, until of course they gather interest in reading and read it themselves. My little brother didn't want to or wasn't interested in reading, until he picked up a copy of THERES A CARROT IN MY EAR!

My non-reader loves this book - its reallly funny!!!
This book is hysterical. All kids, and adults, will love it. ... Read more

Book Description

‘There are few things as beguiling as a really audacious lie, and the prospect of a collection of them seems almost too good to be true.There are hunting yarns, lies about farming, about insects and animals, about the weather . . . all illustrated to a T." —NYT.

Children’s Choices for 1976 (IRA/CBC)
Notable 1975 Children's Trade Books in Social Studies (NCSS/CBC) ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Read read
This book is about tall tales and other big lies. Some of the stories are so weird they are funny. And some are not. The book has stories like a man who caught such a big fish that the picture weighed 20 pounds. And some of tall tales you have probably heard before. I liked the book because I like tall tales and funney stories. The stories are pretty short. The longest story is about four pages long. In the book there are about 25 stories. I would recommend this book to K-5 grades who like lies. ... Read more

Book Description

These spooky -- and funny -- tales about singing ghosts, toast-eating ghosts, and ghosts no one even guesses are sure to send shivers up and down your spine.

Why not retell them to your friends and see if you can make their spines tingle, too? ... Read more

Reviews (3)

This book causes bed-wetting!
Sure, read it to your kids at bedtime and you will take a day off the next day to clean their beds (NOT speaking from my personal experience, though).

A collection of several short stories about ghosts, all of them have a little surprising or twisting ending. The book completes with a short story to tell your kids what to do to scare off a ghost if they run into one.

Make sure to ask your kids to use the bathroom before bedtime, or they might fail to scare off the ghosts that cause bedwetting.

Youngest age to read to is probably about 3+ years old.

Cool book
Ghosts

Alvin Schwartz

Reading level: 1-3

Your review: This is a good book! I would recommend it. It has really funny illustrations and really good ones too! It isn't a chapter book but it does have 7 funny but not scary stories about ghosts!

Great for the child who likes a little scare
When my son read this book it was the first time ever that he read past his required 20 minutes and actually finished the book! He loved the scary tone, but not too scary for a child. ... Read more

Book Description

Do your ears hang low,
Do they wobble to and fro?

If they do, you may be a folk poet! From autograph rhymes to street rhymes, from riddles to nonsense rhymes, folk poetry celebrates the vitality and originality of everyday language.

Compiled by renowned folklorist Alvin Schwartz and illustrated with antic humor by Sue Truesdell, here is a treasure trove of more than 250 folk poems to share with friends and family. It may even inspire you to create your own!

Notable Children's Books of 1993 (ALA)
1993 Fanfare Honor List (The Horn Book)
1992 Books for Youth Editors' Choices (BL)
Children's Choices for 1993 (IRA/CBC)
Children's Books of 1992 (Library of Congress)
100 Books for Reading and Sharing 1992 (NY Public Library)
Bulletin Blue Ribbons 1992 (BCCB)
1993 Notable Trade Books in the Language Arts (NCTE)
1993-4 Alabama Emphasis on Reading Award ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A fun read aloud book
I enjoy reading this book to my 15 month old daughter at bedtime. She enjoys the poems and verses as well as the illustrations. I have heard many parts of this book in my childhood, and this brings back great memories. I would recommend this book to any parent whose child likes to be read to and to any parent who enjoys folk poetry and verses. I find as a parent, this book is easy to read to a child and both members benefit from it.

A real kid pleaser!!!!!!
I am a 3rd Grade teacher. To help you fully realize how much kids love this book I'll tell you that it gets stolen every year! I've had to buy this book 3 years in a row!!! It is always my class' favorite book. It has a very humorous view and introduces children to poetry. A+!!!! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

very entertaining!
Peacocks, she sells seashells, bitter butter, many old, well knowntwisters and modern ones. Even a story written with alliteration! Veryenlightening, and I hope I can get my edition soon, for I used to have thisbook, but lost it along the way, and now it is out of print. ... Read more

Book Description

The noodle-headed Browns are back! And all of their noses are here, but clearly their wits are not.

Jane gets a donkey -- or does she? Grandpa misses the last ferryboat home. The Browns go on a rowboat trip, but have they all come back? Poor Sam falls out of a tree. And the whole family meets a nice new family in a mirror.

Oh, those silly Browns! Who could be funnier? And what could be better than five new noodle tales from Alvin Schwartz with Karen Ann Weinhaus's perfect pictures of these noodleheads in action?

Reviews (1)

This was my favorite book as a child!
These short stories are absolutely hilarious. I recommend this book to beginning readers and also to parents with children to read to them. I remember laughing so hard I was doubled over when I first read this book! Reading can be such a wonderful experience and this book is a terrific example of quality children's literature. ... Read more

Book Description

A collection of 41 folk rhymes, taunts, and insults that have been chanted, sung, and shouted by generations of children throughout the United States. ‘Children will appreciate the humor of the rhymes and the illustrations. Another I Can Read hit.’ —SLJ.

... Read more

Reviews (1)

A real funny
My daughter brought this book home from the library and has been reading it to her little sister who responds with uproarious laughter (they are 6 and 3). The forward at the beginning of the book says that the authors of some of the poems were children. What better encouragement could a young writer have? Some of these poems I remember from my childhood as jumprope rhymes. Altogether an enjoyable first reader. ... Read more