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Children's Creepshow
All things scary, strange, eerie, creepy, or "other-world" intrigue children's imaginations. This Showcase
presents titles that invite children into an imaginative realm of mystery and fascination. Our member publishers feature ghost stories, mysteries, and science fiction.
Please browse the titles below and click on those that interest you to see cover art and a full book
description. Some of the titles may also include examples of interior art that offer a clearer representation of the actual book. The titles included in the Showcase are selected by their publishers
who provide the art and descriptive information.
These books are available at your local bookstore, which we urge you to patronize. Your local
bookseller can supply these titles and offer professional, informed help in selecting other good books for children. Check the American Booksellers Association's directory of member bookstores for a bookseller near you.
If you do not have convenient access to any local bookstores, you can purchase these CBC Showcase books online from independent bookstores at  .
CBC Showcase is a bimonthly thematic bibliography available only online. Please visit the Showcase Archive to view previous lists, which include Poetry Titles, Math and Counting Books, Folk and Fairy
tales, The African-American Experience, Humorous Books, Holiday Titles, and much more.
The next Showcase featuring holiday books will be online as of November 1.
Almanac of Alien Encounters
, written by Eric Elfman, illustrated by Jeff Westover. Ages 8-12. Are humans alone in the universe?
Make up your mind after reading accounts of alien encounters throughout our history. (Random House)
Attack of the Fifty-Foot Teacher
, written and illustrated by Lisa Passen. Ages 5-8.
Watch out for Miss Irma Birmbaum--the meanest teacher in town! (Henry Holt and Company)
The Autobiography of Meatball Finkelstein
, written by Ross Venokur.
Ages 8-12. Meatball Finkelstein is an unlikely hero--until he discovers he possesses a most unusual superpower that can help him save all the students of the world! (Delacorte)
Beatnik Rutabagas From Beyond the Stars
, written by Quentin Dodd.
Ages 10-up. Whisked away on space ships to serve as generals of opposing armies, best friends and sci-fiction movie fans Walter and Yselle soon convince the aliens they must work together against the real menaces, Spice Mice from Galaxy Four and their leader, The Boss. (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
The Boy in the Burning House
, written by Tim Wynne-Jones. Ages 10 up.
Trying to solve the mystery of his father's disappearance from their rural Canadian community, fourteen-year-old Jim gets help from the disturbed Ruth Rose, who suspects her stepfather, a local pastor. (Farrar, Straus and Giroux / Melanie Kroupa Books)
The Boy of a Thousand Faces
, written by Brian Selznick. Ages 8 - up. Born on Halloween, Alonzo can name every horror film ever made. But can he
solve the mystery of The Beast that is stalking his town? (Laura Geringer Books, HarperCollins Publishers)
Brooms Are for Flying
, written and illustrated by Michael Rex. Ages 3-7.
A funny, interactive Halloween story for preschoolers. (Henry Holt and Company)
The China Garden
, written by Liz Berry. Clare moves to mysterious Ravensmere estate and discovers her family's tragic past, a
haunting garden, and a threat to her new home that may endanger everything. (Publisher: HarperCollins Children's Books)
Circle of Fire
, written by Evelyn Coleman, illustrated by Jean-Paul Tibbles (color) & Laszlo Kubinyi (B&W).
Ages 10 and up. In 1958, Mendy discovers the KKK is plotting to bomb Highlander School during Eleanor Roosevelt's speech. Mendy makes a daring attempt to stop the KKK. (Publisher: Pleasant Company Publications)
The Circus Lunicus
, written by Marilyn Singer.
Ages 10-14. Solomon Yanish uncovers his family ties to a celestial circus in this quirky middle grade novel. (Henry Holt and Company)
Cirque Du Freak: A Living Nightmare
, Book 1 in the Darren Shan Saga, written by Darren Shan. Ages 10 and up.
The compelling saga of a young boy's journey into a dark world of vampires. Filled with grotesque creatures, murderous vampires, and an unexpected ending, it will chill, thrill, and leave readers begging for more. (Little, Brown and Co.)
Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant
, Book 2 in the Darren Shan Saga, written by Darren Shan. Ages 10 and up. The compelling sequel to Cirque Du Freak, The
Vampire's Assistant continues the saga of Darren Shan and follows the grotesquek creatures and blood-sucking vampires from Book 1, plus other monsters. (Little, Brown and Co.)
Deadly Waters: Mysteries in Our National Parks
, written by Gloria Skurzynski and Alane Ferguson. Ages 8-12. "Vivid descriptions and cliff-hanger
chapter endings with plenty of action between..." --School Library Journal (National Geographic Society)
The Ghost and Mrs. Hobbs
, written by Cynthia DeFelice.
Ages 8-12. Hindered with a fight with her friend Dub, and a series of mysterious fires, Allie investigates the fire seventeen years earlier which claimed the lives of the husband and infant son of a school cafeteria worker. (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
The Ghost of Fossil Glen
, written by Cynthia DeFelice. Ages 8-12. Allie hears a girl's voice that begs her for help and appears in her
dreams. Is she a ghost? What does she want from Allie? (HarperCollins Children's Books)
A Ghost Story
, written by Nina Crews.
Ages 5 and up. There is a ghost living in Jonathan's room, but no one will believe him. (Greenwillow Books, HarperCollins Publishers)
Ghosts in the Gallery, written by Barbara
Brooks Wallace. Ages 8-12. A new spine-tingling Dickensian chiller from a two-time Edgar Award-winning author. (A Jean Karl Book/Atheneum Books for Young Readers)
Half-Human, edited by Bruce Coville, illustrated by Marc Taus.
Ages 8-14. A collection of stories about such creatures as mermaids and centaurs, who are part-human and part-animal, and their struggles to understand their true identity. (Scholastic Press)
Houdini: Master of Illusion
, written by Clinton Cox. Ages 9-14. Both boys and girls are fascinated by magic, and by Harry Houdini
especially. This inspirational biography informs readers of Houdini's rise from humble beginnings to fame and fortune. It brings the legend of Houdini to life. (Scholastic Press)
The Imp That Ate My Homework
, written by Laurence Yep.
Ages: 8 -12. Jim thinks Grandpop is the meanest man in Chinatown. Then a mythical imp pops up and Jim finds there's more to Grandpop than meets the eye. (HarperCollins Children's Books)
It's Vladimir!
, written by Deborah Noyes, illustrated by Christopher Mills. Ages 5-8.
Whatıs an impatient and headstrong young vampire to do when he canıt get his own way? (Marshall Cavendish)
Kate Culhane: A Ghost Story
, written and illustrated by Michael Hague. Ages 7-10. In this Irish folktale, a young woman must outwit
a ghost to save her life and the lives of those she loves. (SeaStar Books, a division of North-South Books)
The Last Book in the Universe
, written by Rodman Philbrick.
Ages 10-14. In this fast-paced novel filled with drama and suspense, Philbrick presents a dangerous future world and a young hero who embarks on a terrifying quest. (The Blue Sky Press)
The Lima Bean Monster
, written by Dan Yaccarino, illustrated by Adam McCauley. Ages: 4-8.
Sammy, along with the rest of the neighborhood kids, hide their lima beans in a hole in the ground in Sammy's backyard. When a monster is born of the lima beans, how will Sammy save the town? (Publisher: Walker & Company)
Monsieur Eek!
, written by David Ives. Ages 10 - up.
A sparkling fable about two young people who risk everything to change the minds--and the history--of an entire town. (HarperCollins Children's Books)
The Mysterious Matters of I.M. Fine
, written by Diane Stanley. Ages 9 - up. A quirky, fast-paced, and funny homage to R.L. Stine.
(Publisher: HarperCollins Children's Books)
Nightmares: Poems to Trouble Your Sleep
, written by Jack Prelutsky, illustrated by Arnold Lobel.
Ages 8 -12. Here, enshrined forever in their lonely gloom, are the creatures of nightmare: ghoul, bogeyman, witch, werewolf, ogre and their ilk. (Greenwillow Books, HarperCollins Publishers)
Pumpkin Eye, written and illustrated by Denise Fleming.
Ages 2-5. A Halloween Story with just the right amount of spookiness for preschoolers. (Henry Holt and Company)
Pure Dead Magic
, written by Debi Gliori. Ages 8-12. The Strega-Borgia castle is packed with everything kids love:
outrageous humor, cyber-magic, wacky beasts, witches, and gangsters! (Knopf)
Ripley's Believe It Or Not! Special Edition
. Ages 8-up. Truth is stranger than fiction! "Ripley's Believe It or Not"-the authority on the
strange and unusual-and Scholastic present an easy-to-read, updated collection of the world's most extraordinary, shocking, and odd facts, complete with fascinating full-color illustrations and
photographs. (Scholastic Inc.)
Rosemary Meets Rosemarie
, written by Barbara Robertson. Ages 8-10. Rosemary Meets Rosemarie kicks off the new Hourglass
Adventures time-travel series with Rosemary Rita's journey back in time to 1870 Berlin. (Winslow Press)
The Seeing Stone
, written by Kevin Crossley-Holland, illustrated by David Klein.
Ages 13-up. In late twelfth-century England, a thirteen-year-old boy named Arthur recounts how Merlin gives him a magical seeing stone which shows him images of the legendary King Arthur, the events of whose life seem to have many parallels to his own. (Arthur Levine Books)
Skeleton Man
, written by Joseph Bruchac.
Ages 10 - up. Award-winning author Joe Bruchac has recast a Native American legend as a contemporary story, perfect for Halloween. (HarperCollins Children's Books)
Spellfall,
written by Katherine Roberts. Ages 9-up. When Natalie finds a strange candy wrapper floating in a parking-lot puddle, an ominous yellow-eyed man informs her it's a spell-and a bewitching
tale of kidnapping and sorcery unfolds. (The Chicken House)
Teddy's Halloween Secret
, written by Gerlinde Wiencirz, illustrated by Giuliano Lunelli.
Ages 5-8. Teddy wants to find a way to enjoy the Halloween celebration, creating a special surprise for Paul and his friends. (Publisher: North-South Books)
Teeny Tiny Tingly Tales
, written by Nancy Van Laan, illustrated by Victoria Chess. Ages 3-7.
Three very funny, very young, very rhythmic--and not too scary--tales combine to make this the perfect book for Halloween, or anytime! (An Anne Schwartz Book/ Atheneum Books for Young Readers)
Whooo's Haunting the Teeny Tiny Ghost?
, written by Kay Winters, illustrated by Lynn Munsinger.
Ages 3-8. What's a teeny tiny ghost to do when another ghost is haunting his house? (Publisher: HarperCollins Children's Books)
Witch Hill, written by Marcus Sedgwick. Ages 12-up.
A present-day boy, a seventeenth-century girl, an ancient crone; their lives are fused by fire in this haunting novel. (Publisher: Delacorte)
The Witch Trade
, written by Michael Molloy.
Ages 8-11. An exciting, magical fantasy for middle-grade readers from a brand new children's author, published simultaneously in Fall 2001 around the world. (The Chicken House)
Wolf Stalker: Mysteries in Our National Parks
, written by Gloria Skurzynski and Alane Ferguson. Ages 8-12. "This is a fast-paced novel filled
with nature facts and great descriptions of natural phenomena." --Booklist (National Geographic Society)
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