Martin is afraid of all sorts of things, until the Pumpkin Ghost from his dreams helps him face his fears.
Martin and the Pumpkin Ghost
Fear
No Monsters Here
It’s bedtime. This little boy is ready to climb the stairs and say goodnight. But father isn’t ready at all. He’s afraid of monsters; he doesn’t want to be left alone downstairs.
This brave lad knows how to handle Father. He’ll patiently lead his parent through the bedtime routine. Naturally the boy won’t mind looking in the closet, behind the drapes and everywhere in between if it will make his anxious father feel better. The boy will cheerfully hop into bed for a bedtime story. And he’ll say, after a final hug, “I’ll hear you if you need me in the night.” Father should feel much better now. But what’s going to happen when he has to go downstairs alone?
Maybe there are monsters in the house after all. But can you guess what they are really after? A reassuring story for confident children and timid parents everywhere.
The Children of the Lost
Cast out of the city of Agora where they were left at the end of The Midnight Charter, Mark and Lily must now survive in a dense forest. The strange villages, terrifying nightmares, and powerful witches they find there are even more frightening than Agora with all its slums and secrets. In an adventure that expands with every turn of the page, David Whitley delivers a novel as thrilling and horrifying as his characters’ darkest dreams.
Plain Kate
Plain Kate’s odd appearance and expertise as a woodcarver cause some to think her a witch, but friendship with a talking cat and, later, with humans help her to survive and even thrive in a world of magic, charms, and fear.
Scaredy Squirrel at Night
Exhausted due to lack of sleep because he wants to avoid having bad dreams, Scaredy Squirrel finally devises a Bad Dream Action Plan which includes a fire extinguisher to snuff out dragons and a fan to blast away ghosts.
The Banshee
Terry is half asleep when he hears the wailing, rising and falling like the waves of the sea. He wishes it were a dream, but he knows it isn’t. It isn’t an owl screeching, either. Or the Flannerys’ old cat. Could it be the Banshee—the ghostly figure of Irish legend who wails outside a house when death is near? Why would she come here? In spite of his fears, Terry goes out to confront her.
Boys At Work
Rudy Herrera and his friend, Alex, scramble to earn enough money to replace Slinky’s accidentally broken Discman and then find out that the Discman really belonged to big, bad Trucha. By the author of The Pool Party.
Abuelos
The tradition of los abuelos comes from northern New Mexico. In the cold months of midwinter, village men disappear to disguise themselves as scary old men and then descend on the children, teasing them and asking if they’ve been good. The abuelos encourage the little ones to dance and sing around huge bonfires. Afterwards, everyone enjoys cookies and empanadas. In this charming book, young Ray and Amelia move to a new village and experience the fright and fun of los abuelos for the first time. Amelia Lau Carling researched the region for her vibrant artwork, and author Pat Mora’s lively text captures the appeal of an old-world celebration now being revived.
Clarice Bean, Don’t Look Now
It’s the worry you hadn’t even thought to worry about that should worry you the most. At least that’s how it looks to Clarice Bean, who has been writing her worries in a notebook — things like Worry no. 1: infinity, or Worry no. 3: change. And now that her worst never-imagined worry has happened — her utterly best friend is moving away forever — Clarice doesn’t even care about her tickets to the Ruby Redfort, girl detective, movie premiere. That is, unless something happens to change things again. . . . Lauren Child’s trademark wit combines with spot-on insight in this hugely engaging story about childhood worries, unwanted changes, and finding friendships in the most surprising places.
Scaredy Squirrel at the Beach
Scaredy Squirrel doesn’t like crowds so he doesn’t go to the beach, he builds his own. However, something is missing so he needs to go to the real beach and retrieve it.