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Book of Screams #1
Book of Screams
Tanya is a huge fan of horror author Joel Southland...AND he's coming to visit her school! Even though she is his biggest fan, she barely gets a chance to say hello. But he does give her a signed For Tanya. Stay Scared! Reading later that night, she figures it's just her eyes playing tricks on her when she sees the ink on the bookmark move a little. But when the ink slithers toward her, it's too late... As Tanya tries to get to the bottom of Southland's nefarious schemes, the book is broken up by nine other creepy tales, including one about middle-school horror movie fans who track down the scariest horror movie of all time, another about a kid whose "baby eye" is beginning to fall out, and yet another about a vampire suffering due to a virus that is keeping people indoors. A mix of squirmy, funny and downright terrifying, these tales will leave readers thinking twice about the things that go bump in the night.
176 pages, Paperback
Published September 12, 2023
2 people are currently reading
59 people want to read
About the author
Jeff Szpirglas
34 books11 followersJeff Szpirglas has had a varied career. He's shoveled manure, worked in a steelyard (he hails from Hamilton, after all), and even frolicked in the offices at CTV Television and Chirp, chickaDEE, and OWL magazines, where he was the kids' page editor. His manure-shoveling days long behind him, Jeff currently teaches children by day and writes books/fights supervillains by night.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
September 1, 2023
The stories in this book were well written and the illustrations were great. This is a perfect read for fans of Goosebumps.
August 20, 2023
A fun middle-grade collection of scary stories! This book is reminiscent of Goosebumps and will be perfect for Halloween. The stories are all very short so it makes for a quick spooky read. I'll quickly summarize all of the stories below so you can get an idea of the stories. This book also has really cool illustrations throughout too.
Stories:
-Masks: A young boy finally makes friends with another boy and invites him over. Things go down hill when the boy takes his mask off.
-Tanya and the Ink: A girl meets her favorite horror author and is given a scary bookmark. She starts to think that her author is up to something shady when his signatures comes to life.
-The Words on the Wall: A young boy finds writing on the wall of his school and with the help of the janitor, he tries to save a kid but things go wrong.
-Baby Eyes: A girl loses her eyeball like teeth and her mom reassures her it is just her baby eye.
-The Tar: A boy ventures onto the roof of his school to find tar that is alive.
-Dust to Dust: A girl discovers there is something in her air ducts.
-Supply and Demand: There is something wrong with the substitute teacher.
-A Tight Fit: A thrifted t-shirt turns into something more sinister.
-Streamed: A horror movie is watched by two friends and things go very wrong.
-The Feeder: A boy brings home a strange man in his shed and things go very wrong.
If any of these stories sound interesting to you, check out this book! Thanks so much to netgalley and Orca for the arc of this book in exchange for an honest review!
Stories:
-Masks: A young boy finally makes friends with another boy and invites him over. Things go down hill when the boy takes his mask off.
-Tanya and the Ink: A girl meets her favorite horror author and is given a scary bookmark. She starts to think that her author is up to something shady when his signatures comes to life.
-The Words on the Wall: A young boy finds writing on the wall of his school and with the help of the janitor, he tries to save a kid but things go wrong.
-Baby Eyes: A girl loses her eyeball like teeth and her mom reassures her it is just her baby eye.
-The Tar: A boy ventures onto the roof of his school to find tar that is alive.
-Dust to Dust: A girl discovers there is something in her air ducts.
-Supply and Demand: There is something wrong with the substitute teacher.
-A Tight Fit: A thrifted t-shirt turns into something more sinister.
-Streamed: A horror movie is watched by two friends and things go very wrong.
-The Feeder: A boy brings home a strange man in his shed and things go very wrong.
If any of these stories sound interesting to you, check out this book! Thanks so much to netgalley and Orca for the arc of this book in exchange for an honest review!
August 31, 2023
ARC provided by publisher.
Fans of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, rejoice. Jeff Szpirglas takes the charm of Alvin Schwartz’s beloved series and updates it for the modern audience without making it feel shameless. The stories don’t try to pander to children and instead embrace the darkness and disturbing aspects of Scary Stories, fully intending to scare the person reading them.
The frame narrative was a bit of a surprise as most horror anthology books don’t have one, but this one was engaging enough to not make the audience bored while it was happening. The illustrations are another obvious positive, taking the best elements of the original illustrations and polishing them up to create beautiful and occasionally grotesque images that will stick with the reader.
For a short children’s horror book, Book of Screams exceeded expectations and is just as enjoyable for adults to read. A surprise, but a very welcome one.
Fans of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, rejoice. Jeff Szpirglas takes the charm of Alvin Schwartz’s beloved series and updates it for the modern audience without making it feel shameless. The stories don’t try to pander to children and instead embrace the darkness and disturbing aspects of Scary Stories, fully intending to scare the person reading them.
The frame narrative was a bit of a surprise as most horror anthology books don’t have one, but this one was engaging enough to not make the audience bored while it was happening. The illustrations are another obvious positive, taking the best elements of the original illustrations and polishing them up to create beautiful and occasionally grotesque images that will stick with the reader.
For a short children’s horror book, Book of Screams exceeded expectations and is just as enjoyable for adults to read. A surprise, but a very welcome one.
September 2, 2023
I'm currently reading this arc from Netgalley but I have to say I am on story 4 and I already know this is a five star read. This is a middle grade short story horror collection. Each story so far has been uniquely done, the horror elements were the perfect balance of creepy yet age appropriate, I also adore the artwork. I plan on purchasing this.
When I am finished I am going to do a review on Netgalley and TikTok.
When I am finished I am going to do a review on Netgalley and TikTok.
September 17, 2023
This is a great set of horror stories! These are the perfect amount of scary for the intended audience and I think adults would enjoy this too. Every story is great but my favorite is 'Streamed'. I would recommend this. Special Thank You to Jeff Szpirglas, Steven P. Hughes, Orca Publishing, and NetGalley for allowing me to read a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.
July 30, 2025
3 Stars
This was a fun little collection of horror stories, the illustrations helped add more to each story and I liked the inclusion of Tanya's story as well. My favorites were The Tar and A Tight Fit.
This was a fun little collection of horror stories, the illustrations helped add more to each story and I liked the inclusion of Tanya's story as well. My favorites were The Tar and A Tight Fit.
October 18, 2024
I’m not generally a horror fan but this is an excellent selection of horror stories. There is just enough relatability here to be appealing to modern students.
April 3, 2024
Whoever recommended I read this collection immediately was entirely right. I loved it to pieces.
This collection is a true read-alike for Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark - complete with TERRIFYING illustrations (the one in the boiler and the tar were particularly fantastic). Modern takes on horror tropes like vampires and Jekyll and Hyde [my favourite Gothic trope] coupled with settings mid-pandemic make this title gripping for both the grown-ups who read it, as well as the kids coming to an age where being scared can be fun. This book is scary though. Like hardcore scary. Definitely not a title for first-time horror kiddos (then again mine was Scary Stories and it definitely scarred me for life...). I can't wait for autumn when the kiddos start asking and I can throw this title at them time and time again.
I'm really hoping the author and Joel Sutherland are buddies about this because Joel is so sweet and I love him and I cannot abide by slander towards fellow horror-loving librarians.
This collection is a true read-alike for Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark - complete with TERRIFYING illustrations (the one in the boiler and the tar were particularly fantastic). Modern takes on horror tropes like vampires and Jekyll and Hyde [my favourite Gothic trope] coupled with settings mid-pandemic make this title gripping for both the grown-ups who read it, as well as the kids coming to an age where being scared can be fun. This book is scary though. Like hardcore scary. Definitely not a title for first-time horror kiddos (then again mine was Scary Stories and it definitely scarred me for life...). I can't wait for autumn when the kiddos start asking and I can throw this title at them time and time again.
I'm really hoping the author and Joel Sutherland are buddies about this because Joel is so sweet and I love him and I cannot abide by slander towards fellow horror-loving librarians.
September 1, 2023
I loved Goosebumps growing up. This book definitely gave me Goosebumps vibes. But, darker and more modern.
A fun collection of middle grade horror stories, this is a great read for fans of goosebumps or parents wanting to introduce their kids to horror (I'm not a parent so you probably want to read it yourself before reading it to your kids).
The collection includes stories about a horror streaming service, solicitor phone calls, growing up and an author who mysteriously is able to write more horror stories than seem humanly possible.
Give this one a read, it comes out later this month!
I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
A fun collection of middle grade horror stories, this is a great read for fans of goosebumps or parents wanting to introduce their kids to horror (I'm not a parent so you probably want to read it yourself before reading it to your kids).
The collection includes stories about a horror streaming service, solicitor phone calls, growing up and an author who mysteriously is able to write more horror stories than seem humanly possible.
Give this one a read, it comes out later this month!
I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
September 6, 2023
I received a complimentary copy of this book via Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.
12 year old me would have been very happy with this book. It has a Are You Afraid of the Dark? Vibe, that made me want to keep reading.
Of course, know your kid. Some stories could be a little scary or unsettling for some children, and that okay. On a whole, though, the illustrations are amazing (my favorite being Baby Eye), and the stories are campfire greatness..
12 year old me would have been very happy with this book. It has a Are You Afraid of the Dark? Vibe, that made me want to keep reading.
Of course, know your kid. Some stories could be a little scary or unsettling for some children, and that okay. On a whole, though, the illustrations are amazing (my favorite being Baby Eye), and the stories are campfire greatness..
January 14, 2024
3.5
If you're a fan of the Goosebumps books, this will be right up your alley.
If you're a fan of the Goosebumps books, this will be right up your alley.
March 27, 2025
It was more disgusting then scaring
June 20, 2023
Junior horror is a format I've seldom seen done well. This started really promisingly, with a snappy short brought to you by covidiocy. Longer is the next story, where a school kid gets creepy messages from his school walls as he takes a crayon rubbing of them for texture lessons in art class. A girl suddenly finds her eye feels loose, as if it will pop out like a baby tooth does – but then what kind of fairy comes along in such a situation? It's a shame this piece can only finish by piling on the absurd. A drone trendily features in a look at what might intrigue some of the schoolkids this author works with – the great unknown of the school roof. A girl ignores a weird cold call from an air-duct cleaning service, at a cost.
School life is definitely here, from the creepy boiler room to the creepy old science store cupboard, from supply teachers to that one kid who just knows horror cinema more than any other. But it also has an adult thought too – I'm not the only person to see the incredible shrinking T-shirt inspired by how old concert merch gets more and more ill-fitting over the years. We have a certain someone from horror history quibble about the covid lockdowns, and throughout the stories have been thoroughly diverse, interesting and entertaining – piling on the thrills in a way that would have made for very OTT, plummy writing in lesser hands.
Greater still, the whole thing has a novella running through it – we start, revisit multiply, and finish with, a story of a horror writer who really can get inside people's heads and know what scares them, as a girl fan finds out after his visit to her school. This then is not a linked set of stories, rather one of those portmanteau efforts, where something is on hand to cause all the rest. For the author in the novella has a great way of writing successful horror anthologies, and this really is one too. With no stinkers, this counts as one of the most sustained collections I've ever seen, and this brings body horror and old-fashioned tropes alike to life in a way that doesn't seem too eager, too trendy, but just natural. Yes, someone here sure knows their craft – and it isn't only the character within. I'd heartily recommend this; although the cover is dreadful.
School life is definitely here, from the creepy boiler room to the creepy old science store cupboard, from supply teachers to that one kid who just knows horror cinema more than any other. But it also has an adult thought too – I'm not the only person to see the incredible shrinking T-shirt inspired by how old concert merch gets more and more ill-fitting over the years. We have a certain someone from horror history quibble about the covid lockdowns, and throughout the stories have been thoroughly diverse, interesting and entertaining – piling on the thrills in a way that would have made for very OTT, plummy writing in lesser hands.
Greater still, the whole thing has a novella running through it – we start, revisit multiply, and finish with, a story of a horror writer who really can get inside people's heads and know what scares them, as a girl fan finds out after his visit to her school. This then is not a linked set of stories, rather one of those portmanteau efforts, where something is on hand to cause all the rest. For the author in the novella has a great way of writing successful horror anthologies, and this really is one too. With no stinkers, this counts as one of the most sustained collections I've ever seen, and this brings body horror and old-fashioned tropes alike to life in a way that doesn't seem too eager, too trendy, but just natural. Yes, someone here sure knows their craft – and it isn't only the character within. I'd heartily recommend this; although the cover is dreadful.
June 8, 2023
Copy provided by Edelweiss Plus
Tanya loves the work of author Joel Southland, so when he is a guest speaker at her school, she's super excited to hear her favorite horror writer speak. He even signs a special bookmark for her that says "Stay scared!", but when the ink starts to shift before her eyes, she knows that something weird is happening. The ink seems to be doing strange things to her, and she sees creepy people following her. We then get to read several different stories that also talk about the creepy ink, and she has to find a way to extricate her from Southland's clutches. All of the tales seem to come back to the ink, that will swirl around a person and then smear itself on people and work its way into their body!
Strengths: This is one of those great, twisted story-within-a-story books that my students seem to like, but I find hard to review, like Poblocki's Tales to Keep You Up at Night.
Weaknesses: Did the school not do a background check on Southland before they let him speak to their students? And is he based on the middle grade horror writer Joel Sutherland? Need to know these things!
What I really think: I need Southland's Stories to Melt Your Mind for mystudents! I'll buy this one, but sort of wish it had a spooky glow-in-the-dark cover like Josh Allen's Only if You Dare and Out to Get You! Definitely purchasing, and my students will love it, but I'm failing utterly to write a good description!
Tanya loves the work of author Joel Southland, so when he is a guest speaker at her school, she's super excited to hear her favorite horror writer speak. He even signs a special bookmark for her that says "Stay scared!", but when the ink starts to shift before her eyes, she knows that something weird is happening. The ink seems to be doing strange things to her, and she sees creepy people following her. We then get to read several different stories that also talk about the creepy ink, and she has to find a way to extricate her from Southland's clutches. All of the tales seem to come back to the ink, that will swirl around a person and then smear itself on people and work its way into their body!
Strengths: This is one of those great, twisted story-within-a-story books that my students seem to like, but I find hard to review, like Poblocki's Tales to Keep You Up at Night.
Weaknesses: Did the school not do a background check on Southland before they let him speak to their students? And is he based on the middle grade horror writer Joel Sutherland? Need to know these things!
What I really think: I need Southland's Stories to Melt Your Mind for mystudents! I'll buy this one, but sort of wish it had a spooky glow-in-the-dark cover like Josh Allen's Only if You Dare and Out to Get You! Definitely purchasing, and my students will love it, but I'm failing utterly to write a good description!
August 15, 2025
This is a cool scary story book because it has short stories inside of an overall story. Tanya is a fan of scary story writer Joel Southland and when she gets his autograph on a bookmark she doesn’t expect her dreams to become as vivid as they do. The short stories within Tanya’s story are filled with supernatural scares, and tales that will have you questioning what is real and what is just a dream.
This is a great #mghorror book because it will scare my students just enough to keep them turning the page. I liked that the #scarystories were also set within Tanya’s story, so it made you question how they were all connected. The short stories will keep my students reading, but the overall story will make sure they finish it.
The illustrations actually made me jump when I’d see them and were the perfect addition to the scary stories!
This is book one of the series, so more scares ahead!
Who will like it?
✅ Fans of scary stories
✅ Fans of short stories
✅ Fans of supernatural / paranormal scares
This is a great #mghorror book because it will scare my students just enough to keep them turning the page. I liked that the #scarystories were also set within Tanya’s story, so it made you question how they were all connected. The short stories will keep my students reading, but the overall story will make sure they finish it.
The illustrations actually made me jump when I’d see them and were the perfect addition to the scary stories!
This is book one of the series, so more scares ahead!
Who will like it?
✅ Fans of scary stories
✅ Fans of short stories
✅ Fans of supernatural / paranormal scares
Read
October 1, 2023A delightfully creepy collection of tales about everything from a Jekyll/Hyde homeroom teacher to a boiler-room ghoul to a kid's wobbly "baby eye," woven between excerpts from a central story about a girl whose favourite horror author is stealing children's nightmares for his books."-- Provided by publisher.
April 19, 2025
I read this as one of the Red Maple nominees. I would definitely read this out loud to an intermediate class. It would be high interest and reading one story a day would keep them wanting to listen to more. Short stories are so great for discussion around themes, symbols, etc. It is a horror novel, so of course keep your audience in mind.
August 19, 2023
Definitely not a book for me but I could see getting this for someone younger to see if it could give them an interest in the genre of horror.
October 17, 2023
Horror story collection framed by a continuing story of an author and his mysterious black ink.
March 26, 2025
the plot made ZERO sense. if you don’t like children’s books don’t read
January 17, 2026
I have no memory of how this book ended up in my library books. It’s a book for kids, but it was cute and reminiscent of Goosebumps.
January 20, 2025
Nostalgic reading for fans of "Goosebumps" and "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark"
**SPOILER**
The Mask - ghost
The Words on the Wall - Rubbings for messages beyond the grave
Baby Eyes- baby teeth, baby eyes baby head
The Tar - the floor is lava
Dust to Dust - Air Duct cleaners, dust people
Supply and Demand - Dr Jekyll Mr Hyde
A Tight Fit - absorbing wearers?
Streamed - the alpha of all horror flicks
The Feeder - vampire using hummingbirds as a gather system for blood
Tanya and the Ink - hungry ink absorbs nightmares for an author but needs to infect many
**SPOILER**
The Mask - ghost
The Words on the Wall - Rubbings for messages beyond the grave
Baby Eyes- baby teeth, baby eyes baby head
The Tar - the floor is lava
Dust to Dust - Air Duct cleaners, dust people
Supply and Demand - Dr Jekyll Mr Hyde
A Tight Fit - absorbing wearers?
Streamed - the alpha of all horror flicks
The Feeder - vampire using hummingbirds as a gather system for blood
Tanya and the Ink - hungry ink absorbs nightmares for an author but needs to infect many
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews