You Read to Me, I'll Read to You: Very Short Scary Tales to Read Together

You Read to Me, I'll Read to You

by Mary Ann Hoberman, Michael Emberley (Illustrator)

Do you like your mind all jumpy?
Do you like your skin all bumpy?
If you do, then take a look
At the stories in this book!

Mary Ann Hoberman and Michael Emberley's award-winning picture book featuring scary stories is now available in an affordable paperback edition - just in time for Halloween! With clear, color-coded type and clever illustrations, this fourth You Read to Me, I'll Read to You book uses traditional teaching techniques to invite young children to read along with the text.

With special appeal to School & Library Markets, this new edition is the second paperback in the series, the first of which was a New York Times bestseller.

Genres: Poetry, Picture Books, Halloween, Theatre, Childrens, Holiday, Fantasy

32 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2006

About the author

Mary Ann Hoberman was an American author of over 30 children's books.

Reviews

[Camie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This award winning and bestselling children series is going to be the hit of summer read alouds with my oldest GK's , ages 8 and almost 6. 15 fun 2 page rhyming stories which are written in tricolor print for alternate reading and reading together , how fun. Even though some say this edition with ghosts, goblins, and gouls is seasonal it's sure to delight any 2-3 grade boy. We read the entire book twice yesterday and since you each read a character you can really get theatrical. Then the illustrations themselves are discussion worthy enough for another time through . Following that, we had to practice two favorites to get them up to a snappy pace to perform later when Mom and Grandpa returned. Such a fun concept we may even try and write a few stories of our own. Highly recommended for early grade readers. Cooper's June selection . 5 stars from us both !!

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read over two weekends, Neo loved the spooky rhymes and silly pictures. Good for reading under a blanket, with a flashlight close at hand!

[mats eaton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is so silly it’s one of my favorite books from my childhood

[Desiree Reckner · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book includes 15 short, spooky poems in it and invites students to read along. This book is the fourth of series of You Read to Me, I'll Read to You books. This book also adds a little humor in each poem as well. I really like how the text is large and has color coded words. In this book you will find rhyme and alliteration on every page. Some of the text might be hard for the younger grades, but the rhythm and rhyme will help them decode these new words. The text is set up for readers to take turns reading and also read together. This book also has headings for each poem to let readers know what the poem will be about. The illustrations are very colorful and bring the characters and poems to life. Some of the characters included vampires, ghosts, mummies, witches, skeletons, and many more! I think students will find humor in each poem and will enjoy the stories and tales told. I think this book could be used for grades Kindergarten to Fourth or Fifth Grade. It would be a good resource to use during a poetry unit or even towards Halloween. It could also be used for practice for fluency, rate, and expression which is what I have been teaching my Second Graders all year!

[Sarah Nottingham · Rating 4 out of 5]

You Read to me, I'll Read to You, Very Short Scary Tales to Read Together, By Mary Ann Hoberman is a collection of nonsense poems. The poems are about monsters coming to life from books and interacting with the reader. The purpose is to entertain the reader, and it promote reading. The rhythm adds excitement to the poems and makes them easy to follow. The poems contain personification that enhance the poems; dinosaurs, witches, goblins and other scary monsters all have human characters and interact with the children in the book. These images delight the reader and relate to their imagination. Finally, I enjoyed the overall tone of the poems; they celebrated childhood, creativity and the joy of imagination. You could use this in a second and third-grade classroom lesson plan while discussing poetry, or you could use the poems throughout October for Halloween. Children "typically" love Halloween, and the poems encompass many scary creatures in an entertaining and fun way that will enhance the child's imagination.

[Shaeley Santiago · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scary stories about monsters, dinosaurs, and all things Halloween are the topic of this read together book. It would work well in an elementary classroom for pairs or small groups to present reader's theater style in conjunction with a Halloween unit.

[Ashley B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book because it is meant to be read aloud and with another person. Reading can be look at as a solitary activity, but this book shows students and the reader that reading can be a group effort and be fun at the same time. The rhymes and stories are funny and cute. There a multiple to pick from, so having a pair pick one story and reading it aloud to the class would be a good way for students to practice their presentation skills and listening skills. There are a couple words students might not be familiar with, but encouraging them to keep reading to see if they can figure out what the words mean will help build their reading skills.

[Kaye · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rhyming Stories that are meant to be read by two people. The book is color coded so each reader knows which part they read individually and the parts that are to be read together. As an elementary school librarian this series is one of my favorites for poetry month. I let my 3rd-5th grade readers come up in pairs and read to their classmates. I am surprised how willingly children will read to their peers. Even less strong readers always volunteer. Colorfully illustrated. My library has six in the series (I am not going to review all) and they are frequently checked out.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is less intimidating to kids when they read with you vs. on their own. This book series is perfect for building the love of reading in a fun and collaborative way. My six year old son and I read this set of Scary Tales leading up to Halloween. It was always the first book he wanted to start with.

[Cristina B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author: Mary Ann Hoberman
Genre: Non-fiction, fiction, mystery, fantasy, adventure
Grade level: PK-3
These are excellent stories for kids to read during Halloween or camping to scare the kids while learning poetry and lessons at the end. It also contains different characters familiar to kids that will engage them to participate in the reading questions and answer discussion.

[Lindsey Schultz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can the students really enjoying this book, as they can read with a partner. Plus all kids love scary stories. I really like the concept of these books. Students can get help with words they are unsure of.

[Fahula · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the turn-taking format of this collection of fun poems. They’re more silly and cute than they are scary so they won’t frighten anyone away from enjoying their rhythm and rhyme. I love how the text makes use of colours, not just spacing, to guide readers throughout the reading of their parts.

[MelMon Sanchez · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great little read to get my baby to sleep. It was a funny little story even though Halloween is a bit off you can read this at any time. Especially when you live in a house full of boys.

[Kimmie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Serves its purpose very well!

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Always fun...not even too scary!

[Cathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is very funny and scary too. Any one would love it.

[Lucas · Rating 5 out of 5]

“I really liked the mummy story because they couldn’t find the mummy and then they found it. I really liked the witch story because the broom talked!” - Lucas

“Now that we read them all, my favorites were the mummy story and the giant and ogre.” - Luke

[Bryce Decker · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a very fun book for students to read with another student, as a class, or with a teacher. The turn taking approach makes it very fun for students to engage with another person. The scary nature of the stories also makes it very fun to read with a friend.

[Jacki · Rating 4 out of 5]

You Read to Me, I'll Read to You is a picturebook for Primary and Intermediate readers.

This cover of this book claims it is a book of short, scary tales; the stories are short, but only slightly scary. This is a great read-alound book, perfect for Halloween fun!

The book is written and designed to be read aloud by two or more people interacting throughout each story. The stories are written in verse and printed in alternate font colors to help guide even the youngest reader on when it is their turn to read aloud. The illustrations are whimsical and fun with bright colors and silly monsters and witches througout. This book is perfect for classroom group reading activities, as well as bedtime reading, especially if parents need to read to different ages and abilities. The interactive nature of the stories are perfect for children of different ages to be able to enjoy stories together and help one another. I especially like that each story ends with "you read to me, I'll read to you". The statement helps reinforce the fact that storytime can and should be interactive as opposed to "sit quietly and listen"!

I can envision this book being used in a classroom during storytime or reading class, especially in a 1st grade classroom. It is fairly politically correct, the word Halloween is not mentioned, although one story does talk about Trick or Treating.

[Alli Serrano]

This book includes multiple poems in a very creative way. It is set up for pairs of readers to take turns reading, as well as reading together. This is the fourth book of this series, it is a seasonal book, typically for the Halloween season since it includes "short scary tales". The stories are about mummies, giants, ghosts, goblins, zombies, etc.

I really like the idea of this book and how it is written. It isn't written in your traditional poetry way, it is very creative. The illustrations are full of color, and creativity as well. They appear all over the pages, without being too distracting. The book is very organized with headings for each story. The text is short when split up into two parts, and it rhymes making it more enjoyable for a young child. It also includes different color text for the readers to follow along easy, and so the readers know whose part it is to read next, and when both are to join in. It includes an author's note, as well as an introduction and ending which helps the reader understand how to use this book. It is done effectively, providing ease for the reader. I definitely recommend reading this book, and I'll likely be checking out the others in the series in the future.

[Allie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful seasonal poem book. There are a few other book like this that are not just Halloween. Students will enjoy reading these poems with a partner. Each poem is color coded so two students can read them without any confusion of who reads what part.'The Which and the Broomstick' was one of my favorite poems in the book. There were many different teaching points I could use-figurative language, punctuation, 'harvesting vocabulary'. I would use these as a quick fluency warm up during my fluency lessons. Each student would have a partner and they would practice for a few minutes (no more than 3). I would then call on a few students to read aloud. The poems are fun and silly and perfect for fall/Halloween time. I would also use this book in my classroom poetry collection for students to use as a model when we are writing our own poems. This poem book I would recommend to first-third grade teachers for use during a poetry lesson or fluency lesson.

[Joanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked the poems in this book. I would definitely use it in my class as a read-aloud, or choral reading. Students either read the blue lines, or the purple lines, and then both students read the yellow lines together. Growing up I wasn’t allowed to read scary poems, in case I became afraid and had nightmares! At first I wondered if I would use this book with children because of its scary theme – but after reading it I definitely would read it. The characters are not really scary at all, they come across as mischievous and endearing. My favorite poem is about a mouse and a ghost who are scared of each other! At the end of the poem they realize that neither are really very scary, and decide to become friends so they can spook people together. It’s a fun book that boys especially would enjoy.

[Mirissa Holbrook · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually preferred reading this kind of tale as opposed to a traditional play-type book. This was a more relaxed setting, but that didn't stop it from being entertaining. It was fun to read with a partner, especially when one of us was the broomstick a witch was riding on or a dinosaur. It was slightly awkward to read things together because, when you read with someone who has a different speech pattern than you, it can knock off your rhythm. However, this book or another in the series would be really nice for a parent and child relationship, especially when the child was still a beginning reader. This would allow them to get practice reading without having the pressure of reading everything, and the silliness of some of the tales would make them actually want to read the different parts.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was very entertaining, especially since its meant to read with two people simultaneously. Each short scary tale was fun, clever, and even had a great rhyme as well. I loved how creative these tales were and each one seemed to be just as entertaining as the one before. I would recommend this book and many more by the same author for anyone who's looking for a great book to read with a child who has a short attention span or dislikes reading in general. This is sure to win them over, as its so thrilling and fun!! I will probably use this in my future classroom before Halloween and have the students act out several of the short tales with costumes. Or to use one-on-one with a student that needs more positive attention. A wonderful read, I truly really enjoyed this clever book!

[Sophia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this last night with my second grader and my husband! I,of course, assigned reading parts for all of us. And all the while the librarian in me was busy trying to figure out how to use this in the library!

The parts are simple and the rhyming scheme is not too forced. The different readers'parts are color coded making it easy to follow along. The poems all have a nice blend of that Halloween spookiness without being too cutesy or gory. As a parent, I like this element the most. The illustrations are the same -- not to scary, not to babyish. Definitely a favorite from now on during Halloween and what a nice introduction to poetry!

[Staci Browning · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although I didn't read the entire book I did manage to make it thought 3\4's of the book and I absolutely loved it! I enjoyed how entertaining it would be for kids as they read back and forth. One thing that I can see becoming an issue with these types of stories is if students don't sync up and read when they are supposed to it takes a lot of the fun out of the stories. There are some parts where both people have to read together and it is not a huge deal but it sounds better and it makes it more fun if they are in sync. Other than that I found this book to be fun and very entertaining for kids.

[Monica A · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a spooky twist from the series of "You Read to Me, I'll Read to You" filled with zombies, ghosts, witches, and ghouls.This book is a great read during Halloween time for kids with multiple little tales to share.
Having read this book independently, I thought it was a good book but best read in a classroom setting. A teacher can divide the class up to read certain parts of the text, which serves as inclusion for everybody. Reading independently is fun, but i find it more entertaining to do it with multiple people

[Lauren Sharp]

Poetry 1

I enjoyed this one even more than the one we read in class. When I was a kid I loved Halloween stories and reading scary tales like "Wait till Helen Comes." I think in a classroom I would use these during Halloween as a poetry example of rhyming words. In this book, my favorite short poem was The Dinosaur because it was just cute and the pictures were funny that went along with the story. I also liked how the dinosaur said "In books I'm squeezed." I thought that the whole book was pretty cleaver.

[Julia Stephenson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is wonderful. The art is wonderful, the poems are wonderful and the book is quick. It is meant for children's entertainment. I enjoyed it because each poem was about a different Halloween element. There were poems about ghosts, skeletons, witches and Vampires. it is a light read that people can read with their children especially around Halloween time. I borrowed it from the library to read with my younger sister, but she is growing apart from me. She chose not to read it with me. I read it myself.

[Audrey Ageyev]

These were great poems to read around Halloween. It has fantastic bright illustrations that go with each poem. They each start out a little bit scary, for example about ghosts but as the poem goes on, they develop a more accepting tone and put a more fun spin on the ghosts or other characters. These poems are also meant to be read in partners. The lines are color coded to be read by two people, both separately and together.