Favorite Scary Stories of American Children

American Storytelling

by Richard Alan Young, Judy Dockrey Young, Donald Bell (Illustrator)

A book that will serve its purpose well, especially if used in conjunction with other spooky story collections. -School Library JournalEverybody loves a scary story and nobody more than kids, but these tales--collected from kids themselves - are particular favorites. These traditional scary stories are the ones that kids ask for the most. Children love to hear how Wylie outwitted the terrible Hairy Man, how Skunnee Wundee and an unexpected friend got the best of the fierce Stone Giant. Shivery stories of vengeful ghosts, spooky stories of witches and spirits, and giggly stories that turn fear into fun are part of this collection. Symbols precede each story to indicate the most appropriate age group. The stories in this multicultural collection come from the Ozark Mountains, the desert Southwest, even Japan and Hawaii, as well Native American tribal stories, Yiddish tales, and even Laotian legends.

Genres: Ghost Stories, Childrens, Folklore

128 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1989

Reviews

[Andrew]

I loved the first story Raw Head. I loved the Golem story. And the Hansel and Gretelesque story where the two children have to outwit the evil witch was also great. It seems that some of the folks who rated this book had the audio book, and I could see where if the wrong person was telling these stories, they could fall flat. But I really enjoyed them. There's also quite a few American Indian folk stories in here that were really cool. Highly recommend for the Halloween season.

[Rebekah Burnette]

Perfect introduction to scary stories for children. It has an amazing explanation as to how scary stories can play a vital role in child development that I found very interesting. Something I would definitely recommend to any parent, teacher, or even librarian 🖤 It even has a guide for which stories are age appropriate so you can gauge what will work best for you kiddo!

[Amanda]

There are an odd mix of stories. many not scary. some not appropriate for children (for sure let's kindergartens about chopping off a piece loyal dog each day until it gets murdered by its ungrateful owner, WTF), stories that are bad puns, some are fair but they're peppered in these weird bits.

[Maria]

I love ghost story books. Listened to this one on audible and the narration was lovely.

[Ursula Johnson]

This was a fun collection of spooky stories, some scary, some funny. Wonderful narrators that bring a smile. Great for the whole family and for a fun thrill.

[Cora Newcomb]

Excellent selection of stories to use with children in Grades 4 - 6.

[Ericka]

Cute scary stories, some are obviously Dad jokes but they do get a laugh. Even my 16 year old laughed.

[Monster]

Favorite Scary Stories of American Children is a collection of 23 short and scary stories told in the oral tradition ranging from the truly creepy and frightening to pun filled groaners. the authors, who are professional storytellers, chose the stories based on the enthusiastic demands of their young audiences. The age appropriateness of each story is indicated using a code of pictorial symbols (for ages 5-6, 7-8, and 9-10), with the key to the code on the page opposite the title page. All the stories are intended to be readable by nine and ten year olds, but the authors note that stories aimed at younger children may not hold the interest of independent readers. Because of its attempt to cover a wide range of ages, cultures, and interest levels, the book is a mixed bag, including versions of classic scary stories like "The Red Velvet Ribbon" and folktales like "The Bloodsucker", as well as some that feel like story flotsam, such as "Stop the Coffin." This book would be a great resource for storytimes or for teaching storytelling to children, and has a variety of possible interdisciplinary connections for elementary classrooms. An afterword for parents, librarians, and teachers addresses the value of scary stories for children as well as some of the concerns and issues that may come up in the telling and reading of scary stories. Origins of the stories and a pronunciation guide for regional terms are also included in the back of the book. Favorite Scary Stories of American Children will appeal to children who have worn out Alvin Schwartz's Scary Stories books, as well as to parents, teachers, and librarians looking for a way to give their kids the shivers. Recommended for elementary school libraries, public libraries, and families. Contains: violence

[Rob McMonigal]

Grabbed this on a lark from the library. There are nine stories on here that are all rather inoffensive. The scary level is about right, but the main problem is that the stories are read in such a dull, slow way by the Youngs that there's no way to get the scary built up.

The best narrators are those who can make us believe we are there and I just didn't feel that. While I'm happy with the selection of tales--from the Ozarks to Cambodia--the reading makes them suffer.

My favorites were Ghost of Vengeance and Married to a Ghost. Most of the rest just sort of muddled about, a lot of which I think had to do with the reading, not the story itself.

All in all, probably not worth it, unless your child is really into ghost stories.

[Caro]

A short fun read. Great for anytime and almost anyone. I liked the variety of stories, some new and some old (for me), the pictures that show what ages it's best for and the imagination and 'spookiness'. Something that would be great for campfires or fun nights with the family. Enjoy!

[Lori]

Cute little read of short stories about the supernatural.

[Helen]

Listened to this one and most of the stories were cultural from different areas of the world, some good, some bad. I'm going to use the best as scary stories around the campfire for Halloween week.

[Helen]

I listened to these two books together. One was K-3 and one was 3-6, but they were very similar and both had hardly scary and very scary stories.

[Ch_ebonysmith]

I liked the different stories from around the world. I let my children watch some of the stories, they were thrilled by the stories and the different cultures.