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1-2-3 Scream!
Get ready to scream with this collection of hillarifying— hilariously terrifying—tales, fully-illustrated and perfect for scary story lovers who are looking for a side of humor to go with their helpings of horror.
Stop!
Unless you want to be scared, do NOT read this book.
These tales of terror are so horrible, so alarming, they had to be bound up between these pages forever!
You’ll discover The Boogerman , an oozing horror that lurks in mirrors. You’ll read about Instagrave, a popular new app that tells kids how they are going to die. In Epizeuxis , you’ll learn what happens if you speak the name of a—wait. We’ve said too much already. The things between these covers are too dangerous to ever be let out. That's why we're warning stay away from this book, or else!
Of course, if you are reckless enough to open this book, then be sure to read these stories in a safe, indoor space, far from the beady, prying eyes of any birds*.
Now, on the count of 1…2…3…SCREAM!
*Is that a crow, a magpie, or an indigo bunting behind you? Be careful. Birds will do anything to keep people from discovering the secrets of this book!
Stop!
Unless you want to be scared, do NOT read this book.
These tales of terror are so horrible, so alarming, they had to be bound up between these pages forever!
You’ll discover The Boogerman , an oozing horror that lurks in mirrors. You’ll read about Instagrave, a popular new app that tells kids how they are going to die. In Epizeuxis , you’ll learn what happens if you speak the name of a—wait. We’ve said too much already. The things between these covers are too dangerous to ever be let out. That's why we're warning stay away from this book, or else!
Of course, if you are reckless enough to open this book, then be sure to read these stories in a safe, indoor space, far from the beady, prying eyes of any birds*.
Now, on the count of 1…2…3…SCREAM!
*Is that a crow, a magpie, or an indigo bunting behind you? Be careful. Birds will do anything to keep people from discovering the secrets of this book!
240 pages, Paperback
First published September 20, 2022
5 people are currently reading
84 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
August 22, 2022
1-2-3 Scream! has all the vibes of Goosebumps and Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, with cute little cartoonish illustrations. The stories are so original and silly, such as the girl who downloads an app that tells her how she will die, bullies who get more when they bargained for when they chase a child down a haunted hallway in a school, and a prank-vid fanatic who subscribes to the wrong channel. It features creepy creatures such as the Boogerman (yeah, you read that right!), an evil bobblehead, and birds (just...birds). This was possibly one of the best "young readers scary stories" collections that I've discovered, it's been a long time since I enjoyed EVERY story from a collection like this. I believe some of the illustrations in the actual book may have special features as I couldn't quite read "The Final Page," so I am going to have to get the physical copy, which, after reading these, and feeling like a little kid again staying up super late to read another Goosebumps book, I planned on doing anyway. I will have to rush down to the bookstore when this releases, and just in case in my hurry I accidentally bump into anyone on the sidewalk, I've luckily got plenty of dog kibble hanging around.
Note: I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley. I was not compensated in any other fashion for the review and the opinions reflected below are entirely my own. Special thanks to the publisher and author for providing the copy.
Note: I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley. I was not compensated in any other fashion for the review and the opinions reflected below are entirely my own. Special thanks to the publisher and author for providing the copy.
December 11, 2024
Twisty! I like it~
August 20, 2022
I don't normally like short stories, but this was a fun set of short stories for kids and I had fun reading them. :)
February 25, 2022
Very funny...and genuinely scary!
If you know someone who is into horror and a bit of zaniness, then this unique set of stories is worth seeking out. From killer candy machines to doom-predicting apps, to a girl who ages in dog years, the terrors spring from every aspect of a young reader's world.
These stories feature kids of all backgrounds, shapes, and sizes. And almost all of them come to unfortunate, grisly ends. No one is spared.
The author swears that everything in this book is true. :)
- - - This review is based on an advanced copy provided by the publisher.
If you know someone who is into horror and a bit of zaniness, then this unique set of stories is worth seeking out. From killer candy machines to doom-predicting apps, to a girl who ages in dog years, the terrors spring from every aspect of a young reader's world.
These stories feature kids of all backgrounds, shapes, and sizes. And almost all of them come to unfortunate, grisly ends. No one is spared.
The author swears that everything in this book is true. :)
- - - This review is based on an advanced copy provided by the publisher.
Read
June 2, 2022This book was so much fun! It reminded me a bit of the humor of Roald Dahl who I just love. The stories are short but full of horror and grisly ends. It is a little bit lighter than the stories in Scary Stories to tell in the dark. Anyone who is a fan of Dav Pikey and other illustrated novels will enjoy this title. I also think it would make a really fun read aloud. Such a fun one!
Note: I received this book through Netgalley
Note: I received this book through Netgalley
April 2, 2022
So silly, and at times...rather SCARY!
September 25, 2022
Just In Time For The Spooky Season, Kids!
Allow Me To Introduce You To…
1, 2, 3, SCREAM! – by R.U. Ginns & Illustrated by – Javier Espila
‘Get ready to scream with this collection of hillarifying—hilariously terrifying—tales, fully-illustrated and perfect for scary story lovers who are looking for a side of humor to go with their helpings of horror.’
The stories are all spooktacular; every single one is this Horror Fans Favorite:
First Up…
‘Instagrave’ –
Creeeeeppppyyy Good!
‘Here Lies
The Body Of
Isabella Jones
They Found All Her Skin
But None Of Here Bones’
‘Mean Machine’ –
‘Everybody at Simon D. Kehoe Elementary School was afraid of the Mean Machine … the worst of the worst ….’
That. Was. Awesome! Fair warning, though, Kids, there’s uh… *cringe-whispers, spideeeerrrrsss*.
Next up …
Now, you cannot go wrong with a story called ‘Unicorn Poop,’ can you??
I mean, a title like that does not sound scary or scream-worthy, does it?
Amiright?!?
Let us step carefully into this short story and find out, in the hope the Unicorn Poop smells like a cornucopia of cotton candy fear and multicolored nightmares…
Judge: Verdict?
Me: yep, creepy, good, and nightmarishly noteworthy.
Up Next …
‘The Boogerman’ – Eeeeeeekkk! Or, perhaps, Eeeeeeeeewwwww!
Hahahahaha, Love The Ending!
‘Duplicate Release Form’ – Whoa!
‘Dog Years’ –
Oh My!
‘Epizeuxis ’ –
Holy Schna-moley that was sure creepy and so gross—LOVE. IT!
‘The Deadly Birds Of North America’-
It looks like things are about to get FOWL up in here, Kids!
*winks*
Di…Did you see what I did there?
Because some birds are a type of Fowl…
*sigh*
Hey, you never know, there could be a killer chicken or, HEY, even better—A Murder Of Crow! 🤩🖤
(Fun-Although-Slightly-Creepy-Fact-Kids, a group of crows is called a murder of crows)
Enough talking, time for me to dive bomb into this story…
I WILLLLL BEEEE RIIIIIGHT BAAAAACCCK!
Okay, I’m back. Not gonna lie, Kids; *gulp* there is a chicken and quite possibly one or more carnivorous winged creatures inside this story.
*Eeeek!*
More Favorites…
‘Construct-A-Bot’ –
Oh, No!
‘Aunt Hill’ –
Oh, My! That Was Creepy, Good!
‘Bobble’ –
That. Was. Awesome! Sports fans will appreciate this one.
‘The Final Page’ –
This One Is Really Cool!
Welp, Horror Peeps, Reading This Collection Of Creepy Goodness Was A Lot Of Fun; I Hope You Enjoy It As Much As I Did.
Thank you, NetGalley and Delacorte Publishing, for providing me with an eARC of 1-2-3 SCREAM! at the request of an honest review.
1, 2, 3, SCREAM! – by R.U. Ginns & Illustrated by – Javier Espila (The Illustrations Are *Chefs Kiss* Perfection!)
Ages: 8 – 12
Source: Delacorte Press (Random House Children’s Books)
Release Date: September 20, 2022
Side Note: All Horrible Mom Jokes In This Review Are My Own, Patent Pending
Allow Me To Introduce You To…
1, 2, 3, SCREAM! – by R.U. Ginns & Illustrated by – Javier Espila
‘Get ready to scream with this collection of hillarifying—hilariously terrifying—tales, fully-illustrated and perfect for scary story lovers who are looking for a side of humor to go with their helpings of horror.’
The stories are all spooktacular; every single one is this Horror Fans Favorite:
First Up…
‘Instagrave’ –
Creeeeeppppyyy Good!
‘Here Lies
The Body Of
Isabella Jones
They Found All Her Skin
But None Of Here Bones’
‘Mean Machine’ –
‘Everybody at Simon D. Kehoe Elementary School was afraid of the Mean Machine … the worst of the worst ….’
That. Was. Awesome! Fair warning, though, Kids, there’s uh… *cringe-whispers, spideeeerrrrsss*.
Next up …
Now, you cannot go wrong with a story called ‘Unicorn Poop,’ can you??
I mean, a title like that does not sound scary or scream-worthy, does it?
Amiright?!?
Let us step carefully into this short story and find out, in the hope the Unicorn Poop smells like a cornucopia of cotton candy fear and multicolored nightmares…
Judge: Verdict?
Me: yep, creepy, good, and nightmarishly noteworthy.
Up Next …
‘The Boogerman’ – Eeeeeeekkk! Or, perhaps, Eeeeeeeeewwwww!
Hahahahaha, Love The Ending!
‘Duplicate Release Form’ – Whoa!
‘Dog Years’ –
Oh My!
‘Epizeuxis ’ –
Holy Schna-moley that was sure creepy and so gross—LOVE. IT!
‘The Deadly Birds Of North America’-
It looks like things are about to get FOWL up in here, Kids!
*winks*
Di…Did you see what I did there?
Because some birds are a type of Fowl…
*sigh*
Hey, you never know, there could be a killer chicken or, HEY, even better—A Murder Of Crow! 🤩🖤
(Fun-Although-Slightly-Creepy-Fact-Kids, a group of crows is called a murder of crows)
Enough talking, time for me to dive bomb into this story…
I WILLLLL BEEEE RIIIIIGHT BAAAAACCCK!
Okay, I’m back. Not gonna lie, Kids; *gulp* there is a chicken and quite possibly one or more carnivorous winged creatures inside this story.
*Eeeek!*
More Favorites…
‘Construct-A-Bot’ –
Oh, No!
‘Aunt Hill’ –
Oh, My! That Was Creepy, Good!
‘Bobble’ –
That. Was. Awesome! Sports fans will appreciate this one.
‘The Final Page’ –
This One Is Really Cool!
Welp, Horror Peeps, Reading This Collection Of Creepy Goodness Was A Lot Of Fun; I Hope You Enjoy It As Much As I Did.
Thank you, NetGalley and Delacorte Publishing, for providing me with an eARC of 1-2-3 SCREAM! at the request of an honest review.
1, 2, 3, SCREAM! – by R.U. Ginns & Illustrated by – Javier Espila (The Illustrations Are *Chefs Kiss* Perfection!)
Ages: 8 – 12
Source: Delacorte Press (Random House Children’s Books)
Release Date: September 20, 2022
Side Note: All Horrible Mom Jokes In This Review Are My Own, Patent Pending
July 17, 2022
This book contains 12 stories of an oddly humorous and scary/horror-ish nature and is intended for a Middle Grade (and older) readership.
Monsters? Yep. Dark corridors and darker rooms? Check. Mysterious noises, electronic beeps and blurps, messages seemingly from beyond the grave? Uh-huh. Characters you suspect may be heading toward a swift and terrible doom? No. What fun would "swift" doom be? Agonizingly slow doom? Yes, indeed. All these and more.
The author of this book considers himself quite the funnyman. So just consider the source when you are wondering whether a pack of werewolves will drop into a story out of nowhere. Or a coffin of vampires; a coffin, a coffer?
The "charming" illustrations are vital to the stories.
Seriously, be sure to read the signs, warnings, etc., in the illustrations. They are usually important--before--something jumps out at you.
4/5 Stars
Thanks to Random House Children's, Delacorte Press, and NetGalley for the preview of this e-copy proof; the review is voluntary.
#123Scream #NetGalley
#RUGinns #RUGinnsAuth
#JavierEspila #JavierEspilaIllus
#RandomHouseChildrensBooks
#DelacortePress
#PenguinRandomHouseChildrens
#ChildrensShortStories
#ChildrensScaryStories
#ChildrensShortStoryCollections
#MiddleGradeShortStoryCollections
#MiddleGradeHumorScaryStories
#MiddleGradeHumorHorrorStories
#MiddleGradeHumorScaryHorrorStoryCollections
Monsters? Yep. Dark corridors and darker rooms? Check. Mysterious noises, electronic beeps and blurps, messages seemingly from beyond the grave? Uh-huh. Characters you suspect may be heading toward a swift and terrible doom? No. What fun would "swift" doom be? Agonizingly slow doom? Yes, indeed. All these and more.
The author of this book considers himself quite the funnyman. So just consider the source when you are wondering whether a pack of werewolves will drop into a story out of nowhere. Or a coffin of vampires; a coffin, a coffer?
The "charming" illustrations are vital to the stories.
Seriously, be sure to read the signs, warnings, etc., in the illustrations. They are usually important--before--something jumps out at you.
4/5 Stars
Thanks to Random House Children's, Delacorte Press, and NetGalley for the preview of this e-copy proof; the review is voluntary.
#123Scream #NetGalley
#RUGinns #RUGinnsAuth
#JavierEspila #JavierEspilaIllus
#RandomHouseChildrensBooks
#DelacortePress
#PenguinRandomHouseChildrens
#ChildrensShortStories
#ChildrensScaryStories
#ChildrensShortStoryCollections
#MiddleGradeShortStoryCollections
#MiddleGradeHumorScaryStories
#MiddleGradeHumorHorrorStories
#MiddleGradeHumorScaryHorrorStoryCollections
June 11, 2022
*I received a free ARC from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review*
1-2-3 Scream picks up where "Goosebumps" and "Are You Afraid of the Dark?" left off in creating scary content for younger readers. I will caution parents, teachers, and librarians that some of the stories in this book may be a little too scary for more sensitive children. One of those scarier stories is the first in the book - Instagrave - because although the app predicting deaths isn't real the way in which our main character meets her end is very realistic. The stories are all very clever in their own way and the illustrations add to the creepiness of the events in those stories. I tried to decide what my favorite story was but found I really enjoyed all of them.
1-2-3 Scream picks up where "Goosebumps" and "Are You Afraid of the Dark?" left off in creating scary content for younger readers. I will caution parents, teachers, and librarians that some of the stories in this book may be a little too scary for more sensitive children. One of those scarier stories is the first in the book - Instagrave - because although the app predicting deaths isn't real the way in which our main character meets her end is very realistic. The stories are all very clever in their own way and the illustrations add to the creepiness of the events in those stories. I tried to decide what my favorite story was but found I really enjoyed all of them.
October 22, 2022
Have you ever wanted to convince your parents that you aren’t scare of anything? That you know there is no such things as monsters or mad scientists or ? If so, this is the book to read to your parents. It will scare them but not you! There are illustrations that will show your parents how silly they are even if they are screaming and you’re laughing! The book is a collection of short stories about creepy and horrible funny experiences besides the unexpected.
I enjoyed reading the book even though I found myself laughing at some of the other stories while others were definitely creepy. It’s an excellent way to discover that there is humor in stories that are creepy to read. The illustrations are drawn perfectly for each story!
I enjoyed reading the book even though I found myself laughing at some of the other stories while others were definitely creepy. It’s an excellent way to discover that there is humor in stories that are creepy to read. The illustrations are drawn perfectly for each story!
July 15, 2022
This was such a fun book to read. 1-2-3 Scream! is a collection of spooky short stories. The illustrations were amazing.
This book reminded me of Goosebumps, but it was also not as scary as Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark series. Some of the stories were silly and there were a few that some kids might find scary so beware of that. One of the scarier stories was Instagrave. This story is about an app that predicts deaths. The ending of the story, Mean Machine, was also a story that might scare younger kids.
Overall, I recommend this book and enjoyed every story.
*Thank you Netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.*
This book reminded me of Goosebumps, but it was also not as scary as Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark series. Some of the stories were silly and there were a few that some kids might find scary so beware of that. One of the scarier stories was Instagrave. This story is about an app that predicts deaths. The ending of the story, Mean Machine, was also a story that might scare younger kids.
Overall, I recommend this book and enjoyed every story.
*Thank you Netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.*
November 27, 2022
Preteen readers constantly requesting “scary” books will be satisfied with the horror, inferred gore, and twisted humor in Ginns’s short story collection. Along with Espila’s illustrations, Ginns’s stories expertly build that suspense that keeps the reader engaged with the stories’ characters, wanting to warn them about the potential consequences of their choices, while making the stories highly relatable to his audience. Creepy, bizarre, and fun!
October 9, 2022
This was a real fun read that I will for sure share with my sixth to eighth grade students. Ginns does a fun job with this book of short stories that teach lessons on morality and doing the right thing.
The artist Espilla also does a great and creepy job with is illustrations that caught the personalities of the characters in each of the stories.
The artist Espilla also does a great and creepy job with is illustrations that caught the personalities of the characters in each of the stories.
October 24, 2022
This was a really fun Halloween read, and it reminded me a lot of the Goosebumps books I loved when I was a kid. While I didn't love every one of the stories, most of them were very entertaining and overall I loved the book even as an adult. I would definitely be interested in reading more by this author in the future.
November 8, 2022
Great fun and very silly! The author, or 'U' as I like to call him, is a friend. This book very very very much drips with his humor. The art is also quite wonderful, though I have never met the artist and therefore don't have an inaccurate nickname for him.
March 10, 2023
Twelve short stories filled with horror, and humor that's sure to bring a scream or a smile if not both. A hodge-podge of eerie tales that will make the reader keep the lights on, and one eye open when the shadows of night lurks nearby.
October 24, 2023
A fun collection of scary short stories, each with an abrupt, shocking ending. A generally light tone, with nothing so creepy or chilling to be the stuff of nightmares. Young readers should find much to enjoy.
Read
October 22, 2022Have you ever wanted to convince your parents that you aren’t scare of anything? That you know there is no such things as monsters or mad scientists or ? If so, this is the book to read to your parents. It will scare them but not you! There are illustrations that will show your parents how silly they are even if they are screaming and you’re laughing! The book is a collection of short stories about creepy and horrible funny experiences besides the unexpected.
I enjoyed reading the book even though I found myself laughing at some of the other stories while others were definitely creepy. It’s an excellent way to discover that there is humor in stories that are creepy to read. The illustrations are drawn perfectly for each story!
I enjoyed reading the book even though I found myself laughing at some of the other stories while others were definitely creepy. It’s an excellent way to discover that there is humor in stories that are creepy to read. The illustrations are drawn perfectly for each story!
October 8, 2022
this book is a collection of short horror stories. though i didn’t find most of these to be scary, they were still great fun stories to read. honestly most of the short stories were more on the funny side than actually trying to be scary though i don’t know maybe kids will find it scary. there’s only about three short stories that i did in fact found to be scary and horror and those i really enjoyed a lot! regardless i still had a great time reading each of these stories and i’m sure kids will probably enjoy this a lot more!
↳- ★ ★ ★ ½ stars ∞༺♥༻✧
↳- ★ ★ ★ ½ stars ∞༺♥༻✧
September 22, 2022
Totally goofy and hilarious while still having some genuine creepy scares. A perfect middle grade Halloween read!
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews