A good horror story has it’s charms any time of year, but even more so as the days grow darker and colder. Weird tales and ghost stories are even more entertaining when delivered by a great storyteller. Nothing beats a professionally narrated audio book for evoking tales told around campfires and whispered under blankets with a flashlight held to your chin…
For Little Monsters (ages 4-8)
BATS AT THE BALLGAME
Okay, so this isn’t really a scary book, but there are bats involved, and this bestselling title raises shrieks of delight from young listeners. It also ties in nicely with the baseball playoffs. Perfect!
THE ODIOUS OGRE
A scary-enough story that leaves kids smiling rather than shivering, from the creators of the classic THE PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH – which, by the by, will be celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2011.
QUACKENSTEIN HATCHES A FAMILY
An antisocial duck adopts an egg that hatches out very differently than he expects. A real find for the rhyme and rep set.
NEVER RACE A RUNAWAY PUMPKIN (Roscoe Riley Rules #7)
Funny stuff for kids who’ve graduated to chapter books. This time out, Roscoe tries to win books for his library by guessing the weight of a great pumpkin. Check out all the ROSCOE RILEY RULES books. You hear one, you’ll want to hear them all.
For Guys and Ghouls (ages 8-10)
ZOMBIEKINS
Zombie stuffed toy terrorizes middle school? Enough said. (For a chance to have your students’ questions answered by author Kevin Bolger and to win Zombiekins on CD, click here!)
NINTH WARD
Not your usual ghost story. A haunting tale of loss and renewal set during the Katrina disaster in New Orleans.
THE STRANGE CASE OF ORIGAMI YODA
There may be more to Dwight’s paper finger puppet than meets the eye. Can Origami Yoda really read minds and predict the future? Kids are loving this and recommending it to their friends. Watch out, it may well be the next WIMPY KID. (Speaking of wimpy kids, have you entered yet to win a life-size Wimpy Kid for your classroom?)
Not for the Faint of Heart (ages 12 and up)
ROT AND RUIN
Might just be the best dystopian zombie hunter story EVER, from that bestselling prince of darkness Jonathan Maberry.
MISGUIDED ANGEL (Blue Bloods #5)
New York Times bestselling BLUE BLOODS series has it all: vampires, fallen angels AND over-privileged rich kids partying like there’s no tomorrow. The latest installment will not disappoint. View the book trailer at MTV!
THE CURSE OF THE WENDIGO (Monstrumologist #2)
The sequel to 2010 Printz Honor Book and bestseller THE MONSTROMOLOGIST takes our Fearless monster hunters to Canada in search of a life-sucking immortal that puts vampires to shame. Gory? Yes. But totally engrossing.
JEKEL LOVES HYDE
The author of last year’s surprise bestseller JESSICA’S GUIDE TO DATING ON THE DARK SIDE reanimates the Robert Louis Stevenson classic with the tale of two teen descendants of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde who seem doomed to repeat their ancestor’s mistakes.
