First Grade "Horror" Books

 Kids love scary books. But what can you give a six or seven year old who wants to read books about horror? Our library has a bunch of non-fiction books about zombies, ghosts and werewolves; and the kids love to check them out. But the images are pretty scary for little ones. A first grader came up to me right before Halloween and asked me for some good horror books. My favorite scary story is The Dark by Lemony Snicket. It has just the right amount of suspense, yet ends happily. Oh my goodness, I just remembered another scary favorite of mine! I love, love, love "What Was I Afraid Of" in The Sneetches by Dr. Seuss. I get the chills every time I read that story.

The Black Lagoon series by Mike Thaler is really popular and is available as picture books or chapter books. I can't believe I haven't read Miss Smith and the Haunted Library by Michael Garland. A sixth grader actually recommended I give this book to our first grade friend to try. He came back and said he enjoyed both books.

Finally, a super popular series in our library is a collection of folk tales called Scary Stories compiled by Alvin Schwartz, with the illustrations by Stephen Gammell. They are truly chilling.