Today's read... Spooky Stories of the World by Wendy Shearer

SPOOKY STORIES OF THE WORLD

by Wendy Shearer

Illustrated by Teo Georgiev

Lovely Planet Kids

Middle Grade Nonfiction / Myth

144 pages

ages 8 to 12

This spine-tingling collection of spooky stories features over 20 eerie tales from across the globe. Discover bewitching retellings of ghost- and monster-filled myths regaled with ghoulish relish and journey continent-by-continent through this haunting book. With shocks and twists like you wouldn’t believe - are you brave enough to read them all?

Packed with mind-boggling mysteries, real unexplained enigmas and traditional stories that are sure to send shivers down your spine, Spooky Stories of the World is the ultimate feast for Halloween-loving kids and readers in search of a fright. Meet vampires, werewolves and fearsome monsters that hide in the shadows in this one-of-a-kind round-the-world collection of hair-raising tales.

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Each story carries a bit of creepiness, eerie moments, and spooky surprises to create more than a couple of chills.

This is a collection of around 20 stories from around the world, each concerning a paranormal being or a scary creature found in myths from the various lands. Ranging from a vast variety of countries, each tale brings its own twists and surprises. The characters are as diverse as the cultures, and the haunting creatures range from more familiar to ones readers probably have never run across before. Each story fits the intended age group and offers enough scares to work for a spooky-tale time with a flashlight...and yet, never goes overboard. 

The illustrations are plentiful, bright and bold. There's a two-pages spread with light colored text followed by a more plain one with black wording. This keeps it easy on the eyes while reading, and still allows the scenes to open up and invite into each scary moment. These also bring across small details of the characters and cultures, offering a bit of learning along the way.

The educational end isn't ignored as the entire book starts with a map, which shows where each tale comes from. Then, before each story, there's another map pointing the country out again. Next to this is a small paragraph describing the land and culture. It's short and sweet, letting the information act more as a quick introduction before the exciting tale unfolds.

Not only does this collection awaken awareness for the world and others, but it's a book, which can be grabbed up time and time again. And if nothing else, it gives those spooky-tale times a fresh twist with unique scares.

And here they are...

Wendy Shearer is a British-Guyanese Author and Professional Storyteller. She regularly performs at institutions across the arts including The British Museum, Museum of London, Royal Academy of Arts, The Barbican and Eden Project, bringing stories to life through her engaging storytelling. Wendy’s repertoire is drawn mostly from her Afro-Caribbean heritage and first degree in Classics, telling tales of wily tricksters, magical spirits, heroes and gods/goddesses. Her background is in writing and producing Children’s Television, having worked for BBC, Nickelodeon and PBS in America. Wendy is a member of the Society for Storytelling and is passionate about inspiring the next generation of readers, writers and storytellers with her work.

Born in Hungary, but now based in Helsinki, Finland, Teo Georgiev has developed a strong, graphic style that's perfect for a spooky Halloween book, and has been used by various companies and publishers, including the WWF, Converse and Ladybird Books.