KinderScares

KinderScares is packing up...

2011-08-08T10:36:00.002-04:00

...but don't worry. We're not packing it in.

We're going to live with the big boys (and girls) over at the awesome new Dreadful Tales, your one-stop spot for scary literary goodness! This is great news for all you horror fans - you'll be able to get your up-to-date news on spooky stuff all the way from blood-curdling novels to baby board books all in the same place.

We're excited...you should be too!

Drop on by Dreadful Tales as we get settled in over the next few weeks and see what it's all about! As always if you have questions or concerns, feel free to drop me a line at kinderscares@gmail.com.

Horror for Hanukkah!

2010-12-02T13:04:00.004-05:00

Yup, we pretty much completely neglected November, didn't we? Call it post-Halloween burnout. Call it 'Havewaytomuchtodo-itis' (my new disease of choice). Our book backlog sits in epic piles awaiting us, surrounded by the piles of stuff for the new baby we really ought to be getting set up, and overshadowed by the foot-long Christmas-related to-do list. Because it's DECEMBER, people! When did that happen? Who invited the LAST MONTH OF THE YEAR without telling me?! Uncool. It's all right, though, I suppose. I shall avoid hyperventilating by surrounding myself with an impermeable wall of denial. Everything is under control...

What was I talking about again?

Ah yes! Before we drag ourselves out of book-blogging hibernation and start piecing together posts about all the awesome spooky stuff you need to be checking out this Christmas, I wanted to take a moment for a different holiday and remind you all about this fantastic picture book:

Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins by Eric Kimmel is one of those books I happened upon by accident. Oh, fortuitous accidents. It's an awesome tale with incredible illustrations. Check out the review we posted about it last year for more info. Happy Hanukkah everyone!

crickets

2010-11-18T11:03:00.002-05:00

I can't believe we've had full radio silence here at KinderScares for the entire first half of November. What can I say? October drained us!

Rest assured we'll soon be pulling out the enormous box of books awaiting attention and the long list of things to talk about. Until then, keep it spooky!

Photo contest winners!

2010-11-03T11:02:00.006-04:00

Well, it's finally time to announce the winners of our 2010 Halloween Kids Photo Contest! We got so many fantastic entries, I wish we could give a prize to everybody! Since we can't (at least not this year...who knows what madness we'll dream up for next...), here are our top three, decided upon after much agonizing and begging people for their expert opinions. ;)

In third place (winning a copy of the fabulous Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich by Adam Rex). Mike sent us this picture of Emily as the world's first 'Buzzette' Lightyear. Awesome costume! Check it out:

Phil and Vicki sent in this too-cute-for-words picture of trick-or-treating with their 4 month old and took second place (a year's subscription to the Crow Toes Quarterly ezine and a copy of Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich). Hilarious, check it out:

And here you have our first place winner! (Lucky recipient of a year's subscription to the Crow Toes Quarterly ezine, an adorable Baby's First Boo trick-or-treating bag, and a fantastic piece of original art by the talented Chris Zenga)

Kimberly sent us this photo of her son Cody dressed as Chucky (from Child's Play). Absolutely adorable and terrifying at the same time, love it!

We had a lot of fun with this contest, I think we'll definitely run it again next year! Congrats to the winners and a huge THANK YOU to everyone who participated, all the pictures were amazing!

Halloween 2010 - pics, overview and general rambling...

2010-11-01T10:37:00.006-04:00

How'd our favourite holiday come and go so fast?! We had an awesome Halloween this year, the kind that lasts from the moment you wake up until you fall into bed exhausted at the end of it. We covered the kids in spooky rub-on tattoos, gave scary books to friends, made tons of delicious food (and gorged on candy too), dressed up and trick-or-treated, hung out with various fun folks, and still made it home in time to watch The Walking Dead.

Here's our eldest, who decided after much indecision to be a vampire this year:

If you think THAT'S scary, you should have seen her when she wanted to be a zombie at age three. Terrifying stuff. From this year's costume we learned that even child-sized fangs are too big for little 6-year-olds...she lasted about five minutes before ditching them for being too uncomfortable.

Colum was our resident zombie this year:

That's the same expression on his face as when he has to get up early for work.

And here's our toddler, the bat to accompany his sister's vampire:

Being a child of very strong opinions who doesn't like hoods, masks, or wearing anything bulky, we had to get creative in making his costume. Wings on his sweater and ears on his hat? THAT we managed to convince him was acceptable (that sweater is covering up a coat and many layers of clothing...it SNOWED here repeatedly yesterday...blech!). This was his first year really trick-or-treating. He was unsure until realizing that the strange people at these houses were giving him CANDY - then he was on board 100%. Go figure. ;)

The number one thing we learned this year is that it takes an awful lot of coffee to get through a full day of Halloween fun at our house...

Tell me that wouldn't make the very best coffee ad ever.

So...it's over now. Our month of madness, come to an end. I'm sure we're not the only Halloween enthusiasts to be left with a "Now what...?" feeling when the holiday comes to a wrap. Colum got inspired and decided to make this the start of his very own new year. He's calling it New Fear's Day, and celebrating complete with new horror-themed resolutions. Check out @paperbackhorror on Twitter to see where he ends up going with that (or if he forgets by the end of the week!)

Ahh, November. Some people will be growing a mustache this month. Some people will be writing a novel. SOME people will probably need at least half the month to undo the household chaos caused by October (that would be me).

And the rest of YOU have until the end of today to send us your favourite Halloween photos of your kids, or yourself as a kid, for a chance to win some awesome spooky prizes!

So how was everybody else's Halloween? Tell us all about it in the comments!

A tradition we can get behind!

2010-10-30T12:26:00.005-04:00

Few people love scary books as much as we do. With two websites dedicated to horror in literature and a personal library that's terrifying in size as well as subject matter, I guess that's a little obvious. We read them, collect them and write about them. Our big kid writes and illustrates them in her spare time.

The only thing we like MORE than the books themselves is sharing them with other people, which is why we've fallen instantly in love with All Hallow's Read, a newly thought-up tradition of giving people scary books for Halloween.

Author Neil Gaiman came up with this awesome plan recently when it occurred to him that there just aren't enough traditions that involve giving books. He posted about it here on his blog, and has since managed to put together an official All Hallow's Read website.

We hope all you book and/or horror lovers out there will join in to spread the word and give someone a spooky book this year! If you need suggestions, don't hesitate to ask! Happy Halloween!

A blast from KinderScares' ancient past!

2010-10-29T17:47:00.005-04:00

For your amusement this Friday evening, we pulled out a few of our OWN Halloween photos from the distant past. Here's pirate Colum at 2 years old (so we're talking the distant, DISTANT past, heh heh).

(In case you're wondering, he still looks pretty much exactly like that, but taller and with a beard.)

And here is me (Shelagh) at age 7 or 8. I was a witch, in case you couldn't figure that out on your own:

Rest assured that I now have all my teeth and even brush my hair once in a while (whether I feel like it or not).

Feeling inspired? Go pull out the old Halloween photos - of you or your kids - and submit your favourites to our photo contest for a chance to win awesome prizes! We'll be accepting entries until November 1st.

Happy Halloween weekend!

Scary Stories Giveaway Winner!

2010-10-28T14:58:00.003-04:00

Oops, I was supposed to announce the winner yesterday. Blog slacker! Real-life October craziness has really distracted us from online October madness, apparently. So much Halloween awesomeness...so little time...

In any case, the (day-late) winner of our Scary Stories giveaway is SimplyK8! Congratulations, and thanks to all entrants!

Remember we'll be accepting entries for the Halloween Kids photo contest until the end of November 1st! We've received some really fantastic and adorable entries already and can't wait to see the rest of what y'all come up with!

Now I'd better get back to slaving over Halloween costumes! Just a few more days!

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark - GIVEAWAY!

2010-10-21T11:24:00.003-04:00

You'll have to excuse our mid-week slacking...we had a couple of crazy days (the fun kind of crazy!). Now we're back on track again and ready to announce our next October giveaway!

If you grew up in the 80's you probably recall these iconic collections of terrifying tales. They were all the rage among grade school kids who loved being scared out of their wits. The series has stood up to the test of time and gained notoriety along the way - the original was the #1 most challenged book between 1990 and 2000! (If by some chance you never heard of them, reviews for all three can be found on our 'Reviews by Title' page.)

Anyway, we're giving away all three as a set to some lucky horror fiend: Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, and Scary Stories 3: More Tales to Chill Your Bones (all by Alvin Schwartz).

Same old rules: to enter just leave a comment on this post! Earn extra entries by sharing the giveaway on Twitter, Facebook or your blog, etc (but remember to tell me you did! I'm not really omniscient, even if that is what I tell the kids...).

The giveaway will run until next Wednesday. Hop to it!

Seven spooky selections (because we all need scary counting books!)

2010-10-18T08:00:00.000-04:00

Too Many Monsters by Robert Neubecker is a creepy-cute counting book perfect for your tiniest monster fan. The board-book format will hold up to all sorts of abuse and the colourful illustrations will delight your little ones.

Five Ugly Monsters by Tedd Arnold is another board book that parodies the song '5 Little Monkeys'. You know, the song where everybody's jumping on the bed and falling off and banging their heads. That one. This is cuter and tons of fun! I was terribly sad when our copy was destroyed by a rogue sippy-cup gone all leaky, and really need to get around to replacing it.

Spooky Hour by Tony Mitton is an adorably illustrated picture book that counts down from twelve gongs of the tower clock to one gigantic pumpkin pie, with all sorts of Halloween goodness in between.

The title characters of Ten Timid Ghosts by Jennifer O'Connell are being chased out of their haunted house by a witch in this cute countdown book. But even timid ghosts might eventually rally their courage and take back their home!

The Halloween House by Erica Silverman is a hilarious parody of the classic 'Over in the Meadow', replacing barnyard animals with your favourite Halloween spooks. Tons of fun and oh so cute!

Bats on Parade by Kathi Appelt is a little different from the others on the list because where they're simple counting books, this one is actually adding up and multiplying the bats for some mathy fun.

The dark-yet-adorably illustrated Haunted Party by Iza Trapani counts up to ten and back down again with tons of spooky characters we all expect to see in a Halloween tale!

Because we all secretly want to have snacks with Dracula...

2010-10-16T09:00:00.001-04:00

Miss Smith and the Haunted Library

Written and illustrated by Michael Garland

ISBN: 978-0-545-30188-6

Zack's teacher Miss Smith is taking their class to the library, where the librarian Virginia Creeper reads scary stories aloud to them from the Incredible Storybook. It's quite a shock when creatures galore begin leaping from its pages!

This book brought our household so much joy! The characters that appear in the library as the story goes on are all beloved favourites from darker classic tales of both adult and children's literature, from Captain Hook to the Headless Horseman. The familiar characters amuse older readers and the detail-filled illustrations entrance little ones who might not be ready to catch the references. It's fun for everyone, seriously.

If your little one is like ours and thinks partying with a selection of literature's famous monsters and villains sounds like the greatest thing ever, you NEED this book. If they don't know their literary creeps and creatures...well, they're going to want to after this. You can't miss. Fun fun fun!

Now I'm off to hunt down the previous (non-spooky) Miss Smith books. If you enjoy this one I suggest you do the same!

And the giveaway winner is...

2010-10-15T20:04:00.002-04:00

Today's the day! The winner of the Baby's 1st Boo trick-or-treating bag giveaway is...

The greatly esteemed D.M. Cunningham of Literary Asylum! Congratulations!

Thanks to all entrants! Remember you still have a chance at another of these adorable bags as part of the prize for our Halloween photo contest, so get the picture albums out and start thinking about your entry!

The kraken...why is it always the kraken?!

2010-10-14T08:00:00.000-04:00

Our eldest monster-lover got the book-making bug this past week and created a masterpiece I'm sure you'll all appreciate. I didn't include the cover, but it's titled 'The Kraken Eats a Sailsman'. Aside from the general hilarity, I think my favourite part of this is that our daughter thinks a 'sailsman' is someone who hangs out on a sailboat. Way to avoid consumer culture, kid!

I'll spare you most of my commentary since the book pretty much speaks for itself:

In case you can't make it out, the 'sailsman' is saying "Ah!". As well one might in such a situation...

The kraken, in turn, is saying "Burp". Again, as well one might in such a situation.

Enjoy!

Alphabet Attack!

2010-10-13T08:00:00.000-04:00

Back when we first started delving into the world of spooky books for kids, we sometimes wondered if we'd eventually run out of things to talk about. Instead we've had the opposite experience - we find so many books that our to-read list is always terrifyingly long, and we can actually subdivide our children's horror library into various themes.

For us, this means that the kids' books are slowly growing to outnumber our own and almost certainly plotting to overthrow our organizational system. Not to mention that we're eternally in need of more shelves. But for YOU, lovely readers, this means that we can wake up one day and put together an entire list of creepy and awesome alphabet books...and what could possibly be better than that?

Midnight in the Cemetery: A Spooky Search-and-Find Alphabet Book by Cheryl Harness combines verbal and visual fun in an awesome way!

H is for Haunted House by Tanya Lee Stone is a super-adorable picture book featuring lots of traditional Halloween words (think zombies and witches and ghosts), but with illustrations too cute to scare even the littlest readers.

The mixed-up alphabet in Alpha Oops! H is for Halloween by Alethea Kontis is a new favourite around here with its awesome illustrations and some unexpected spooky words.

Meet loads of fun monsters in Jeepers Creepers: A Monstrous ABC by the talented Laura Leuck!

Neil Gaiman takes you on a fantastic and grim (but alphabetical!) voyage through the sewers in The Dangerous Alphabet, illustrated by the talented Gris Grimly.

Trying to teach the alphabet to monsters is no simple task, as you'll soon discover in Hungry Monster ABC by Susan Heyboer O'Keefe. Suitable for all ages and available as a board book for the tiniest monster-lovers.

With creepy illustrations and verses for each letter of the alphabet, Spooky ABC by Eve Merriam and Lane Smith makes an awesome poetry study for older kids.

Alphabet Spook! Spine-Tingling Verse by Nicholas Tulloch is a fun book of poems for every letter of the alphabet, with absolutely fantastic illustrations by Chris Mould.

Last but not least, we bring you Superhero ABC by Bob McLeod as an added bonus item on this list. Sure, it technically has nothing to do with horror. But who doesn't like super-heroes, comic book art, or a good healthy dose of hilarity and alliteration? Crazy people, that's who!

If you've enjoyed this list, check out our recent post about spooky song parodies! And come back soon for even more themed lists (creepy counting books, anybody?).

Crow Toes Quarterly Magazine

2010-10-12T08:00:00.002-04:00

The cover of Crow Toes Quarterly says: Great Reading for Sleepless Nights. I couldn’t agree with this more. If you haven’t been introduced to CTQ, you’re really missing out on something special. The artistic prowess of this little magazine screams of something so huge, but is contained so beautifully in such a little package. It’s amazing. Just amazing.

Every issue is prefaced by an editorial by ‘Your Humble Narrator’, with topics ranging from the CTQ staff’s love of the Fall season, to the ability that a short story has to take you places that you’ve never been before. By far my favorite part of the whole CTQ series, the Narrator adds that little bit of insight into the imagination and creativity that goes into each publication.

Never before have I seen such incredible quality in a magazine for children, let alone one dedicated to scary stories and poems. Crow Toes certainly does set the bar at an awe inspiring level. Art-wise, volumes 1 - 14 feature pieces by many different artists, but it’s the seventh issue - the cover depicting a solemn looking little blonde girl - by artist Kristian Adam - entitled DEER HEAD, that really speaks to me. The picture is at both times terrifyingly creepy and endearingly beautiful, giving it the ability to create an uncomfortable yet gorgeous atmosphere. Yeah...I like art. Can you tell?

As for stories, we’ve got a plethora of offerings in here. From outright scary to a little more sublime. Crow Toes has it all. I haven’t been disappointed by a single story, and I sincerely doubt you will be either. Whether it’s a story about the tormenting taunts of a blank page waiting to be written on (BLANK by Melissa Wong), or a somewhat cautionary tale of discovery that shows the flip side of catching fireflies in a jar (THE FIREFLY JAR by Jack Vaughan) - this publication has something for everyone.

Overall, I have to say that Crow Toes Quarterly is now one of my favorite publications, and the only one we've found geared towards the more dark and sinister little corner of children’s fiction. If you miss out on Crow Toes, you’re seriously missing something fantastic.

You can check out their website, follow them on Twitter (@CrowToesMag), or take a peek at their Facebook page.

We’re also giving away Crow Toes subscriptions as part of the prizes for our Halloween photo contest. Get on it!!!

Or, if you're feeling inspired this October, enter Crow Toes' ghost story contest for a chance to win a subscription, a few print copies, and publication on the website.

-Colum

Original art by Chris Zenga!

2010-10-11T21:02:00.003-04:00

In case you were wondering, this is the freaking awesome piece of art by Chris Zenga that you can win in our Halloween photo contest:

"Digging Around For Candy"

Don't you just love it? Get photo hunting and enter our contest for a chance to make it yours!

Awesome trick-or-treating bag giveaway!

2010-10-11T08:00:00.001-04:00

Today we're giving away this seriously adorable trick-or-treating bag from Baby's 1st Boo!

Handmade and reversible, the bag features one side with candy-corn festooned spiderwebs and one with Halloween Charlie Brown fabric (can you make out Lucy riding a broomstick near the moon there?). It's so cute and perfect for any little Halloween enthusiasts in your life!

To enter the giveaway just leave a comment on this post telling us your favourite thing about Halloween. Earn extra entries by linking to the giveaway or to the Baby's 1st Boo website on your blog, Facebook, Twitter, or whatever else you've got!

The winner will be drawn on Friday, so don't wait!

(Another of these awesome bags is part of the prize for our Halloween Kids Photo Contest, so check that out too!)

Photo contest prize announcement!

2010-10-10T09:41:00.010-04:00

It's that time again! Time to talk about our photo contest, that is. You may recall us mentioning it just as we were gearing up for October:

To recap, the rules are simple: Just send us your favourite picture of yourself as a kid on Halloween (or of your own kids!). Send it to our email at kinderscares@gmail.com with 'photo contest' in the subject line and include a few lines telling us the who/what/when. Easy! Plus you get all the fun nostalgic goodness of digging through your old pictures...

And if nostalgia's not enough to motivate you, there's also the matter of the awesome prizes you could win! Here they are:

The first prize package includes:

A piece of original artwork by the amazingly talented Chris Zenga

A year's subscription to the Crow Toes Quarterly ezine

And this incredibly adorable, fully reversible trick-or-treating bag from Baby's 1st Boo:

Second prize includes:

A subscription to the Crow Toes Quarterly ezine

And a hardcover copy of the beloved Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich by Adam Rex:

The third prize winner will also receive a hardcover copy of Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich, which is not only an awesome book for this spooky season (or anytime), but the book that got us started on the road to KinderScares several years ago. It's like a little slice of history...

Anyhow, dig out the photo albums and send us your favourites! And don't forget to spread the word and give your pals a chance to win too!

Check back early next week for the first of the October giveaways, too!

It seemed like just an ordinary day...

2010-10-07T08:00:00.000-04:00

*cue ominous music*

...A relaxing day, perhaps good for watching a movie in one's fancy new chair.

Nothing SEEMED amiss.

Moral of the story: anything can happen in October. Oh - and watch out for those IKEA chairs!

You know you're a big geek when...

2010-10-06T13:08:00.004-04:00

...a baby-sized Cthulhu toque makes you FREAK OUT with joy.

Okay, but seriously - is this not the cutest thing you have possibly EVER seen? Does it not make you want to go out and procreate IMMEDIATELY just so you have a reason to buy one?!

Of course it does! This insanely adorable hat is for sale over at The Pink Toque shop, along with a variety of other handmade Cthulhu goodies like adult-sized hats, scarves, toys, and even a pattern for making the hats yourself. You must go! Shop! Drool over the cuteness!

Kinda makes you glad I've been surfing the internet instead of being productive, now doesn't it? I thought so.

F.Y.I. (Links to greatness!)

2010-10-05T17:29:00.003-04:00

As I believe I mentioned before, we're not the only ones with tons of bloggy goodness this October! D.M. Cunningham of Literary Asylum has lots of good stuff going on too!

Of special interest to our readers (and anybody interested in children's books) would be his recent interview with P.J. Bracegirdle, author of The Joy of Spooking trilogy we were just talking about a little while ago.

AND a fun-filled interview with author Kevin Bolger, creator of the fantastic Zombiekins!

Yes, that's TWO awesome interviews with authors we love in a matter of days. Go check them out!

Baby's 1st Boo!

2010-10-05T08:00:00.000-04:00

Of all the many treasures we've discovered at the Rue Morgue Festival of Fear over the years, Baby's 1st Boo ranks high on the list. This small business run by Jacquie Lynn (and her husband, also Jackie), sells handmade spooky-themed baby items sure to delight any horror fan or Halloween aficionado with a little one in their life. The only word that comes to mind is 'AWESOME!'

From the moment you catch sight of their creepy-doll mascots (available on notecards, which our kid happens to think are the greatest thing since sliced bread), you know Baby's 1st Boo is a different kind of kids store - the kind we've been searching for since we became parents!

Proprietor Jacquie was kind enough to write a little bit about herself and the business for our readers. Check it out:

As an only child, I started sewing and knitting to keep myself entertained. In my early teens, I was already making of all my bizarre punk clothes so following high school, a year in the Creative Fashion Design Course at George Brown College was the only logical choice for me. Somewhere along the way I also became fascinated with all things horror. Starting with peeking through my fingers at the first Halloween movies and being a regular at the Rocky Horror Picture Show, it has escalated to the point where I now have wonderfully creepy images tattooed all over my body.

Baby's First BOO! was hatched in late 2006 when many friends bearing new bundles of wet diapers had my husband and I in the baby aisles regularly hunting for gifts. Nauseated by the barrage of bunnies, trains and princesses out there, I decided it was time to fuse my loves of horror and crafts. We carry onesies, reusable cloth diapers, cloth wipes, receiving blankets, crib blankets, car seat blankets and a few other small goodies. I personally make all of the items and they, of course, have a BOO! scary theme. Nothing cutesy, just handmade frights for your favourite little demon...

Many thanks to Jacquie for sharing with us! Take a peek at a small sampling of the seriously awesome stuff they have available; a badass skull receiving blanket, embroidered skull cloth diaper, and a truly incredible Halloween quilt. Amazing!

These items are just a few of my personal favourites - check out their website for much, much more! And as an added bonus, here's a picture of the awesome folks from Baby's 1st Boo with our own monster lover at the Festival of Fear earlier this year:

(Did you notice the package of scary doll notecards already clutched in her hand? Interesting kid...)

Keep this fun enterprise in mind for all your spooky baby needs (Halloween gifts, anyone?). And don't forget to check back soon for the Baby's First Boo-sponsored giveaway, running a little later this month!

Halloween wordsearch!

2010-10-02T08:00:00.002-04:00

You can never have too many fun Halloween activities, so feel free to download this wordsearch for your little ghouls!

Word Search 1

Halloween madness from Agent Bree!

2010-10-01T21:30:00.000-04:00

We're not the only Halloween enthusiasts who get excited at the mere mention of October. We're not even the only Halloween enthusiasts with a focus on kids literature! Literary agent Bree Ogden of This Literary Life has tons of exciting October events lined up that you won't want to miss.

You many remember us mentioning the reading of The Halloween Tree by Rad Bradbury, which starts October 13th! And you definitely want to pop over right away and enter the zombie story contest, which has some awesome book prizes!

We hope you're all getting your October off to an appropriately creepy start! Be sure to let us know about any spooktacular Halloween events that cross your path!

Meet the Witches!

2010-10-01T06:00:00.001-04:00

Like many Toronto locals, we spent this past Sunday roaming Word on the Street, an annual book festival that we love to pieces. Not only did we leave with far more books than we could comfortably carry, we discovered tons of new and awesome stuff and got to meet a lot of really cool people. INCLUDING a pair of witches, who you can see below with our eldest monster-fiend:

These lovely ladies (Elizabeth Todd Doyle and Susan J. Atkinson) operate Little Witch Press, a small independent publishing house that prints their children's books, of which there are three to date; Where Do Witches Go, What Do Witches Do, and Witches Don't Do Ballet.

These three fun and adorable books explore the possible off-season activities of witches. Because, you know...what do they really DO after Halloween is over? Where do they go? And is there really any reason they can't do ballet? You know you want to find out!

Words fail to express how stoked we are to have found these folks. Independent, Canadian, AND awesome...really, what more could you ask for?

If you're on the lookout for Halloween books, pop over to their site and get yourself some witchy reading material! Not only will you be supporting independent publishing and getting some seriously cute books, but the website is packed with accompanying activities and projects, perfect for a classroom or some at-home fun.

Oh...and HAPPY FIRST OF OCTOBER, everybody! The Halloween countdown is ON.

More parodies to peruse

2010-09-30T10:09:00.004-04:00

Like The House That Jack Built, the classic kid song 'There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly' seems to beg to be parodied. Check out these two spooky-themed parodies that are perfect for the Halloween season!

There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bat, by Lucille Colandro, is a fun and silly parody that will get kids giggling.

There Was an Old Monster by Rebecca, Adrian and Ed Emberley parodies the same song in a different way, with an old monster doing the swallowing of various bizarre and gross things. A fun book featuring the colourful and zany art of Ed Emberley, it's worth a look!

Update and stuff (The Joy of Spooking)

2010-09-27T10:45:00.005-04:00

You may recall our review a while back of Fiendish Deeds, the first book in the Joy of Spooking trilogy.

Well, we've finally obtained a copy of the second book, Unearthly Asylum (and are feeling like slackers because it came out a little while ago but we just got around to it). So anticipate a review of that in the very near future!

This post is more for the purpose of telling you that the author, P.J. Bracegirdle, just set up a new website/blog. Pop on over and check it out! He's a great writer and a very funny guy.

If you're sitting there baffled wondering why the book cover featured here doesn't match the one in the review I linked to - this is the new cover. We reviewed an older copy of he book before it got its new look.

And on a completely unrelated matter - only a few more days until October! Mwuahahahaha!

KinderScares Halloween Kids Photo Contest!

2010-09-27T08:00:00.001-04:00

We're ridiculously excited today to be announcing KinderScares' first annual Halloween Kids photo contest!

Get your thinking caps on and drag out the old photos, you definitely want to be ready for this! The rules are simple - just send us your favourite Halloween picture of yourself as a kid, or of your kids!

We have great prizes lined up for the first second and third place winners - check them out here!

Photos can be sent to us at kinderscares@gmail.com. Just stick 'photo contest' or something to that effect in the subject line, and include a few lines telling us the who/what/when of your picture. We start accepting submissions October 1st and the contest will close November 1st (so the people whose favourite Halloween photos are from this year have time to send them in!). We hope you're all getting into the spooky spirit of the season and can't wait to see what everybody comes up with!

"Fetch the holy hand grenade!"

2010-09-24T14:32:00.004-04:00

Yesterday I happened to glance out one of the back windows and noticed a mysterious brown lump in the yard (yes, I'm veering slightly off blog-topic here, but bear with me here, I have a point). It was WAY at the back of the yard and I couldn't at all tell what it was. A very large bird? A rodent of some sort? I couldn't make out any distinctive features, just a brown round lump. The kids couldn't tell what it was either, so it wasn't my eyes, thank-you-very-much.

I couldn't find the binoculars, because nothing is ever easily located when you want it. And opening the back door when you have no intention of going out to play in the yard is a good way to make your toddler Very Angry, so I couldn't step out to get a closer look.

Eventually it occurred to me that my fancy new camera came with a big fancy zoom lens...aha! Problem solved. I grabbed the camera (which, unlike our cheap kiddie binoculars, is too expensive to lose). And we saw...a rabbit! Can you make it out?

It's a pretty crappy photo, but since it was taken through two glass doors and the screen from very far away on a kind of hazy day, it could be worse.

"Oh, a rabbit," I said, somewhat disappointed that it wasn't something more interesting (I have no idea what I was expecting it to be...)

"ROBOT!" agreed the two-year-old.

"No, not a robot, a rabbit. A bunny."

"ROBOT!"

Okay, whatever. It would have been more interesting if it WAS a robot.

"Huh," said the five-year-old. "I hope it's not like that rabbit in Monty Python and the Holy Grail!"

Ummm...me too.

All this to say that any first grader who can teach you how to deal with vampires, quote some Edgar Allan Poe, AND work a Monty Python reference into a conversation...is okay by me.

Zombiekins!

2010-09-22T20:58:00.004-04:00

Zombiekins

Written By: Kevin Bolger

Illustrated by: Aaron Blecha

ISBN: 978-1-59514-177-4

Razorbill Publishing, 2010

Hold on a minute! Settle down, settle down. We need to have a moment of silence for one of my boyhood dreams-come-true.

Look at the title of this book! Zombiekins! Z-O-M-B-I-E! It’s a book about a stuffed toy that comes to life and zombifies people!

HOW COOL IS THAT???

Now, I have to admit that when I cracked this one open I was a little worried that I’d be reading another generic story. I really can’t tell you how happy I am to report that this isn’t the case at all. What we’ve got here (is a failure to communicate...sorry, couldn’t resist that) is a wicked little tale about a little bunny/bear hybrid, stitched together in a frankenstein kind of way, and two children faced with a dilemma that most grade-schoolers would dread: Do you tell the teacher that your fellow classmates are mindless zombies bent on your complete destruction, or not? Thankfully the main characters come to a fantastic conclusion, remedy the situation, and also leave everything open for the very anticipated sequel.

Kevin Bolger (who also wrote Sir Fartsalot Hunts The Booger) writes with tongue firmly planted in cheek, infusing the story with enough expertly placed zombie pop culture references to make this story perfect for kids and hardcore zombie fans at the same time. I personally, had a great time with all of the nods to the horror genre - including how to correctly kill a zombie, a killer homage to a key scene from The Exorcist, and a small cameo from the father of the modern zombie - George A. Romero himself (albeit in kiddie form).

The art from Aaron Blecha is at the same time adorable and disturbing, bringing to mind Saturday Morning cartoons gone awry. I love the fact that he’s able to translate the very descriptive words that Bolger provides into pictures. Blecha has made sure that every important facet of the book is represented visually, and in doing so strengthens the story. This is easily one of my favorite books of the year!

As I already said, Zombiekins ended with the promise of a sequel, namely Zombiekins 2: They Came From Under The Bed. I really can’t wait to see what Bolger has in store for readers. Believe me when I say that you’ll find out here the minute that I get ahold of it!

Get out there and grab a copy of Zombiekins...before it grabs you!!!

-Colum

Check out more info at www.zombiekins.com and www.zombiekinsbook.blogspot.com

Ghost hunting at Casa Loma!

2010-09-19T12:44:00.004-04:00

Because, again, I'm SURE you're all busy planning out your Halloween season (we can't possibly be the only ones...), here's another awesome event to think about adding to your list. Tracking the ghosts of Toronto's lovely Casa Loma!

On two evenings in the week leading up to Halloween and all throughout the day Halloween weekend, Casa Loma will be hosting well-known ghost trackers. Register now for a chance to learn all about ghost tracking and explore the castle on a ghost search of your own!

For more information and to register check out the website here (you have to scroll down past the earlier fall events to find it).

Sounds like fun!

Just to keep y'all up to speed, I've created a Halloween 2010 page specifically to keep track of upcoming holiday events and make them easier to find for people as Halloween approaches and we're all getting into gear. Check back often for more stuff - and if you know of something spooky and fun for kids (be it local or online), don't hesitate to let us know!

So just how many houses DID Jack build?

2010-09-13T09:00:00.000-04:00

I'm a big fan of parodies (as you may or may not have noticed), and am invariably compelled to pick up every spooky parody we come across when bookstore (or library) prowling. There's a LOT of great stuff out there. Some things, I've noticed, just seem to really lend themselves to parody...they practically beg for it. To date we've located three different creepy-themed parodies of the old nursery rhyme 'The House that Jack Built'. Check 'em out!

The House that Drac Built, written by the awesome and talented Judy Sierra, is first on our list. It's got slightly darker artwork and is less cutesy than the other two, appealing to the slightly older picture book crowd who want the spookier Halloween feel.

The House that Jack Haunted (by Pamela Conn Beall and Susan Hagen Nipp) is a board book, full of cute Halloween characters. Perfect for the the tiniest of your monster lovers!

Last but not least is The Haunted House That Jack Built by Helaine Becker. A new release, it's cute and fun and slots pretty much right in between the other two in terms of age range and level of spookiness.

Because I'm sure you're planning for Halloween already...

2010-09-12T19:48:00.004-04:00

You are, aren't you? Doesn't everybody get to thinking Halloween-y thoughts as soon as September shows its face? I should hope so!

In any case, we just wanted to let you all know about the reading of The Halloween Tree (by Ray Bradbury) that's going to be happening over at This Literary Life, blog of agent Bree Ogden.

A chapter a day, counting down to Halloween from October 13th. Sounds like a giant pile of awesome - we can't wait to check it out!

For more info check out the post (and trailer!) here.

An Eyeball in My Garden: And Other Spine-Tingling Poems

2010-09-10T09:00:00.001-04:00

An Eyeball in My Garden

Selected and edited by Jennifer Cole Judd and Laura Wynkoop

Illustrated by Johan Olander

Marshall Cavendish Books, 2010

ISBN: 9780761456551

Trying to get the kids interested in poetry? Do we have a book for you! This is a really fantastic collection of creepy poems. REALLY fantastic. No really - it's awesome! (Have I made my point yet?)

The editors have managed to put together as diverse a collection of poems as I can imagine while still keeping in tune with the spooky theme. You'll find monsters for sure, but also ghost trains and owls and of course an eyeball in the garden...there's great variety here! The types and styles of poetry vary too.

Black-and-white illustrations by the talented Johan Olander (author/illustrator of A Field Guide to Aliens and A Field Guide to Monsters - which you'll find featured in our Ultimate Guide to Monster Guides) are every bit as awesome as you'd expect. His drawings complement the spooky subject matter in a way that appeals to both kids and grown-ups - we haven't shown this book to anyone who hasn't commented on how much they love the art!

Keep this in mind as a Hallowe'en gift for any little monsters in your life (and if you don't give Hallowe'en gifts, may I suggest you start immediately?). Or grab yourself a copy for some creepy (and poetic) fun!

Damn RIGHT 'k' is for kraken!

2010-09-09T09:00:00.000-04:00

Alpha Oops! H Is For Halloween

Written by Alethea Kontis

Illustrated by Bob Kolar

Candlewick Press, 2010

ISBN: 978-0-7636-3966-2

It's time for the Halloween show, and A isn't ready yet. But hey, Halloween starts with H, so who better to get things started? Even mixed-up, this wacky alphabet puts on quite a production!

With something spooky-themed for each letter of the disordered alphabet, this books really keeps you guessing by throwing in some unexpected Halloween words (I'm sorry - kraken and lycanthrope in the same children's book? I hereby crown you KING OF THE ALPHABET BOOKS!). Illustrations are great, with a style that's reminiscent of old-timey Halloween decorations dosed with cuteness.

Definitely a new household favourite for our little monsters, and I'm so glad we stumbled upon it! It's an easy find right now, being new (and well-stocked thanks to the time of year), so grab a copy for your own little beasts!

The Spooky Wheels on the Bus

2010-09-07T09:00:00.000-04:00

Let's say you have a little kid who loves the song 'The Wheels on the Bus', but you think your head might explode if you have to sing or listen to it one more time (an understandable sentiment, to be sure!). What on earth do you do? Simple! Grab a copy of this fun parody to shake things up:

The Spooky Wheels on the Bus by J. Elizabeth Mills takes some creepy liberties with the classic song. Get some comic relief by teaching your little ones these alternate lyrics, which are just perfect for the upcoming Halloween season!

However could we have forgotten? The Monster at the End of This Book!

2010-09-05T10:04:00.006-04:00

Unbelievably, it took a trip (of the ill-advised and predictably expensive variety...) to the bookstore and scoping out their (surprisingly awesome) Hallowe'en display to jog my memory about this true classic for monster-loving kids.

The Monster at the End of This Book

Written by John Stone

Illustrated by Michael Smollin

Golden Books, 1971

ISBN: 978-0-307-01085-8

I can't possibly be the only person of my generation to grow up with this book (although Colum, shockingly, doesn't remember it from his childhood...weirdo!). Think back...you remember it, don't you? Turning page after page as your furry pal Grover begs you not to because he's scared to see the monster at the end of the book?

Of COURSE you remember it. Unless you're Colum.

Creative and hilarious with a happy (and funny!) ending, this book is great for monster lovers, Sesame Street fans, and anybody who likes doing a Grover impression (i.e. everybody). You can't lose! I insist you get a copy immediately. If you don't have kids, consider it a nostalgia item.

Big News! (times two!)

2010-09-04T09:25:00.002-04:00

Just a couple of Awesome Announcements today (yes, so awesome they deserve unnecessary capitalization)!

One - KinderScares' impending arrival (otherwise known as baby #3), is a GIRL! That's right, folks...we were even for a while, but the hormonal balance of power now swings back into the female arena. Mwuahahaha!

Two - We're in Rue Morgue Magazine this month! Our tiny little blog has wormed its way into the Roadkill section of one of our favourite publications...how cool is that?! If by some chance you don't subscribe, run out and grab a copy. To see us in there, and just to check out an awesome magazine!

Now don't freak out or anything...

2010-08-30T08:24:00.005-04:00

...but we actually have a book for you today! No kidding. September starts Wednesday (a fact of which you were probably already aware, but whatever) so we're slowly getting back to business. Here goes!

Alphabet Spook! Spine-Tingling Verse

Written by Nicholas Tulloch

Illustrated by Chris Mould

Oxford University Press, 1997

ISBN: 0 19 276155 2

This older book (a full lucky thirteen years old!) was a surprise find on one of our used bookstore hunts this summer. Full of spooktacular poems for every letter of the alphabet (from Ankle-biter to Zeds), it's a fun little volume. The poems are mostly great with a few more mediocre ones thrown in, but they're all amusing and entertaining. The black and white illustrations by Chris Mould are AWESOME and worth getting the book for all on their own. Keep your eyes peeled for this one!

(Looks like this author/illustrator pairing also teamed up on another book of spooky poetry titled A-Haunting We Will Go a few years after this one came out. I'm going to have to look for that one!)

Almost forgot: for more creepy or unique alphabet books, check out our list!

Who says 5-year-olds don't belong at the Festival of Fear?

2010-08-29T15:01:00.004-04:00

It was Fan Expo in Toronto this weekend, which of course includes the Rue Morgue Festival of Fear. Colum attended with the largest of our little monsters in tow, and they had an awesome time (more about the whole experience and their many many purchases later). I'm just updating quickly to break my usual rule about not posting pictures of the kids on the blog, and show y'all this picture of Colum and our eldest with Toxie yesterday:

Being a big fan of the Toxic Crusaders cartoon, our daughter was awfully pleased to meet him (she also got her DVD signed by Lloyd Kaufman). Good times were had by all!

What's better than Friday?

2010-08-27T13:49:00.003-04:00

A Friday full of Cthulhu!

Or something like that...

As you may have deduced, I have purchased a new camera (a bigger better faster one, too!), thus allowing me to bring you this lovely rendition of Cthulhu. A little late for H.P. Lovecraft's birthday, perhaps, but I think we can all all agree that monster drawings are nothing but goodness, no matter what day it is.

It occurs to me in posting this that our monster artist is no longer a kindergartener. What the heck am I going to call these things now? The First Grade Files? Or we can call them the Kindergarten Files forever and refuse to admit she's growing up. Conundrum.

Anyway, I have to run but we'll be back in action next week (with actual reviews, no less! Shocking, I know...).

The death of a camera and other riveting info

2010-08-22T08:04:00.005-04:00

So I was going to post a seriously awesome Cthulhu drawing by our little monster the other day in honour of H.P. Lovecraft's birthday. BUT as I prepared to take a picture of it for the blog, I discovered to my horror that my digital camera had been crushed beyond all recognition. Ahhhhhhhhh!

The theory is that a backpack it was in got crushed in the truck's gate. But really we have no idea how it happened. What I DO know is that it is a great source of woe, and that now I have to look for a new camera. Bah!

In any case, Cthulhu will have to wait until I have new photography equipment (or hook my computer up to the scanner. But I'm sure he's worth the wait.

In other up and coming bloggy news, I located our daughter's amateur field guide to monsters in a stack of papers and will be posting that soon...once I grab a camera or hook up the scanner.

AND we've spent a lot of the summer doing one of our very favourite things - prowling all the used bookstores we can find for awesome things to read. We even used a road trip as an excuse to haunt used bookstores halfway across the province! Aside from pushing us way past book capacity and necessitating a trip to IKEA for a full THREE new bookcases, we found some awesome spooky kids' books you'll love!

(Because I'm sure you're fascinated by the trivia of my life: the book cataloguing software I bought a few weeks ago tells me we have 122 KinderScares books...and I'm not NEARLY done scanning everything in the house)

SO. Summer (and our conspicuous internet absence) is coming to a close. We're just about done with the amusement park and zoo going, road-trip taking, yard work torture, house-rearranging, and all that other good stuff. And have tons of books and other crazy stuff waiting in the wings (with poor old wait-listed Cthulhu). So hang in there folks! We're just about back. And we hope you've all been having as much fun this summer as we have!

On another note: the approach of fall reminds me that it'll be October before we know it, and KinderScares' very first Hallowe'en! We have some ideas in the works already, but is there anything y'all would really love to see? Pumpkin carving designs? Kids Hallowe'en party how-to? Rest assured there will be lots and lots of books.

The Creepy Canada Day contest winner is...

2010-07-21T10:20:00.003-04:00

You may (or may not) recall our Creepy Canada Day contest. I said I was going to post the winner last week - and then I forgot. Just call me a blog slacker!

But I'm doing it now! No need to throw tomatoes or rotten fruit of any kind (you can throw cookies, though, if you want. I don't mind).

In any case, the winner is edmonton jb from MoM of BoYs with ToYs! Congratulations!

How To Defeat a Tollhouse Troll (and have your cookies, too!)

2010-07-20T10:00:00.000-04:00

In yesterday's review of Blimpo there was a somewhat flippant remark about throwing in a recipe for good measure (...no pun intended). Little did anyone expect one to actually be forthcoming! And to take it one step further down the road of awesome, it's a recipe in rhyme.

Because EVERYTHING is better when it rhymes.

How to Defeat a Tollhouse Troll (and have your cookies too)

Imagine this: You find yourself

At a tollhouse by the road

You're minding your own business there

Just doing what you're told

As cars come by and pay their fare

You see along the way

A rowdy bunch of travelers

Approaching you today

They drive their dirty truck along

Straight to your very booth

The brakes - they squeal - and an arm pops out

And flicks at you..a tooth!

"The fare is 2 bucks even, pal!

This tooth ain't even close!"

But as you shout these words to them

You notice something gross

The hand attached to that nasty arm

Has claws and hairy fingers

And further up is thick brown fur

And things that look like stingers

The shoulders have some horns and bumps

That ooze an throb and glisten

And upon that grotesque head of his

Are ears that carefully listen

The beady eyes that stare at you

Are large and fierce and red

It's mouth is full of horrid teeth

It's breath smells like the dead

It smiles and licks it's purple lips

And looks ready to dine

It says "I don't like your tune,

So now you will be mine!"

The legend is true! The stories real!

The fables hold their weight!

The Tollhouse Trolls! They do exist!

They're here to seal your fate!

But you, you're smarter than the norm

You grin and hold their stares

You've come with weapons all prepared

That you learned from KinderScares!

At home last night you mixed and baked

Prepared "Defensive Food"

For you knew one day that you would face

The terror of this brood

You took 2 and a quarter cups

of flour - set it aside

Grabbed yourself a bowl and spoons

And continued with this guide

You threw 1 teaspoon of baking soda

In a bowl - the same of salt

A 3/4 cup of white sugar

and the same of brown (like malt)

1 cup of softened butter found

it's way into the bowl

with 1 teaspoon of vanilla, that

was extracted with some soul

You mixed the stuff with greatest care

and found it to be dreamy

When all the fixin's came to be

so beautiful and creamy

From the fridge, then, came 2 eggs - no more

and with violence you inflicted

You cracked open their fine, fine shells

added them - and mixed it

The color then, it turned some shades

from white and pale, to yellow

That's when the flour came out to play

And was added slow and mellow

When all was doughy, soft and right

You brought the chocolate up

And folded in those tasty treats

At a measure of 2 cups

You placed the round teaspoons of dough

Upon the cookie tray

And baked at 350 degrees

To the ingredients' dismay

For 8 - 10 mins you waited while

The aroma filled the room

And after that your plan was done

The Trolls would meet their DOOM!

So here you stand, you're face to face

With your mortal enemies

The dreaded Tollhouse Trolls of lore

Whose weakness is COOKIES!

With a flash of teeth and a flick of wrist

You throw your deadly wares

Into the waiting, hungry mouths

Of the trolls just sitting there

They crunch and chew, they drool and moan

And lament the cookie's beauty

For their power will never fail to make

The trolls do your awful duty

And there you have it, it's tried and true

There's power in your baking

And with hordes of trolls in your employ

The world is for the taking!!!

-Colum

(Shelagh's note: Just in case you're wondering, Colum is no longer allowed to stay up until 4 am, no matter how funny he thinks he is. Happy baking!)

Blimpo: The Third Circle of Heck by Dale E. Basye

2010-07-19T11:32:00.006-04:00

Blimpo: The Third Circle of Heck

Written by Dale E. Basye

Illustrations by Bob Dob

Random House Children's Books, 2010

ISBN: 978-0-375-95676-8

"I'm going to write the Heck review tonight."

That's what I've been saying for the past several weeks to my dear wife, whose eyes can take no more rolling. And just for the record, I've written this review 5 times on 4 different machines. Every time I finish, I walk away knowing that it did not do justice to the level of awesomeness that Dale E. Basye has acheieve with his third installment in the Heck series.

Today I'm pleased to inform you that I'm not going to stop writing until it's done. In fact, I'm going to blab on and on until I've said everything I can possibly say about the book, and then maybe throw in a recipe for good measure.

Here we go...

If you've made it this far, you already know that Blimpo is the third book in the Heck series by Dale E. Basye. For those of you who don't know what "Heck" is, it's the place where bad kids go to wait out their days until their judgement - or until they turn 18 - whichever comes first. The series details the afterlife adventures of siblings Milton and Marlo Fauster, victims of a tragic marshmallow explosion. (If you're new to the saga and need some background, check out our reviews of the first two books in the series, Heck: Where The Bad Kids Go and Rapacia: The Second Circle of Heck).

After his second escape from the clutches of the nefarious Bea Elsa Bubb, Milton Fauster travels to Blimpo (where the plump kids go) in search of his friend Virgil. When he finally gets in he's horrified - the residents of Blimpo are forced to run on "DREADmills", giant exercise wheels that detect and exploit their victims' deepest darkest fears. The rest of the time they spend eating at Hambone Hank's barbeque shack, feasting upon some of the most delicious yet mysterious of mystery meats known to man.

Meanwhile, Marlo - Milton's sister - is busy at her new job in the Devil's Infernship, learning all she can about what it means to be the Devil's right hand man...er...woman, yet remaining at an annoying arms length from the man downstairs.

Can Milton rescue Virgil from this most tastefully tempting level of Heck, and still have time to save his sister from eternal damnation?

Basye has crafted something akin to perfection with this foray into Heck. I know I've said that his prose is to die for, and that his characters are so tight that you could bounce quarters and other forms of pocket change off them, and it's still true this time around. The Milton and Marlo that you've grown to love in the first two books are back in full force, and the settings and cast of secondary characters are impressive (as usual). Basye even had the cajones to add a special appearance that caught me off guard and left me cheering - I know you'll be surprised too.

It's not every day that you get the perfect mixture of talent and imagination housed within the same book. Basye obviously has that and oodles more in store. His ability to drag the reader into another world and provide a social commentary that leaves you thinking is impressive to say the least. I for one consider this man the George A. Romero of the middle-grade literary crowd. He entertains at the same time as making a person think about what it actually means to be alive and kickin'.

When it comes to middle-grade fiction, I will go on the record to say that Basye is on the top of the heap. Pick up your copy of Blimpo (immediately!) at any major book outlet near you, or online at Amazon. To keep up to date on the Heck books check out the website, or follow his blog.

Colum

Don't forget!

2010-07-09T11:03:00.003-04:00

The trouble with posting something at the beginning of a holiday weekend is that sometimes people miss it. So here's a heads-up for anyone who might have - go enter our creepy Canada giveaway!

Why? Because everybody likes free books! Especially spooky Canadian ghost story books.

We'll draw a winner mid next week, so hop on over and leave a comment for your chance to win!

More creepified nursery rhymes! (Monster Goose by Judy Sierra)

2010-07-02T07:29:00.001-04:00

A very few of you may recall eons ago when we reviewed Gris Grimly's Wicked Nursery Rhymes and Wicked Nursery Rhymes II

They are very very amusing and fantastically illustrated, but also pretty dark and recommended (by the publisher) for kids over ten. Not very appropriate for littler ones. We don't want little kids to miss out on the fun of macabre parodies, though, which is why we're absolutely thrilled to have discovered Monster Goose by the awesome Judy Sierra (author of The Gruesome Guide to World Monsters):

These hilarious versions of well-known nursery rhymes are creepy enough to capture the fancy of a small monster lover, but not as dark as those in Grimly's books, making them much more suitable for a younger audience. Check it out and enjoy!

(Creepy) Canada Day giveaway!

2010-07-01T07:00:00.000-04:00

In honour of today (Canada Day) and as a sort of apology for our extended blog slacking, we're giving away these four awesome books:

The Haunted Canada series by Pat Hancock is three volumes of 'true ghost stories' collected from all over Canada and sure to give you the shivers! As an added bonus we're throwing in The Unexplained (edited by Janet Lunn), a collection of scary stories by Canadian writers. Geared toward middle grade readers, these books are lots of fun. What better way to celebrate Canada than creeping yourself out with tales of our native ghosts, ghouls, and things that go bump in the night?

To enter the giveaway just leave a comment and tell us if you've ever had a ghostly encounter of your own! Get extra entries by being/becoming a follower, blogging, tweeting or facebooking about the giveaway, or becoming a fan on Facebook.

Good luck!

Look out for the couch cannibals! And also a bunch of lame excuses...

2010-06-21T08:28:00.004-04:00

I just happened to walk into the room the other day as my 5-year-old took a running dive headfirst into the couch.

"CANNIBAL!" she shouted, and for a second I just stopped and stared as my brain desperately tried to make sense of that.

Um. I think you might have meant cannonball, darling. And also, don't jump on the couch.

My life is very strange.

Anyhow, many apologies for the epically long blog silence. Life is crazy and busy and full of oh so many fascinating things to do. If only we were all apathetic and disinterested around here, I'd have a whole lot more spare time. Of course, then I wouldn't have anything I wanted to do with it. Can't win 'em all.

The KinderScares to-read mountain is as huge as ever and always growing, and if Colum and I can both resist the allure of Other Books and Other Writing Projects, not to mention sunshine and ice cream and all the other distracting things that might catch our fancy, we'll be reviewing a pile of them in the very near future.

And how are you, all my (sadly neglected) pals out in blogland? Do tell.

The Monsters Test

2010-06-05T14:55:00.002-04:00

The Monsters Test

Written by Brian J. Heinz

Illustrated by Sal Murdocca

The Millbrook Press, 1996

ISBN: 0-7613-0095-3

Who’s the scariest monster? Nobody can agree, so they all decide to have a contest to decide. The only trouble is, none of the monsters find each other scary - it’s just one big snoozefest as they each put on their best terrifying performance. Then partway through, someone pounds on the door of the haunted house! When the gargoyles open the doors a mob of creatures comes rushing in, shrieking “Trick or treat!”. The monsters, utterly terrified, flee the house - which is pretty funny to the costumed children, who weren’t anything scary after all.

This rhyming book has a good rhythm to read aloud and fun, not-too-creepy illustrations. Kids love the ending, I have to say. A great Hallowe’en read!

The Monster Poetry winner is...

2010-06-01T10:13:00.004-04:00

Our monster poetry giveaway has come to an end, and it's time to announce the winner! I know most people use a random online generator, but we're old school (read: we do anything and everything to keep the kids busy), so we had our tiny monster fiend pick the name out of her seriously awesome hat:

Which, yes, means that I sat around writing everybody's entries on little scraps of paper in order to do so. More work? Yes. But also more fun!

In any case, the winner of our monster poetry prize pack is...

Tricia of The Miss Rumphius Effect! (Whose favourite monster, by the way, is Godzilla.)

Congratulations to Tricia! And to those who didn't win, don't be too sad - we'll be running another giveaway in the very near future. Have a monstrously awesome Tuesday, folks!

Darkness Slipped In

2010-05-31T21:11:00.003-04:00

Darkness Slipped In

Written and illustrated by Ella Burfoot

Kingfisher, 2007

ISBN: 978-0-7534-6209-6

Daisy is playing when Darkness slips into her bedroom. He tries to be sneaky but she sees him anyway - and she’s not frightened in the least, even when he takes over the whole room. She just flips on the lamp, grabs him by the arm, and they dance up a storm! Darkness then comes every night to play and spend time with Daisy, until they both get sleepy and it’s time for bed.

This tale reminded me of a more light-hearted Switch on the Night - the personification of darkness and reassurance that there’s nothing to be afraid of. The illustrations have great personality, and the contrast between the stark black of Darkness and simple yet colourful Daisy is fun to look at. This would be a good book for a little one just overcoming his/her nervousness about the dark.

Have a vampire problem? Our expert 5-year-old is here to help...

2010-05-29T21:23:00.006-04:00

Today our resident monster expert made it her mission to create this lovely illustrated guide to repelling and/or destroying vampires:

As you can see, she was a little concerned that the lack of colour in her illustrations might confuse some of us dull-witted adults into thinking her bulb of garlic was a pumpkin (and we all know how badly that could turn out, vampires being immune to pumpkin repellent and all). Hence the very specific label.

I'm partial to the 'stake through heart' drawing, myself. Happy vampire hunting!

Baby Pie by Tom MacRae

2010-05-27T08:09:00.002-04:00

Baby Pie

Written by Tom MacRae

Illustrated by Nick Ward

Andersen Press

ISBN: 978-1-84270-868-2

Three diminutive blue trolls - cute yet grotesque - named Oink, Boink, and Moink, want to make a baby pie. Of course for that you need a baby, so off they go to hunt one down. But, well...let’s just say the baby they find isn’t quite what they expected! Poor Oink, Boink and Moink end up eating vegetables instead.

There’s a pattern to the story as they search for a baby, letting little kids who are listening join in if they’re so inclined. The trolls’ retreat after they find the child is energetic and action-packed.

Trolls notwithstanding, I wouldn’t consider this book ‘scary’, but you might want to be careful if you’re reading it to a child with a small sibling. My 5-year-old (fearless monster-lover extraordinaire) wouldn’t so much as look at this book until I assured her that they don’t actually eat a baby. Who would have guessed?

The Doom Stone by Paul Zindel

2010-05-24T22:47:00.007-04:00

The Doom Stone

Written by: Paul Zindel

Hyperion, 1995

ISBN: 0-7868-1180-3

I'm baaaack, and WOW did I bring a book with me that is going to rock your socks! If you know me, you know I like me some doom! I like to add 'doom' to everything. Sooner or later everything I touch turns to DOOM! Cake...of doom! Maxima...of doom! Asparagus OF DOOM!. Everything is 'of doom' to me. So when I got the chance to check out The Doom Stone, I was stoked - and you should be too!

This YA novel follows Jackson - nephew of famed anthropologist Dr. Sarah Crawley - as he visits his aunt on a dig in England at mysterious Stonehenge. When he witnesses the brutal murder of a young man, and a similar attack on his Aunt Sarah, his excitement is all but lost. There is a savage beast roaming the countryside, and now only Jackson knows how to stop it. With the aid of a beautiful young girl and her dog Coffin, he will risk his life to figure out the secrets of Stonehenge and try to bring the killings to an end.

Now this is what I've been looking for since we started this little project. A book that would not only be totally appropriate for kids and young adults, but something that would also appeal to my more gruesome tastes. When I pick up a book for Paperback Horror, I'm usually looking for the most extreme horror I can find. I think I found the YA equivalent here.

Pulitzer Prize winner Paul Zindel exercises superior writing skills, making the reader really feel like they're in the thick of things. From the fog enshrouded hills of the English countryside to the inner brickwork of a late 18th century cloister, Zindel brings every detail to life. Everything is richly described and gruesomely revealed. The monster in this book is one of the most grotesque things ever put to paper, with it's disgusting penchant for drooling a viscous, phlegm-like substance from the giant crater were it's nose should be. Yuck. You may recall from our "about us" section that I DON'T LIKE BOOGER. Gross!

Nasty nose secretions aside, I would really like to suggest this book for all the kids out there who want just a little more of the gore and a little less of the kiddie stuff. And to all those parents who have a love for Laymon, Lee, and Ketchum. The Doom Stone made me quite a happy little gorehound, indeed.

-Colum

The Secret Knowledge of Grown-Ups

2010-05-21T13:39:00.004-04:00

The Secret Knowledge of Grown-Ups

Written and illustrated by David Wisniewski

HarperCollins, 1998

ISBN: 0-06-443753-1

David Wisniewski has blown the lid off the biggest conspiracy of all time - the secrets that generations of adults have kept hidden from children! Traveling across the country in a variety of clever disguises, he’s uncovered the REAL reasons grown-ups have so many rules - and the truth is more shocking and sinister than you ever expected...

The truth is, they don’t tell you to eat your vegetables because they’re good for you - it’s really to keep the killer vegetables under control! You think your mom and dad don’t want you to jump on the bed because you might get hurt? Ha! They’re REALLY afraid that you might...WAKE UP THE MATTRESS! And that’s just the tip of the iceberg, my friends.

With a log describing how he discovered the truth about each of these rules (detailing location and whatever disguise he used while snooping to make the discovery), the narrator goes on to describe the ‘real’ history behind the things adults tell kids to do, with lots of ‘facts’ and colourful cut-paper illustrations.

This book will keep kids AND adults laughing from start to finish. The sheer outrageousness of the explanations, the outlandish disguises used to discover the truth, and the numerous clever asides had us all snickering and laughing out loud.

There is also a sequel: The Secret Knowledge of Grown-Ups: The Second File, which I have yet to get my hands on. If anybody's read it, let me know what you thought!

Because monsters that rhyme are the very best kind...BOOK GIVEAWAY!

2010-05-16T14:28:00.008-04:00

Thursday's review got me thinking about poetry, and I got inspired to share some of our favourite collections with you! So we’re giving away a set of our three favourite horror-themed poetry books - Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich and Frankenstein Takes the Cake by Adam Rex, and The Monsterologist by Bobbi Katz.

Monster poetry is hilarious fun for anybody and everybody! Mini monster-lovers, horror fans, or just plain anyone with a sense of humour will have an awesome time with this trio of books! All three are funny as hell, fantastically illustrated and beautifully designed hardcovers.

All you need to do is leave a comment telling us who YOUR favourite monster is, and you’ll be in the running (if you don’t have a blog or a Google account, you can still enter - just be sure to leave a name in the comment so we know who the ‘anonymous’ folks are!).

If you feel like improving your odds, you can get extra entries for being/becoming a follower, or ‘liking’ us on Facebook. Blog, Facebook or tweet about the giveaway and get an extra entry for each of those too!

The winner will be announced June 1st! Good luck!

The Monsterologist: A Memoir in Rhyme

2010-05-13T08:13:00.004-04:00

The Monsterologist: A Memoir in Rhyme

Ghostwritten by Bobbi Katz

Illustrated by Adam McCauley

Sterling Publishing, 2009

ISBN: 978-1-4027-4417-4

Bobbi Katz, author of many picture books and books of poetry for kids, puts her talent to work here with 23 monster-related poems sure to make you giggle. She pulls creepy creatures from all over into play, from mythological beasts (Medusa and Cyclops) to movie monsters (Godzilla) to literary terrors (Frankenstein and Dracula) and creatures of her own creation. I particularly like the Verbivore, who attacks books and eats the action. But I have to take issue with the Suds-Surfing Sock-Eater - everybody knows there’s no monster in the washing machine stealing your socks. It’s the dryer that zaps them into another dimension...obviously.

Anyhow. From Grendel’s family recipe for Danish pastry (main ingredient: Danes) to Bluebeard’s personal ad, to the very hilarious International Zombie Survey, this book will tickle any monster-lover’s fancy. And it rhymes! Have I ever mentioned that I like things that rhyme? Oh, I have? Well okay then.

(You should get ahold of this book as soon as possible just to see the parody of the song My Favourite Things from The Sound of Music. And then sing it. Loudly. Really, I will never be able to sing that song normally again. And I’m okay with that.)

Fantastic illustrations by Adam McCauley and a stunning book design make this a real treat to look through. The scrapbook style is perfect for the ‘memoir’. Hell, it would be worth buying this book just to see the art on the endpapers - sheets of monster stamps. I want those in real life! Seriously awesome.

If monster poetry turns your crank, don’t stop here! Go check out Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich! Right now!

Yes, I have had too much coffee today. Why do you ask?

CinderHazel: The Cinderella of Halloween

2010-05-12T09:32:00.006-04:00

CinderHazel: The Cinderella of Halloween

Written and illustrated by Deborah Nourse Lattimore

Scholastic, 1997

ISBN: 0-590-20233-2

CinderHazel is a witch who absolutely adores dirt. In fact, it’s the only thing she’s really interested in. When her stepmother and stepsisters fly off to the annual witches’ Halloween ball, she doesn’t even care about being left behind - who wants to hang out with a bunch of annoying, excessively clean witches anyway? But then her fairy godwitch appears to tell her about all the filthy fireplaces over at the palace - and what’s more, the prince everybody’s over there hoping to meet just happens to be the King of Dirt. Before she knows it CinderHazel is on her way to the ball, destined for a series of misadventures and - just maybe - her very own ‘filthily ever after’.

This quick and silly read-aloud is cute and fun, and will really appeal to those little kids who are appalled by anything girly or pretty.

For another spin on the Cinderella tale, be sure to check out Cinderella Skeleton!

There's a Nightmare in My Closet by Mercer Mayer - a classic!

2010-05-10T08:34:00.003-04:00

There’s a Nightmare In My Closet

Written and illustrated by Mercer Mayer

Puffin Books, 1968

ISBN: 0-14-054712-6

The one thing better than reading a monster book to your kid, is reading them a monster book you remember fondly from when YOU were a kid. This simple tale by Mercer Mayer (better known for his Little Critter books) will fit the bill for a lot of folks.

A little boy is certain there’s a ‘nightmare’ living in his closet. Tired of being afraid, one night he decides to get rid of his nightmare ‘once and for all’, and waits up with his toy gun in hand to take care of the problem. The nightmare does indeed appear - but it turns out he’s not quite so scary as the little boy had expected.

The illustrations, simple yet very expressive, create a great atmosphere that’s just shadowed and spooky enough, but still non-threatening to little readers. The nightmare, ominous when he first appears, ends up adorable and rather sympathetic. This would be suitable for the very smallest of your future horror-fiends - there’s nothing traumatic here. And it’ll dredge up some fun memories for those of us who can recall hearing this one themselves, many years ago.

'Vunce Upon a Time' - a picture book about vampires!

2010-05-07T08:41:00.004-04:00

Vunce Upon a Time

Written by Jotto Seibold and Siobhan Vivian

Illustrated by Jotto Seibold

Scholastic, 2008

ISBN: 978-0-545-20847-5

Dagmar the vampire is a vegetarian. The only thing he loves more than vegetables is candy, and when his stash of treats runs out he’s awfully depressed - until a skeleton friend drops by and explains about a strange human holiday called Halloween, where they hand out free candy! Dagmar’s a little apprehensive about going near humans, but candy is worth being brave, so he sets about trying to find a costume (leading to some hilarity regarding what monsters think is scary). Despite having to overcome several obstacles, Dagmar does his trick-or-treating, and learns to his surprise that maybe humans aren’t so scary after all...

This is a cute and amusing picture book. It hasn’t got the punch that I look for in a read-aloud for little kids, but it is fun and the illustrations have a personality to them that appeals to the kindergarten set.

For more books with vampires, check out Dear Vampa and The Ink Drinker, or our post about Dracula for kids. And then if you're on a roll, check out Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich (and the sequel), because Adam Rex's Dracula is truly hilarious.

R.L. Stine in Rue Morgue magazine!

2010-05-06T14:22:00.005-04:00

So our copy of Rue Morgue magazine came today (I use the word 'our' rather loosely here, since it's Colum's subscription and has nothing to do with me. Still, that's what marriage is all about - your wife reading your magazines before you because she's at home when the mail is delivered and you're not...or something like that).

And this is relevant to KinderScares how, you ask? Well, other than the fact that so many of you foolishly voted for 'I like your semi-incoherent rambling posts' on the poll - thus plunging yourselves and all our readers into a world where I have an excuse to never shut up again - it's significant because of the article on R.L. Stine, which you know you want to check out.

The Fear Street and Goosebumps series were a sort of gateway into horror literature for tons of kids in our generation who are now in their twenties and thirties, and the books are still doing the same thing for a lot of children today. Grab an issue of Rue Morgue and see what Stine had to say about them! (Plus, it's the special edition 100th issue of the magazine, so you'll be getting a piece of history here, folks!)

Switch on the Night by Ray Bradbury

2010-05-04T09:08:00.006-04:00

Switch On The Night

Written by Ray Bradbury

Pictures by Leo and Diane Dillon

Umbrella Books, 1993

ISBN: 0-394-80486-4

I'm back from Paperback Horror for today, because I wanted to share this very special book with you guys. It deals with one of my favourite things - the Dark. There was a time (long ago) when I really didn't like the dark. It was too mysterious, too silent, too...well, dark.

In Switch On The Night, Bradbury introduces us to a little boy who doesn't like the dark. He likes lanterns and lamps and torches and tapers - every implement you can think of that produces light. One night while his father is away on a business trip and his mother goes to bed early, he turns on every light in the house. But he's still alone while the other children are playing on the night lawn. That is, until he's visited by a very interesting little girl. Her name is Dark, and she wants to show him how to turn on the night.

Bradbury's lyrical talent makes this book. His ability to turn some of the most ordinary words into extraordinary visuals is unmatched. He's a master of wordplay and really outdoes himself here.

The art is incredible too. Leo and Diane Dillon create a sense of loneliness with their illustrations that makes it impossible not to feel what the little boy is feeling. All of the pages for the first half of the book are presented in a stark white and transition to black at the moment when the little girl - Dark - arrives to show the boy that there is nothing to be afraid of. The visuals they present are the perfect complement to Bradbury's old-school style, and they round out the book perfectly.

This is a great bedtime story for all those kids who haven't gotten over their fear of the dark. Show them that when you flick that switch you're not turning off the light - you're switching on the night.

What were you afraid of as a kid?

Heck: Where the Bad Kids Go - Contest!

2010-04-27T16:29:00.003-04:00

You may remember Dale E. Basye from the incredibly hilarious interview he did with us earlier this year. Or perhaps you recall us raving about his very funny books, Heck: Where the Bad Kids Go, and Rapacia: The Second Circle of Heck. Hopefully you've followed our advice and checked them out!

Now in honour of Rapacia's paperback release, he's giving away three autographed sets of the books in a contest. Check out the Where The Bad Kids Go blog for details and your chance to win!

Also, keep your eye out for Blimpo: The Third Circle of Heck, which is due out next month!

(In unrelated news, I really am going to make a dent in the KinderScares to-be-read mountain in the next week - expect many a post. More if you send coffee and/or babysitters. I've been busy writing everything in the world EXCEPT reviews, but I'll get back to work...soon)

The Ink Drinker by Eric Sanvoisin

2010-04-21T09:20:00.000-04:00

The Ink Drinker

Written by Eric Sanvoisin

Illustrated by Martin Matje

Translated by Georges Moroz

Delacorte Press, 1996

ISBN: 0-385-32591-6

The narrator of this quirky tale doesn't care for books, although his father owns a bookstore. Since he's not interested in reading, he watches customers while he's at the store - and that's how he witnesses the strangest thing he's ever seen. An odd-looking customer inserts a straw between the pages of a book when he thinks no one's looking and seems to be...drinking it? When he finishes and leaves, the boy discovers the book is now blank, completely stripped of words! Nothing but a few random letters remain. He follows this monster to its graveyard home (which is full of books - a bizarre pantry). The vampire's eyes are dark like ink, and he has letter-shaped freckles dotting his skin. When the boy ends up bitten by Draculink (for that's the creature's name), he discovers he may have a taste for books after all...

This is a very short chapter book suitable for early readers, and is a fun concept with cute and entertaining illustrations. The language seems a little formal in some spots, possibly because it's a translation - the book was originally written in French. All in all, our 5-year-old thought it was great, and that's the real measure of a kids book, isn't it?

The Ink Drinker has three sequels that continue the tale, so if you enjoy it you may want to check them out as well.

KinderScares

KinderScares is packing up...

Horror for Hanukkah!

*crickets*

Photo contest winners!

Halloween 2010 - pics, overview and general rambling...

A tradition we can get behind!

A blast from KinderScares' ancient past!

Scary Stories Giveaway Winner!

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark - GIVEAWAY!

Seven spooky selections (because we all need scary counting books!)

Because we all secretly want to have snacks with Dracula...

And the giveaway winner is...

The kraken...why is it always the kraken?!

Alphabet Attack!

Crow Toes Quarterly Magazine

Original art by Chris Zenga!

Awesome trick-or-treating bag giveaway!

Photo contest prize announcement!

It seemed like just an ordinary day...

You know you're a big geek when...

F.Y.I. (Links to greatness!)

Baby's 1st Boo!

Halloween wordsearch!

Halloween madness from Agent Bree!

Meet the Witches!

More parodies to peruse

Update and stuff (The Joy of Spooking)

KinderScares Halloween Kids Photo Contest!

"Fetch the holy hand grenade!"

Zombiekins!

Ghost hunting at Casa Loma!

So just how many houses DID Jack build?

Because I'm sure you're planning for Halloween already...

An Eyeball in My Garden: And Other Spine-Tingling Poems

Damn RIGHT 'k' is for kraken!

The Spooky Wheels on the Bus

However could we have forgotten? The Monster at the End of This Book!

Big News! (times two!)

Now don't freak out or anything...

Who says 5-year-olds don't belong at the Festival of Fear?

What's better than Friday?

The death of a camera and other riveting info

The Creepy Canada Day contest winner is...

How To Defeat a Tollhouse Troll (and have your cookies, too!)

Blimpo: The Third Circle of Heck by Dale E. Basye

Don't forget!

More creepified nursery rhymes! (Monster Goose by Judy Sierra)

(Creepy) Canada Day giveaway!

Look out for the couch cannibals! And also a bunch of lame excuses...

The Monsters Test

The Monster Poetry winner is...

Darkness Slipped In

Have a vampire problem? Our expert 5-year-old is here to help...

Baby Pie by Tom MacRae

The Doom Stone by Paul Zindel

The Secret Knowledge of Grown-Ups

Because monsters that rhyme are the very best kind...BOOK GIVEAWAY!

The Monsterologist: A Memoir in Rhyme

CinderHazel: The Cinderella of Halloween

There's a Nightmare in My Closet by Mercer Mayer - a classic!

'Vunce Upon a Time' - a picture book about vampires!

R.L. Stine in Rue Morgue magazine!

Switch on the Night by Ray Bradbury

Heck: Where the Bad Kids Go - Contest!

The Ink Drinker by Eric Sanvoisin

crickets