REVIEW: The Scariest Stories You've Ever Heard

 The Scariest Stories You've Ever Heard
Author: Mark Mills

Some of my fondest memories from grade school are about books -- RIF days when we got to go to the library to pick out a book, those Fridays where the teachers handed out forms for book orders, and bringing books to school to trade with friends (We always swapped Laura Ingalls Wilder books with each other). Every time I'm in a thriftshop or used book store, I always gravitate to the section that has all the children's paperbacks. Most of the time I find a few I want to take home to read....partly because the stories are entertaining and partly for nostalgia. 

There are three books in this little horror story series for kids. This is the first book...I found a copy of the second book (Scariest Stories You've Ever Heard Vol II by Katharine Burt) at 2nd and Charles Books one day. 75 cents. Yep....it came home with me. But....having bought volume 2, I started wondering about the awesome stories that must be in volume 1....

So I hunted down this book. And, while doing that, discovered that there is also a Scariest Stories You've Ever Heard Vol III ! I am very thankful to digital library borrows -- that lovely gift of the internet age gave me the opportunity to read this book, published by Willowisp Publishing in 1988. 

This collection of 14 short little creepy tales gravitates to middle grade age kids, but I enjoyed it too! A nice mix of ghost stories, urban legends, and campfire style tales, this book was a quick, fun read! I could see this book being used at Halloweentime in a classroom setting to get young but reluctant readers to read for fun, as a creative writing tool (read a story/have students try writing their own short, scary story), or for reading aloud.  As for me, I had a very enjoyable morning of reading and remembering similar stories we scared each other with while camping when I was a kid. :) 

The cover art is awesome! 

Great book! On to Volume 2!