Spine Chilling Tales for Teens

Get in the mood for Halloween with these Spine Chilling Tales for teens.  Here's a few of our favorites . . .

On the Day I Died by Candace Fleming

In a lonely Illinois cemetery one cold October night, teen ghosts recount the stories of their deaths in different time periods, from 1870 to the present, to sixteen-year-old Mike, who unknowingly picked up a phantom hitchhiker.

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

For three years, seventeen-year-old Cas Lowood has carried on his father's work of dispatching the murderous dead, traveling with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat, but everything changes when he meets Anna, a girl unlike any ghost he has faced before.

Last Halloween, v.1: Children by Abby Howard

In a gothic adventure at the end of the world, a ten-year-old girl and a motley crew of ghouls must stop an invading horde of monsters on a fateful Halloween night.

More Books --

The Bone Houses by Emily Lloyd-Jones

Dead Upon a Time by Elizabeth Paulson

The Fade by Demitria Lunetta

Find Him Where You Left Him Dead by Kristen Simmons

The Girl from the Well by Rin Chupeco

Horrid by Katrina Leno

Horror Hotel by Victoria Fulton

The House of Dead Maids by Clare B. Dunkle

House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland

She Is a Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran

Slice of Cherry by Dia Reeves

The Voice Upstairs by Laura E. Weymouth

Celebrate World Music Day!

Did you know that June 21st is World Music Day?  This year, celebrate by reading one of these music-themed picture books.

Salsa Lullaby by Jen Arena

Parents put their young daughter to sleep with the help of some music and dancing.

Seven Golden Rings by Rajani LaRocca

In ancient India, a boy named Bhagat travels to the rajah's city, hoping to ensure his family's prosperity by winning a place at court as a singer.

The First Music by Dylan Pritchett

A series of accidents in the jungle proves that everyone has something special to add when it comes to making music.

Gabriella's Song by Candace Fleming

A young girl finds music all around her as she walks about the city of Venice, Italy, and she shares her song with everyone she meets.

Music Is by Lloyd Moss

A rhyming salute to the many ways in which people enjoy music.

More Books --

Acoustic Rooster's Barnyard Boogie by Kwame Alexander

Animal Albums from A to Z by Cece Bell

The Bear and the Piano by David Litchfield

Bring On That Beat! by Rachel Isadora

Double Bass Blues by Rudy Gutierrez

Drum Dream Girl by Margarita Engle

Farmyard Beat by Lindsey Craig

How to Be a Rock Star by Lisa Tolin

I Know a Shy Fellow Who Swallowed a Cello by Barbara Garriel

Music Over Manhattan by Mark Karlins

Music for Mister Moon by Philip Christian Stead

The Nuts: Sing and Dance in Your Polka Dot Pants by Eric Litwin

The Oboe Goes Boom Boom Boom by Colleen Venable

Roar-chestra! by Robert Heidbreder

Rock 'n' Roll Mole by Carolyn Crimi

Ruby Sings the Blues by Niki Daly

Singing in the Rain by Arthur Freed

This Jazz Man by Karen Ehrhardt

Violet's Music by Angela Johnson

Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin by Lloyd Moss

Dare to Be Scared!

With Halloween fast approaching, this week I thought I would share some horror books for teens.  Here are a few of my favorites . . . .

The Accident Season by Moira Fowley-Doyle
Every October Cara and her family become mysteriously and dangerously accident-prone, but this year, the year Cara, her ex-stepbrother, and her best friend are 17, is when Cara will begin to unravel the accident season's dark origins.

Lord Loss by Darren Shan
Presumably the only witness to the horrific and bloody murder of his entire family, a teenage boy must outwit not only the mental health professionals determined to cure his delusion, but also the demonic forces only he can see.

Anna Dressed In Blood by Kendare Blake
For three years, seventeen-year-old Cas Lowood has carried on his father's work of dispatching the murderous dead, traveling with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat, but everything changes when he meets Anna, a girl unlike any ghost he has faced before.

On the Day I Died: Stories from the Grave by Candace Fleming
In a lonely Illinois cemetery one cold October night, teen ghosts recount the stories of their deaths in different time periods, from 1870 to the present, to sixteen-year-old Mike, who unknowingly picked up a phantom hitchhiker.


More Teen Horror Novels --
Bonchiller by Graham McNamee
The Death Collector by Justin Richards
The Devil's Engine: Hellraisers by Alexander Gordon Smith
Dr. Frankenstein's Daughters by Suzanne Weyn
The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan
The Hand of the Devil by Dean Vincent Carter
The House of Dead Maids by Clare Dunkle
In the After by Demitria Lunetta
Long Lankin by Lindsey Barraclough
Pretty Monsters: Stories by Kelly Link
Runied by Paula Morris
The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff
Samurai Awakening by Benjamin Martin
Slasher Girls & Monsters Boys by April Tucholke
This Is Not a Test by Courtney Summers
The Waking: Dreams of the Dead by Thomas Randall

Check these books out on display at the Arnold Branch through November 10, 2017.

Are You Hungry for a Good Book?

With Thanksgiving and the holidays fast approaching, our thoughts often turn to all the great food that we'll be eating.  That brings to mind some of my favorite books about food and eating for young children . . . .

Badger's Fancy Meal by Keiko Kasza
Badger is bored with the same old meals, but his search for more exciting food only leads to trouble.

Cupcake! by Charise Mericle Harper
Cupcake, feeling drab because he is only vanilla, and his friend, Candle, come up with a plan to make themselves stand out in the crowd.

Gator Gumbo by Candace Fleming
A hungry alligator, slow with age, hopes to catch some good meat to add to his spicy gumbo.

Little Pea by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
Little Pea hates eating candy for dinner, but his parents will not let him have his spinach dessert until he cleans his plate.

Whopper Cake by Karma Wilson
Grandad bakes Grandma a whopper of a birthday cake. Includes recipe and directions for chocolate cake.


More Books About Food --
Armadillo's Orange by Jim Arnosky
Chicken Soup with Rice by Maurice Sendak
Duck Soup by  Jackie Urbanovic
Grandpa's Garden Lunch by  Judith Caseley
I Will Never NOT Ever Eat a Tomato by Lauren Child
June 29, 1999 by David Wiesner
The Little Red Hen (Makes a Pizza) by Philemon Sturges
Old MacDonald in the City by Suzanne Williams
The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog by Mo Willems
The Runaway Dinner by Allan Ahlberg
Take Me to Your BBQ by Kathy Duval
Who Ate All the Cookie Dough? by Karen Beaumont

Dare to Be Scared! (Part 1)

In celebration of Halloween coming, I thought I would focus on horror books this month for teens.  This week, I'll be sharing collections of horror short stories . . .

On the Day I Died: Stories from the Grave by Candace Fleming
In a lonely Illinois cemetery one cold October night, teen ghosts recount the stories of their deaths in different time periods, from 1870 to the present, to sixteen-year-old Mike, who unknowingly picked up a phantom hitchhiker.

Fear: 13 Stories of Suspense and Horror edited by R.L. Stine
A collection of original horror stories from authors including R.L. Stine, Meg Cabot, and Jennifer Allison.

Pretty Monsters: Stories by Kelly Link
A collection of short stories includes "The Wrong Grave," in which a boy digs up his girlfriend's corpse in order to retrieve the poems that he buried with her, and "Monster," in which a monster uses a cell phone to lure its prey.

Dracula's Guest: A Connoisseur's Collection of Victorian Vampire Stories edited by Michael Sims
A treasury of Victorian-era vampire stories includes Edgar Allan Poe's "The Oval Portrait" and Guy de Maupassant's "The Horla," in an anthology complemented by Transylvanian superstitions.

Gothic! Ten Original Dark Tales edited by Deborah Noyes
Drawing on dark fantasy and the fairy tale as well as horror and wild humor, ten acclaimed authors pay homage to the gothic tale in wide-ranging stories of the supernatural and surreal.

Let's Take a Trip . . . To the Beach

Let's continue our summer vacation via book by visiting the beach . . . .

Duck & Goose Go to the Beach by Tad Hills
Duck wants to go on an adventure. Goose doesn't. He doesn't see the point. After all, why would they go anywhere when they're happy right where they are? But then Goose sees the ocean and loves it. Who doesn't? Well, Duck, for one.

Tippy-Tippy-Tippy, Splash! by Candace Fleming
Fed up with the constant presence of rabbits in his house and yard, Mr. McGreely goes to the beach for some fun but the pesky pufftails will not give him a break.

Surfer Chick by Kristy Dempsey
The story of a little chick and her dad who take to the beach where he teaches her how to surf.

A wordless picture book that shows a little girl's first experiences at the beach, as she goes from being afraid of the roaring waves to playing on the shore while gulls soar overhead.

Bebe Goes to the Beach by Susan Middleton Elya
A baby and his mother spend a day at the beach. Spanish words, interspersed in the rhyming text, are defined in a glossary.