A cute little story about an Appalachian cryptid named the Snallygaster, Beware the Snallygaster is quick-paced and filled with mystery. Holly and Peter are two intrepid fifth graders determined to find out whether the Snallygaster is real or not, for the sake of their reputations (and grades). But how do you catch a mythical monster that might be dead?

While some of story vocabulary might above the reading level for the ages Amazon lists it for (9-12), Beware the Snallygaster is a fun and very modern Halloween-themed story, good for before-bed reading or for parents who love cryptids and want to share that with their kids. Recommended for public collections.

Contains: alcohol (including moonshine which is essential to the legend), references to violence and gore.

ISBN: 9780439376129

When we last saw our heroes they were facing down three terrifying boogie monsters. In this book, Sulu the bionic hamster saves them, but that just flings George, Harold and Captain Underpants into their wildest adventure yet. If Mr. Krupp and Melvin Sneedley having switched bodies wasn’t enough now Melvin is principal! And that means Melvin has Mr. Krupp’s super powers and Captain Underpants has none.

This is a tangled plot that only…time travel can fix?

The Captain Underpants books are fun, silly (and a little gross) books that kids really love. They’re good for reluctant readers since there aren’t huge blocks of text to overwhelm them. Best for a 6-13 age range they make excellent library or class collection books as well.

ZomBuddies AJ, Emily and Freddy are back for more adventures. When Aunt Zsofia takes them on a trip to Chinatown on the edge of a saltwater bog, they never suspected they’d end up facing down monsters, ghosts and gun-wielding bad guys. The bog holds many secrets, the most interesting of which is a young girl named Mei who claims to be hiding from the people who killed her parents. In their quest to help Mei the ZomBuddies will have to face down toxic bog water, mutated monsters and treacherous adults.

Secret of Haunted Bog is a fast-paced, fun tale. Similar in feel to the Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys or Bobbsey Twins, or even the more modern incarnation of Scooby-Doo, it pits three courageous, stubborn kids against mysteries, supernatural and not. Engaging and exciting, Monster Moon makes for great in-class or before bed reading. Definitely recommended for preteen collections.
Contains: Some gross out moments

ISBN: 9781605423821

Available: Trade paperback and multi format digital

A stray lightning strike burned out Maddy’s life but not her existence and after a few hours of unconsciousness she wakes up undead. Not that her life was wonderful (or terrible) to begin with, but now that she’s a zombie it’s definitely more complicated. And so are the things she wished could change—namely her pseudo relationship with jock cutie Stamp, and the mysterious deaths of her fellow students with all signs to Maddy being next, living or not.

Zombies Don’t Cry is a fun read with a true vein of darkness and tons of engaging characters. Highly recommended for public and private YA collections, its pacing and conflict make it a wonderful option to keep readers interested and amused in an increasingly disappointing fiction landscape.

Contains: language, violence, brain-munching

Marisol, age 12, is a vegetarian Texas city girl who moves to a rural Montana ranch with her mom for a few months while their house is being rewired. The ranch is owned by Marisol’s mom’s best friend, husband and twin children. Montana is very different from the life she knows, with mountains, wide spaces and active night life—maybe even including werewolves. In fact, the history of the town is rife with legends of werewolves, and Marisol can’t dismiss the feeling that she’s being watched when she’s outside.

Midnight Howl is part of Scholastic’s Poison Apple series of scary books for kids. These dark-themed books feature vampires, werewolves and ghosts. They appeal to kids who have grown up in a Buffy and Twilight-loving culture and want monster stories of their own to read. Midnight Howl is a tight book. It doesn’t stray much from the werewolf mystery theme, which limits character development, especially in secondary characters. But the setting is fun and ultra-modern. Unlike the old Scooby-Doo cartoons there really are monsters prowling the pages instead of just men in masks. Highly recommended for children’s collections because of the demand of paranormal, spooky books for kids, Midnight Howl, and the Poison Apple series, are fun reads.

Contains: spooky scenes

Recommended for 6-12 yrs

We bought this book from the library book sale.

Chester and Harold are back, along with new partner in crime, Howie. Unfortunately Bunnicula is missing, and Chester takes it upon himself to teach Harold and Howie the dangers of having a vampire bunny on the loose (in the form of veggie ghoul minions wandering around the neighborhood). So now the trio are on a mission to stake all the white vampire victim veggies they can find before they rise, and to find and imprison (or destroy) Bunnicula for good.

This book is hilarious and outrageous, made more so by the fact that kids will know right away that there’s some huge misunderstanding going on. It can be read if you haven’t read the others first, but of course there’s more enjoyment when you’ve followed the series so far. If your children love almost-smart animals as leads this is definitely good a “spooky” mystery series to pick up.

Recommended for: 6-12

Contains: Cartoony spookiness

We bought this book.

The last Pilkey book we read was the disgustingly over-the-top Super Diaper Baby. Now back to the core series we found the gross out factor is destined to remain high.

In this book Harold and George, our heroes, teach their classmates a prank called “Squishies” which will have parents checking the toilet before sitting down for weeks. Their classmate Melvin Sneedly tries to show off an invention that combines two things (like a bionic robot and a hamster). Despite being smart Melvin is not a good kid and he reacts badly to his classmates being less interested in watching him yell at his hamster than trying out a prank.

Probably not the best of moves, Harold and George turn Melvin into a spoiled brat monster in one of their comics which pushes Melvin to show everyone how much cooler he is than George and Harold by turning himself into a bionic robot. Too bad Melvin has allergies and sneezes right before the combining.

Surprisingly Melvin, unlike the rest of Harold and George’s victims, doesn’t turn evil until he’s assaulted by a tissue man on a school field trip. Then George, Harold and Captain Underpants have to defeat their grossest bad guy yet, and all during cold and flu season.

Despite what parents think, kids adore this series. It has the right combination of gross, funny and meat to it. And it does redeem itself by showing that you don’t have to get straight As or always be right to be the good guy. It also pokes fun at itself and combines a subtle use of language with the subject matter which helps push middle grade reader boundaries.

I’d be surprised if libraries don’t already have this series, but parents looking for books to encourage their kids to read for pleasure outside of school should definitely try this series. It’s funny, gross, sometimes a little bit scary, but all in a safe way.

Contains: Gross jokes and illustrations

Recommended for: 9-12 yrs

Available: new (hardback) and multiformat digital

Enclave starts on the naming day of Deuce, a young woman who has been training her whole life to be a Huntress, a protector and food gatherer for her clan which lives in an underground enclave. The tunnels mean a hard life, snaring what food can be caught, scavenging what remainders of society can be found and staying endlessly on guard against other clans and the horrific, cannibal Freaks who roam the tunnels. At her naming, a passage from child to adult, Deuce starts to learn that all is not as it seems in the Enclave. Before she’s ready to embrace the true role of a hunter she has to make a choice about what’s right and wrong, and suffer the ire of those in power.

Enclave is a perfect pot pie of a story. Take one kick-butt, but not over-done heroine, add in a hunky, tortured love interest, mix together in a savory post-apocalyptic sauce and bake until golden brown. Aguirre has done just that. Anyone who’s seen Life After People will be completely satisfied with Aguirre’s setting. Fans of her adult UF or SF series will find Deuce, Fade, and all of Aguirre’s character just as solid and complex as they’ve come to expect. Paranormal YA fans will find much to rave about in Enclave, which is dark and gritty, but maintains a fierce level of hope in the form of its survivor leads and their sheer determination. Highly recommended for public collections: this is the kind of book that keeps people engaged and reading. It grabs readers by the throat and refuses to let go.

Contains: violence, frank attitude toward sex & reproduction (but no graphic scenes)

Many times in Wintergirls, the main character mentions feeling like a puppet whose strings are being pulled, which in turn is a fitting description for the feel of this book. Wintergirls is the story of Lia, who suffers from anorexia, depression, and a family who sees her as nothing but a burden. Her best friend Cassie suffered too, until she died alone in a hotel room. That’s where the book starts, and reading through Lia’s breakdown is like a series of progressively numbing slaps. Anderson weaves the strings of this story together into something fierce, beautiful and so terrible it hurts to read.

I highly recommend it, despite triggering potential, because this kind of spotlight being shed on problems is something we desperately need as a society. Furthermore, as libraries are all too often the only safe place children and teens in need have to go to try to learn more about themselves, books like Wintergirls is an essential to public collections.

Contains: extreme anorexia, depression, language, cutting, drug use

ISBN: 9780545208789

Available: Paperback

Emma-Rose Paley is dark-haired, navy-eyed, pale-skinned and just saw her great-aunt turn into a bat. Now, on top of the upcoming school Halloween Dance (which her friend Gabby has pushed her to help plan), and her parents working hard on a major gala for the museum, Emma-Rose wonders if she could be a vampire too.

This Totally Bites! is an ultramodern middle-grade scary tale that brings the popularity of the paranormal into a kid-friendly book. Emma-Rose faces realistic kid-sized problems, some of which are even scarier than possibly being a vampire. Cell phones and the internet factor in a lot, which is good because many times such things are ignored by writers, but when they are missing it’s noticed by readers. 

While this book does have the potential to be a little too scary for sensitive kids (my daughter insisted on sleeping with a bulb of garlic on her table after we read the scene where Aunt Margo turns into a bat) it doesn’t touch on any truly uncomfortable situations (for kids or parents). For kids who are trying to edge in on their parents’ love of urban fantasy or paranormal romance, or who just love Buffy reruns, this is book, part of the Poison Apple series, is perfect. Recommended for public collections.

Contains: creepiness