Scary Books Are Good For Kids....And Check Out These Scary Book Recommendations From Our Readers!

Kids love scary books. 

Our students at Van Meter love them so much, we can't keep them on the shelves.  They come back time after time again requesting more scary books to read.   And I hear this all the time from other librarians and teachers too.  

In fact, check out what the article, Adults-Don't Be Frightened...Kids Love Scary Books from Capstone says...

Readers of all ages know the appeal of scary stories, with plots that twist and turn, spine-tingling terrors and surprise endings. But parents, teachers, and librarians alike wonder if such fare is appropriate for children.

Don’t fear the popularity of scary books with young readers. Interest in age-appropriate frights can be an exciting milestone on the way to kids developing as life-long readers and exploring the boundaries of their independence.

I love this article as it shares how scary books aid child development, debunk myths and keep children reading.  It's a great resource to share with teachers, librarians, and families so they can learn how scary books can actually be healthy for kids.  They don't need to worry too much about the scary books their kids are reading. 

The Scary Books Are Good For Kids infographic from Capstone is another perfect resource to truly show the impact of scary books. 

As shared on the infographic, 

Research shows that reading scary stories to your child can help them copy with difficult situations they may face in life and learn how to confront their fears. 

Scary stories help our kids build a lot of important things....resilience, understanding, control, confidence and much more. 

And the statistics around what parents say about scary stories and their children are spot on!  I have had multiple conversations with our students over the years, and my own children, that scary stories do just that, especially in giving them the confidence to talk and think about good, evil and their own fears. 

You will find the Scary Books Are Good For Kids infographic here. 

With the popularity of scary books in our library, we have worked hard this year at adding lots of new scary books for all ages to our collection.  

For this work on our scary book collection, we turned to the Capstone scary book series our kids already love to read and turned to new ones too.  

Capstone can help so much with scary books, especially the Boo Book line that are 32 page books like a Katie or Yasmin book but just-the-right-amount of scary for younger readers. And we have a new line of “scary” graphic novels which seem like a huge win for libraries—double the kid appeal.

We started with the NEW Boo Books line that are 32 page books that have just-the-right-amount of scary for younger readers. 

As shared on the Capstone site, 

A scary (but not too scary) series for young readers. Boo Books puts familiar monsters in familiar settings to creep out a rotating cast of characters. What's the sound coming from upstairs? Could it be a ghost? Who's that skulking in the woods? Must be a vampire. Is the new neighbor a witch? Probably. With short chapters, easy-to-read text, and enhanced back matter, Boo Books deliver just-right frights (without the sleepless nights) for the earliest readers.

They love the "just-right frights that this series delivers with the short chapters and easy-to-read text. 

Next up, and two of the MOST popular series in our library.  

Any book from Michael Dahl Presents is a book our readers can't wait to read! 

We have all 11 books from the Michael Dahl's Really Scary Stories series. 

As shared on the Capstone site, 

There's something for everyone in this anthology of scary stories. Featuring tales that range from creepy to bone-chilling, from suspicious and strange to downright frightening, Michael Dahl's Really Scary Stories will come back to haunt you again and again.

This NEW series, Michael Dahl Present: Scary Stories series is another one they are going crazy for! 

Dark and twisted paths await. Who will be your guide through the land of nightmares? Michael Dahl, of course! Bestselling author Michael Dahl has curated the spookiest tales from some of his favorite authors. These hair-raising, spine-tingling books feature all kinds of kids in all kinds of scary situations. Read them if you dare!

And one last one to share that I couldn't wait to share with our readers is this new line of “scary” graphic novels which  will be huge win for libraries—double the kid appeal. 

As shared on the Capstone site, 

Craving chills and thrills? Reach for SCARY GRAPHICS, graphic novels with a serious creep factor! Each standalone scare features easy-to-read text and eerie, full-color art that combine to thoroughly freak out kids. But grown-ups have nothing to fear: these terrors have been tamed to be just right for young readers. The strangest and spookiest stories await . . .

These are just a few of our favorite Capstone scary stories series, but I have a lot more saved up in this book list that you are welcome to use in your collection development of scary stories too.

Scary book are good for kids....just ask them, they will have lots of scary suggestions as they read, share and talk about these books and others too.