by Clemency Pearce
Illustrated by Rebecca Elliott
Illustrated by Rebecca Elliott
Publication date: 1 Sept 2011 by Scholastic
ISBN 10/13: 0545314267 | 9780545314268
Category: Children's Picture Book
Keywords: Children, picture book, bedtime, Halloween, spooky
Format: Hardcover
Source: Library
Thuy's review:
Frangoline is a girl who is good during the day but loves to sneak out of her bedroom at night to explore the world and the creatures in it. As Frangoline runs wild, the wise moon looks on, reminding her that children should be in bed at night, not out having adventures. But Frangoline does not heed the moon's advice, instead doing as she pleases.
Frangoline is a girl who is good during the day but loves to sneak out of her bedroom at night to explore the world and the creatures in it. As Frangoline runs wild, the wise moon looks on, reminding her that children should be in bed at night, not out having adventures. But Frangoline does not heed the moon's advice, instead doing as she pleases.
Unfortunately, her nighttime fun wakes the dead, who come crawling out to see what all the noise is about. Suddenly being outside in the dark isn't so fun and Frangoline longs to be in her safe bed. Will she escape the dark creatures of the night? You'll have to read it to find out.
Frangoline and the Midnight Dream is a sweet little picture book that would be perfect to read during Halloween. With charming illustrations and a fun, rhyming story, children and adults alike will have a good time following Frangoline on her midnight adventure.
Pearce's word play and use of rhyme gives the story a great flow and it almost seems to bounce along the page with Frangoline. Though I enjoyed the story, the illustrations were my favorite part. They are super cute and a little "dark" but in a non-scary way.
This might be a good book for the child that likes to avoid bedtime. It also stands alone as a fun read. If you like your picture books a little spooky, definitely pick up Frangoline and the Midnight Dream.
1 Comments on Frangoline and the Midnight Dream - Review, last added: 7/26/2012
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By: fishgirl182,
on 10/16/2011
Blog: Read Now Sleep Later (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: magic, Neil Gaiman, horror, fantasy, middle grade, 5 stars, ghosts, murder, suspense, creepy, Spooktacular, kimberlybuggie, Add a tag
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
Publication date: 01 October 2008 by HarperCollins
ISBN 10/13: 0060530928 | 9780060530921
Category: Middle Grade Ghost Story, Fantasy Fiction
Keywords: Orphan, Ghosts, Suspense
Format: Hardcover, Paperback, eBook, Audiobook
Keywords: Orphan, Ghosts, Suspense
Format: Hardcover, Paperback, eBook, Audiobook
From goodreads:
After the grisly murder of his entire family, a toddler wanders into a graveyard where the ghosts and other supernatural residents agree to raise him as one of their own.
Nobody Owens, known to his friends as Bod, is a normal boy. He would be completely normal if he didn't live in a sprawling graveyard, being raised and educated by ghosts, with a solitary guardian who belongs to neither the world of the living nor of the dead. There are dangers and adventures in the graveyard for a boy. But if Bod leaves the graveyard, then he will come under attack from the man Jack—who has already killed Bod's family...
Beloved master storyteller Neil Gaiman returns with a luminous new novel for the audience that embraced his New York Times bestselling modern classic Coraline. Magical, terrifying, and filled with breathtaking adventures, The Graveyard Book is sure to enthrall readers of all ages.
Kimberly's review:
After a tragic event and a narrow escape from a man named Jack, an 18-month-old baby finds himself adopted by the ghosts of the local graveyard. He grows up to be known as Bod, his full name "Nobody," and the novel follows young Bod from his rescue into his teenage years. As he grows more curious and fascinated with the outside world, his ghostly family watches his transformation, and experience what they haven't had in years- growing up.
A haunting and amazing adventure, Bod's got a strong voice and his adventures and growing pains are very real. His band of ghostly parents are vivid, both physically and character wise. Like other Gaiman writing, this book is suspenseful, spooky and creepy. I couldn't help reading late into the night, craving to know what was next for Bod. And for the man named Jack, who has come back to finish what he couldn't complete years ago. (The man named Jack still sends chills up my spine. Even in the middle of the day.)
For me, Gaiman's writing impacted me the most in this novel as well as Coraline. I don't know if I'm just partial to his Middle Grade/Young Adult writing more than his adult writing. Or if these stories transport me to a time long ago when I was a kid reading ghost stories under my bed with a flash light, scaring myself awake for many sleepless nights.
Visit the author online at www.neilgaiman.com and follow @neilhimself<
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By: Read Now Sleep Later,
on 10/16/2011
Blog: Read Now Sleep Later (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Spooktacular, AllHallowsRead, Add a tag
Whoa! Last week really got away from me... Expect a slew of reviews this week while we catch up.
More spooky book reviews are on the way!
In the meantime, check out All Hallows Read - Year 2.
Neil Gaiman says, "Give somebody a scary book!"
In the meantime, here are the scary books we've reviewed so far:
Coraline - Neil Gaiman
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children - Ransom Riggs
Eighth Grade Bites and Ninth Grade Slays - Heather Brewer
Vampire Academy - Richelle Mead
Picture the Dead - Adele Griffin and Lisa Brown<
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By: fishgirl182,
on 10/7/2011
Blog: Read Now Sleep Later (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Spooktacular, kimberlybuggie, young adult, vampires, fantasy, paranormal, boarding school, Vampire Academy, Richelle Mead, Penguin, Razorbill, Add a tag
Vampire Academy (Vampire Academy #1) by Richelle Mead
Publication date: 16 August 16 2007 by Razorbill
ISBN 10/13: 0316015849 | 9780316015844
Category: Young Adult Fantasy
Keywords: Vampires, Boarding School, Best Friends, Fighting
Format: Hardcover, Paperback, eBook
St. Vladimir’s Academy isn’t just any boarding school—it’s a hidden place where vampires are educated in the ways of magic and half-human teens train to protect them. Rose Hathaway is a Dhampir, a bodyguard for her best friend Lissa, a Moroi Vampire Princess. They’ve been on the run, but now they’re being dragged back to St. Vladimir’s—the very place where they’re most in danger. . . .
Rose and Lissa become enmeshed in forbidden romance, the Academy’s ruthless social scene, and unspeakable nighttime rituals. But they must be careful lest the Strigoi—the world’s fiercest and most dangerous vampires—make Lissa one of them forever.
Kimberly's review:
Lissa Dragomir is a vampire princess and must be protected from another kind of vampire race, the Strigoi, who are fierce and dangerous vampires. Rose Hathaway, a half human-half vampire, is her classmate, her best friend and her partner in crime.
After two years of freedom, the BFFs are captured and dragged back to their exclusive boarding school where they have to train to become, respectively, a political figure and a fighter/bodyguard. But they soon realize that inside their school, it's just as dangerous as outside its gates.
Rose is a strong, fun and cocky character. She is quick-witted and throws herself into dangerous situations--my kind of girl! Her narration is very clear; you learn a lot about her character.
Lissa is seen through Rose's eyes and while Rose is the physically stronger and more aggressive of the two, Lissa is not a whimp. She has some special powers (not going to tell you!) and a few problems of her own. She is the last Dragomir princess alive. Um, that's a lot of pressure.
This is a great female relationship. They're totally loyal to each other. It's easy to see how they are best friends. It's refreshing to see a functioning, healthy friendship where the two characters genuinely care about each other, instead of other dramatic relationships where there is a lot of jealousy and backstabbing.
And oh, the boys! Dimitri, stoic, hot and Rose's instructor, is sexy and a lean mean fighting machine. The chemistry between them is ... whew. Sorry. Got hot in here. Lissa finds her match in an unlikely hero.
I want to stress that the story is about way more than boys, even cute vampire boys. It's about friendship, about growing up and finding oneself. Lissa and Rose may have been dragged back to St. Vladimir's unwillingly, but that doesn't mean they stop fighting for what they want, what they believe in. They continue to grow as characters, not just through the book, but throughout the series. Their relationships with each other grows and evolves, the best parts of each of them coming out to protect the other
3 Comments on Vampire Academy (Vampire Academy #1) - Review, last added: 10/10/2011
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By: Read Now Sleep Later,
on 10/6/2011
Blog: Read Now Sleep Later (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Spooktacular, HeatherBrewer, VladimirTod, bullying, vampires, horror, fantasy, middle school, Dutton, humorous, Add a tag
Eighth Grade Bites (The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod #1)
by Heather Brewer
Publication date: 16 August 2007 by Dutton Children's Books
ISBN 10/13: 0525478116 | 9780525478119
Category: Young Adult Paranormal
Keywords: Fantasy, vampires, middle school, horror, humor, bullying
Format: Hardcover, paperback, eBook, audio CD, Audible
From goodreads:
Junior high really sucks for thirteen-year-old Vladimir Tod. Bullies harass him, the principal is dogging him, and the girl he likes prefers his best friend. Oh, and Vlad has a secret: his mother was human, but his father was a vampire. With no idea of the extent of his powers, Vlad struggles daily with his blood cravings and his enlarged fangs. When a substitute teacher begins to question him a little too closely, Vlad worries that his cover is about to be blown. But then he faces a much bigger problem: hes being hunted by a vampire killer.
Thuy's review:
Vladimir Tod’s just like any other normal eighth grader. Well, a normal eighth grader who also happens to be a vampire. Born to a human mother and vampire father, Vlad must navigate the minefield of adolescence while maintaining his cover as a human. Only his best friend Henry and his caretaker, Nelly, know his secret.
Then Vlad’s favorite teacher, Mr. Craig disappears, and Vlad has a bad feeling about the new sub. Mr. Otis is a little too interested in Vlad and he starts to suspect that he may have had something to do with Mr. Craig’s disappearance. When Vlad finds his father’s journal, he uncovers information about a secret society of vampires--one that his father fled and hid his family from. Was the fire that killed Vlad’s parents really an accident, or are the same people he suspects of murdering them also after him now?
This was a really fun book and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. The plot is original and has a good mix of horror and humor. Vlad is an extremely likable protagonist. He struggles with the things that most boys his age struggle with; bullies, homework, girls--but also has to deal with hiding his fangs, eating blood at lunch and
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By: fishgirl182,
on 10/3/2011
Blog: Read Now Sleep Later (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: HarperCollins, Neil Gaiman, Halloween, horror, fantasy, middle grade, suspense, 4 stars, Spooktacular, kimberlybuggie, Add a tag
Coraline by Neil Gaiman
Publication date: 29 August 2006 by Harper Perennial
ISBN 10/13: 0061139378 | 9780061139376
Category: Middle Grade Fantasy Fiction
Keywords: Alternate Realities, Suspense
Keywords: Alternate Realities, Suspense
Format: ebook, Hardcover, Paperback, Audiobook
From goodreads:
Coraline has often wondered what's behind the locked door in the drawing room. It reveals only a brick wall when she finally opens it, but when she tries again later, a passageway mysteriously appears.
Coraline is surprised to find a flat decorated exactly like her own, but strangely different. And when she finds her "other" parents in this alternate world, they are much more interesting despite their creepy black button eyes. When they make it clear, however, that they want to make her theirs forever, Coraline begins a nightmarish game to rescue her real parents and three children imprisoned in a mirror. With only a bored-through stone and an aloof cat to help, Coraline confronts this harrowing task of escaping these monstrous creatures.
Gaiman has delivered a wonderfully chilling novel, subtle yet intense on many levels. The line between pleasant and horrible is often blurred until what's what becomes suddenly clear, and like Coraline, we resist leaving this strange world until we're hooked. Unnerving drawings also cast a dark shadow over the book's eerie atmosphere, which is only heightened by simple, hair-raising text. Coraline is otherworldly storytelling at its best.
Kimberly's review:
Coraline Jones has just moved into a large old house, with eccentric neighbors such as the "Crazy Old Man Upstairs" and Miss Spink and Miss Forcible. While exploring her new house, Coraline finds a small door which throws her into a creepy and scary adventure.
She comes out on the other side to a replica of her house, an Other Mother and Father who have buttons for eyes and who are way more fun and attentive than her real parents and a black cat that can talk! But even though Coraline likes this new world, something seems off. And of course, it is.
I'm a fan of Gaiman, but this may be my favorite book. While I was reading Coraline, I was surprised by how creepy the story became. I figured it can't be that scary! Well, I was wrong. Goosebumps ran down my arms, especially when Coraline realizes what her Other parents want from her...
Coraline's search for her kidnapped real parents and her adventure to close the door to seperate the worlds is a wonderful journey. She is brave, smart and resourceful. The book is filled with fun filled characters, humans and animals alike. The setting is beautifully crafted. I could feel the house, the rain, the Other parents and their world.
Most of all, kudos to Mr. Gaiman. The overall tone and feeling of the book is eerie, like going down a long staircase when you can't see the bottom. The story moves so fast, feeling at times like an action film. (And oh, it was. If you haven't seen the film, read the book first. I did, and it made the film that much more magical.)
And I won't
She comes out on the other side to a replica of her house, an Other Mother and Father who have buttons for eyes and who are way more fun and attentive than her real parents and a black cat that can talk! But even though Coraline likes this new world, something seems off. And of course, it is.
I'm a fan of Gaiman, but this may be my favorite book. While I was reading Coraline, I was surprised by how creepy the story became. I figured it can't be that scary! Well, I was wrong. Goosebumps ran down my arms, especially when Coraline realizes what her Other parents want from her...
Coraline's search for her kidnapped real parents and her adventure to close the door to seperate the worlds is a wonderful journey. She is brave, smart and resourceful. The book is filled with fun filled characters, humans and animals alike. The setting is beautifully crafted. I could feel the house, the rain, the Other parents and their world.
Most of all, kudos to Mr. Gaiman. The overall tone and feeling of the book is eerie, like going down a long staircase when you can't see the bottom. The story moves so fast, feeling at times like an action film. (And oh, it was. If you haven't seen the film, read the book first. I did, and it made the film that much more magical.)
And I won't
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By: Read Now Sleep Later,
on 10/1/2011
Blog: Read Now Sleep Later (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: giveaways, contests, Spooktacular, hops, bloghop, Add a tag
Watch this space! Read Now Sleep Later and Nite Lite will be participating in the Spooktacular Giveaway Hop, hosted by Kathy at I am a Reader, Not a Writer and Rhianna at The Diary of a Bookworm. You can sign up here if you have a blog and want to participate.
This post will be updated at midnight on 10/24!
Stick around... October will feature a new spooky book every day of the month!
© 2009-2011 Alethea Allarey / Read Now Sleep Later
1 Comments on Spooktacular Blog Hop - Giveaway, last added: 10/2/2011
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this does sound perfect for halloween! great review!