In a Dark, Dark Room and Other Scary Stories

Rating:
Summary: An 'A' For Schwartz
Review: I beseech you, my friends. Heed not the reckless screechings of that random stranger. He knew not of what he spoke. In truth, this lost soul was truly petrified by the delightfully cherishable stories given to us by Mr. Schwartz in this small book with its bright and fanciful decor. The stories will stay with you for years. Whether it is read on a sunned porch, reclined toward the open sea with the sun glaring down lustfully upon your browning skin, or whether you're huddled in the corner of a dark and dank cabin shack that quivers and shakes with the roaring, rainy gale that all but engulfs you and all that surrounds you. I recommend this book to all who can appreciate a pleasant chill now and again. Indeed it is appropriate for ALL ages. ALL, says I. I had first read it long ago and will read it evermore... and even after that...

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Summary: An unforgettable spooky experience!
Review: I have always been a fan of scary ghost stories. Half the fun is reading them then having the thrill of telling them to other people. That's why I loved and still love Alvin Schwartz's books. "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark" series were my favorite! I remember reading them in third grade and I still read them now! Last week or so I was looking through them and I remembered "In A Dark, Dark Room", also by him. I remembered how much I loved the stories and the illustrations. So I decided to order them from Amazon.com. I just got mine today and I am so glad I ordered it so I could enjoy it all over it again! It's books like this that stay with you your whole life, because you love them since you first read them, and no matter how old you get, they are still some of the most fun experiences in reading you'll ever have. There's a certain magic in childrens' books that have such an effect on people. This book is one of them. Brilliant retelling and brilliant illustrations. I can't wait until Halloween rolls around again so I can take this marvelous book and curl up with it next to a fire. (Of course, I could do that now, too!) Either way, I highly suggest you order this book, no matter how old you are, if you are interested and tickled by stories of hauntings and decapitations and things lurking in the dark.

Rating:
Summary: THE GREEN RIBBON
Review: I remember first looking at this book after my Kindergarten teacher had finished reading it. I loved it so much and I remember thinking it was the most wonderful book in the world. I had totally forgotten what the title of the book was and it wasn't until recently that I stumbled upon it and bought it. The stories are great and sometimes a bit humorous if you have a morbid sense of humor that is. Anyway, I now read it to my little brother and he loves it. This is one of those scary story books that's scary, but not too scary to keep kids up at night. It's an excellent investment to make and it's something I'm almost positive a child will treasure forever.

Rating:
Summary: I loved this book.
Review: I remember when I got this book. It was near Halloween and I had to go to Burlington coat factory with my grandma. I saw this book and asked her if I could get it. She said okay. I was eight years old. I took it back to her house and read it that night. My favorite story was 'The Green Ribbon'. I took it to school with me the following Monday so that my teacher would read it to us and she got excited when she saw 'The Green Ribbon' because it was a story she was looking for that was told to her when she was a child. I love this book and I recommend it to you, but I do think that if you're a parent, you might want to see if your child can handle some of these stories. Aside from that, this is a fine bit of literature and will be cherished by many people for years to come.

Rating:
Summary: It was good
Review: okay, so maybe this isn't a very good book for four year olds to be reading (it does have decapitations after all). I seem to remember being about eight years old when I first read it, that seems mature enough. 13-15 year olds are probably (hopefully) beyond this reading level, so scratch that. I wouldn't buy it for my six year old nephew, but I wouldn't buy it for my thirteen year old cousin either.

Think about it though. Most kids who read stuff like this LIKE to be scared. I read it and it kept me up at night. And all night long I thought to myself "why on Earth did I read that." But then I'd get up the next day and read another story, or read a similar book. It's the thrill of being scared.

And this book was a nice introduction to horror. Oddly enough, the story of the beheaded girl didn't chill me, but the story TEETH did. It just really freaked me out, guys with ridiculously big teeth, now that's spooky. As for being concerned with a child talking to strangers, well this story illustrates the DANGERS of doing such. So I don't see any harm there.

Anyway, overall I'd say that this book is pretty solid for a second or third grader, but not a kindergartener. Basically it should be viewed on a case by case basis. If you think your kid can handle it, and they're a fan of this sort of thing, then by all means get it for them. And if they have a nightmare, be a parent and console them. That comes with the job.

Rating:
Summary: horrible
Review: This book contains six very short "scary" stories and one "scary" poem. The stories are actually shortened verions of old folk stories. The poem, which is quite good, was collected from an eight-year-old, but it's unclear as to whether it was authored by that eight-year-old. This is all documented at the end of the book.

There is even a short FOWARD to the book which encourages young readers to TELL these stories. Even though I didn't realize this was part of the book, this is exactly the reason I purchased it--for my students to use in learning storytelling.

Even though shortened for young readers, the stories are complete. And even though they are written so that beginning readers can handle the text, the stories don't suffer. (But, please be ready to help the young reader with a couple of the words!)

Without actually testing the text, I would estimate the readability level to be appropriate for later second grade.

Finally, be advised that these stories DO contain an element of "scariness" that MIGHT play on some childrens' minds.

Rating:
Summary: horrible
Review: This books is horrible. I was given this book by my mother as a child & was traumatized by the story "The Green Ribbon". The pictures are too scary, not just the picture off the severed head, but pretty much all of them. Every time i think about these stories I feel like sleeping with my lights ON. I would not recommend this book!!

Rating:
Summary: It was so good and so memorable
Review: When I was in the third grade I read this book and now on this day I'm in the tenth grade and I still remember this book as my favorite even though I haven't seen it in years it's a great book and I've been searching for it the book stores don't seem to have it but now here I found it the book is filled with grate stories that your children will love as much as I do my favorite story is the green ribbon.