It’s no secret that I’ve spent a fair amount of my Saturdays @ the South space discussing children’s books. This is partly because I believe that children’s books can be great literature and also because I think that adults can find great enjoyment in reading a child’s book, whether or not a child is present during that reading. So in the spirit of All Hallows Read, I’d like to talk about spooky books that are good for kids and the kid in all of us.

Goosebumps, by R.L. Stine is probably what most people think of when they think of scary stories for kids. This perennially popular series has maintained its status as a hit for several generations now, with an additional boost from last year’s movie starring Jack Black. I have to be honest, I’ve never read Goosebumps; they were published after my young self had moved on from kids’ chapter books. (Fortunately, my older self has come back around to kids’ books.)  I do, however, have fond memories of reading the Fear Street series by R. L. Stine, a slightly scarier series that was designed for teens rather than emerging chapter-book readers. This series whiled away uncountable hours during my formative reading years and to me, it will always be the series I most associate with Stine. Fortunately, there are still some copies available in the NOBLE system, for those of you who would like to check out some vintage scares.

I did a search for Bunnicula on the Free for All and was completely appalled that we haven’t mentioned this seminal kids’ series here before. Given both my and Arabella’s mutual love for this book and it’s subsequent follow-ups, I’m really not sure how that happened, but I’m going to rectify that glaring, borderline-criminally-negligent, absence today. Bunnicula, by James and Deborah Howe is quite possibly the best spooky series for kids. It is about a rabbit who gets adopted by a family after finding him in a movie theater that was showing Dracula, hence they gave him the name Bunnicula. The pets already in residence at the family’s home, an erudite dog of letters named Harold (he is the one “writing” the story) and a delightfully well-read cat named Chester, have their suspicions about the new family member. After vegetables in the fridge start becoming bleached-white overnight (coincidentally the only time the new rabbit is truly active) Harold and Chester have their suspicions that Bunnicula is, in fact, a vampire. I have it on good authority that Arabella’s favorite in this series is The Celery Stalks at Midnight. My personal favorite is Howliday Inn, but I recommend starting with the first book, simply titled Bunnicula, as it gives Bunnicula’s origin story and was the loving work of both James and his late-wife Deborah Howe, who tragically passed away before the book was published. This series strikes the perfect balance of scary, humor and legend and one that I love returning to this time of year.

While these are some of the best series that can provide exceptional, spooky reading this time of year, there are several stand-alone kids’ books that are worth a look during All Hallows Read:

The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury

I mentioned this book last year during All Hallows Read and I will likely mention it every year subsequently. This book is amazing, spooky and creepy with overarching themes of friendship, eternity and kindness that can easily make it part of the classical canon. The edition at the South Branch is one published just last year with illustrations by Gris Grimly that are tonally an artistically perfect to the text. Like several of Bradbury’s books, this one is easily enjoyed by young and old alike. This is my Halloween equivalent to A Christmas Carol; it deserves to be part of a regular Halloween tradition.

Halloween by Jerry Seinfeld

This picture book is one of the rare ones that I think may be enjoyed even more adults that it will by children. This is partly because it is impossible to read this book without hearing Seinfeld’s trademark stand-up style and observational humor. It’s also because this book is a reminiscence of childhood Halloweens that kids’ today don’t necessarily appreciate. (I particularly identify with the plastic masks and costumes that barely made it through 1 hour of wear.) The illustrations in this book are stunning, with vivid colors that really capture the tone of Seinfield’s text. Be prepared for a sarcastic romp through Halloweens past.

Constable and Toop by Gareth P. Jones

The ghosts of London are disappearing to a disease affecting only those who have died by not crossed over. Haunted houses are being left empty, or worse, trapping ghosts who don’t have the proper clearance to be there.  It’s up to Talker (a person who can see and talk to ghosts) Sam Toop to find out what’s going on and see what he can do to stop it. This book is a delightful story set in Victorian London that looks into both the inner life of ghosts and those who are haunted by them. This puts a friendly spin on hauntings that gets the reader on the ghosts’ side. Its just the right level of spooky to satiate kids with a hunger for the scary but not so creepy that it will keep them up at night. Plus it’s a good balance of Victorian-style fiction for those of us who love a good, classic ghost story.

Ghosts by Raina Telgemeier

This is a graphic novel with stunning art that takes a look into the cultural traditions of both Halloween and La Dia de los Muertos. Cat’s family moves to a Northern California town for the health of her little sister Maya who has cystic fibrosis, only to find that ghosts are a natural part of the town’s culture and traditions. What happens isn’t necessarily spooky, but it does help Maya and Cat grow closer while they examine their roots, traditions and gain a better understanding of the ghosts that inhabit the town. This book doesn’t talk down to kids or sugar-coat a terrible disease, but still manages a sense of whimsy that allows it to be fun and hopeful, making it a completely accessible read for adults as well kids. I highly recommend this book, even if you’re not into graphic novels, as the cinematic qualities of the art will easily engage you to the point where you forget you’re reading in panels instead of lines.

Till next week, dear readers, I hope you’re able to find just the right story that satisfies your hunger for spooky during All Hallows Read. We at the library will be here in the meantime to help you with all your reading and viewing needs, be they spooky or otherwise.

As our regular readers are already aware, we here at the Free for All are celebrating All Hallows Read all month long. In that spirit, I thought I’d tell you a scary story here today. So “gather ’round while I elucidate…“**

It happened one weekday afternoon. There were the steps, the door, the gateway to… what? Some say knowledge and infinite possibilities. Others say silence and restrictions. Her feet froze, indecisive. Should she enter into the unknown? What will she find there? Would the rows of seemingly indecipherable letter and number combinations overwhelm and eat her alive? She’s heard stories about the gatekeepers; the shushing magnates that peer down from their high perches and squint grudgingly upon those who found it necessary to enter their guarded territory. Every fiber of her being shouted “Beware!” She took a deep breath and slowly put one foot in front of the other, walking hesitantly into the undiscovered frontier. 

OK, so this story is a thinly-veiled analogy for the library. I’m sure most Free for All readers found it somewhat absurd, but library anxiety, much like book anxiety, is a very real phenomenon as seen here, and here. It involves having the feeling of being intimidated, overwhelmed or otherwise enervated by libraries or librarians. It is most common in learners who come to the library for a project and don’t know where to start (or who to ask about it), but it can also be found in varying degrees by people who just don’t know how to navigate a library, don’t think the library has anything for them or find the library to be a frightening place because of bad experiences they’ve had at a library in the past. While psychological anxieties should not be taken lightly, I think certain library stereotypes have been propagated by some well-meaning but misguided myths.

Late Books

Books sometimes come back to the library late. This is a fact to which pretty much every library worker has resigned themselves. People get busy, misplace books, forget the due date. It happens to the best of us. I don’t want people to think that bringing a book back to the library late is the end of the world or a reason to avoid the library. Don’t get me wrong; we love seeing our books again. (Mini bibliophile confession:  Sometimes I’ll check in long-overdue books and greet them like a lost friend.) If a book is a popular hold, it’s respectful to bring it back on time so the next person in line isn’t waiting longer than necessary. Patrons bring them in sheepish and apologetic. The sentiment is appreciated, but we don’t want patrons to become so embarrassed that they feel they can’t come back to the library. If you find a long overdue book, you can bring it back knowing that you will receive the same high-quality level of service as someone who has never returned a book late in their life (though who this mythological person may be, I don’t know). Also know that your account will be cleared and once you have paid the late fees on the book it will not show up on your account again. There is no secret Library Illuminati that monitors people who bring their books back late or some scarlet letter B etched onto your account. We consider it water under the bridge and want you to feel comfortable returning to the library to check out books again. Consider our due dates to be a friendly reminder or a fuzzy request like this:

and not a threatening warning like this:

or this:

Overdue Fees

Ah, the dreaded late fine. Much like overdue books, this is something that happens to the best of us. The fine for the Peabody Library is minimal ($0.05 per item, per day) and while other libraries make their own fine determinations that the Peabody Library must honor, I don’t believe you should have to break the bank to return a library item. The whole point of loaning out items is to give access to people who may not otherwise have it. That said, like overdue books, we appreciate it when people pay their fines, but we also recognize that not everyone can pay them on the spot. This is why we allow you to carry a balance on your card (not many people know this). Your account is considered in good-standing if it has fines less than $10.00. We also understand that not everyone carries cash with them in this increasingly credit-based world. Fortunately, NOBLE has worked it so that people who manage their accounts online can also pay their fines online via a credit card. Again, we’d prefer that there not be a shaming, anxiety-ridden response to overdue fines, so we won’t come after you like this:

Shushing

Out of all the possible anxiety-inducing stereotypes of libraries, this is the one that irks me the most. While a library should have quiet places for reading and reflection that pays homage to the preference of people who like to read in quiet solitude or among like-minded book people who are too introverted to actually want to talk to the like-minded book people (been there!). But to say that the entire library should have a morgue-like pallor of silence hanging over it defeats the purpose of the modern library as a place for discovery. Information is rarely acquired in a vacuum. Knowledge is something that goes far beyond mere information and hard facts. We propagate knowledge through books, media, programs and making the library a lively, welcoming place. We cannot be a community center without inviting the community in. We can’t assess the needs of a community by telling them to remain quiet. Un-shushing the library makes us a better place that can serve our patrons by tailoring what we offer to the patrons needs, which can only be done by listening to the sounds that they make. So please, don’t approach your library staff members with a fear of a wrath akin to this:

Instead, know that we enjoy when our patrons speak up to us and understand that we are here to help and even bend the rules if the appropriate situation arises.

Library anxiety can be caused by more reasons than listed here; often they are deeply personal, but I hope that anyone who feels any type of anxiety centering on the library can work up the courage to come in and chat with us. Yes, we like our items to be returned and our patrons’ accounts to be in good standing, but that doesn’t mean that we’re not reasonable people who understand that sometimes people get into unfortunate situations. We try to make our collections as accessible as possible (hence the transfer of the West and South Branches to BISAC). So if you know someone (or if you yourself) is unsure about returning to the library, or stopping in for the first time, I hope this article will turn what could be a scary story into one that has a happy ending. Till next week, dear readers, know that we’re here for all your needs, including alleviating library anxiety!

**Full disclosure: I watch The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (from which this quote was taken) every October together with It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown and Garfield’s Halloween Adventure for a delightful, retro Halloween movie marathon, and I’ve always wanted to start a spooky story that way. Thanks for indulging me Free For All readers!