For today I have some great lists of Halloween-appropriate reading for younger readers as well as scary-story lovers of all ages.

First, from Angie Manfredi: “Shivers & Shudders: Scary Middle Grade Books.”

Second, from the Spooky KidLit site (“Celebrating the kids’ books that go bump in the night.”), two lists: “Celebrating Black Authors, Part 1″ and “Celebrating Black Authors, Part 2.”

One of the stellar books recommended in two of the lists above is The Forgotten Girl by India Hill Brown (2019), and here’s a haunting little taste:

Iris’s nightmares terrified her. 

Especially the ones when she couldn’t tell if she was dreaming or not. When she was barely awake but not quite asleep, frozen to her bed. Unable to move as monsters crept from the shadows in her room, walking toward her until she squeezed her eyes shut and hastily thought of a prayer. 

“When that happens, the witch is riding your back,” Daniel’s grandmother Suga would say every time she recounted a dream. “To stop them, you have to put a broom under your bed, so she’ll ride that instead and let you go.”

Every one else wrote it off as another one of Suga’s old superstitions, but Iris so wished her parents would let her keep a broom under her bed, at least for one night. 

Instead, she just slept with a night-light, even though she felt too old for that. Her nightmares were what made her afraid of the dark—well, not exactly afraid. She just didn’t like how unsure the dark was….   

You can read a longer excerpt from The Forgotten Girl here. 

And here’s some great news! The Forgotten Girl is one of four books being adapted for television: “Scholastic Entertainment to Develop ‘JumpScare’ Kids Animated Horror Series With ‘Ben 10’ Team.”

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