Here are some good seasonal stories to share!
Haunted Canada by Joel A. Sutherland, illustrated by different artists, is the perfect, scary graphic novel for Halloween. Four terrifying tales from across Canada, that many or may not be true, are are deliciously horrid. They deal with a vengeful corpse of a woman killed some 300 years ago in Quebec; a haunted doll in a museum in BC where nothing is the same after the doll arrives. There’s a story of an island of demons in Newfoundland that will leave you too scared to venture outside and a dead woman in Saskatchewan who terrifies the neighbourhood. Better than candy on Halloween, this is not a trick but a reading treat in graphic novel format.
ISBN 978-1-4431-9629-1, Scholastic Canada
Ghostly Tales: Spine-Chilling Stories of the Victorian Age (Books for Halloween, Ghost Stories, Spooky Book), Bill Bragg, Illustrator
This is a fun collection of tales that transports the reader back to a time when staircases creaked in old manor houses, and a candle could be blown out by a gust of wind, or by a passing ghost. Written by some of the greatest Victorian novelists and masters of the ghost story genre, each story is illustrated with exquisitely eerie artwork. A deliciously scary book to share at Halloween.
ISBN 978-1452159270, Chronicle Books
A City Full of Santas by Joanna Ho, illustrated by Thai Phuong is a fun picturebook to share with young kids anxiously waiting for Santa to come. A young girl has tried and tried for five years to stay awake on the night that Santa comes. But to no avail. This year will be different as she and her mom travel on the train into the city to meet the real Santa! But when they get to the city, they find a city full of Santa’s. How will she know which one is the real Santa? Her search does not bring the results she hopes for. But when Santa has come to her house, she realizes that she found everything she had been looking for. And maybe next year, she’ll manage to stay awake!
ISBN 978-0-06-328753-2, Harper Collins Children’s Books
A Dragon for Hanukkah, written by Sarah Mlynowski and illustrated by Ariel Landy, is the story of the magical celebration of light. Hannah has a wonderful imagination and her hanukkah gifts include a drago, a rainbow, a treasure chest, even unicorns. Hannah travels back in time to the origins of Hanukkah and, back home, prepares her own gifts to share. At the end of the story, Hannah explains all Hanukkah traditions to her dragon, including the food her family shares on this magical night. A lovely tale for eight days of Hanukkah to share together with The Twelve Days of Christmas.
ISBN 978-1-338-89752-4, Orchard Books/Scholastic
Margriet Ruurs is a Canadian writer of many books for children. She is available for author presentations and writing workshops at International Schools.