Wendy Shearer

Each story carries a bit of creepiness, eerie moments, and spooky surprises to create more than a couple of chills.
This is a collection of around 20 stories from around the world, each concerning a paranormal being or a scary creature found in myths from the various lands. Ranging from a vast variety of countries, each tale brings its own twists and surprises. The characters are as diverse as the cultures, and the haunting creatures range from more familiar to ones readers probably have never run across before. Each story fits the intended age group and offers enough scares to work for a spooky-tale time with a flashlight...and yet, never goes overboard.
The illustrations are plentiful, bright and bold. There's a two-pages spread with light colored text followed by a more plain one with black wording. This keeps it easy on the eyes while reading, and still allows the scenes to open up and invite into each scary moment. These also bring across small details of the characters and cultures, offering a bit of learning along the way.
The educational end isn't ignored as the entire book starts with a map, which shows where each tale comes from. Then, before each story, there's another map pointing the country out again. Next to this is a small paragraph describing the land and culture. It's short and sweet, letting the information act more as a quick introduction before the exciting tale unfolds.
Not only does this collection awaken awareness for the world and others, but it's a book, which can be grabbed up time and time again. And if nothing else, it gives those spooky-tale times a fresh twist with unique scares.… (altro)