Children's Booklist 2021: Scary StoriesGrades 3-5

Dark Watersby Katherine ArdenStuck on a mysterious island, Ollie, Coco,and Brian must band together if they hopeto escape the creature that haunts them onboth land and sea. Book 3 in the SmallSpaces series.

Out of the Wild Nightby Blue BalliettMary W. Chase died on Nantucket Islandjust over one hundred years ago, but she isstill there, in the house she once lived in,and she wants to keep it that way--but firstshe must somehow contact a group ofchildren who are interested in preservinghistoric homes on the island.

13th Street: Battle of the Bad-Breath Batsby David BowlesWhen cousins Malia, Ivan, and Dante arevisiting their aunt Lucy for the summer, theyget lost on 13th Street, but it is not a streetat all. Instead, it is a strange world filled withdangerous beasts.

The Last Kids on Earth and theSkeleton Roadby Max BrallierEquipped with a crucial clue discovered byJune on her wild flight, Jack and the gangembark on an epic road trip to stop thevillainous Thrull and his skeleton army.

The Winterhouse Mysteriesby Ben GutersonA conclusion to the trilogy that began withEdgar Award finalist Winterhouse findsElizabeth and Freddy drawn into a mysteryinvolving the strange behavior of the hotelguests, Elizabeth’s unpredictable powers andthe echoes of an enemy from the past.

Guest: A Changeling Taleby Mary Downing HahnYoung Mollie traverses eerie, perilous landsto retrieve her baby brother, Thomas, fromthe Kinde Folke, malicious sprites whosnatched him and left a hideous changelingin his place.

Scary Stories for Young Foxesby Christian McKay HeidickerWhen seven little foxes sneak out of theirwarm den to find the storyteller, they try tomake it through all eight scary stories beforethey head home for the night.

Ghost: Thirteen Haunting Talesto Tellby Blaise HemingwayA collection of thirteen original ghoststories, some in rhyme, by Blaise Hemingwayand Jesse Reffsin, accompanied byillustrations by Chris Sasaki and Jeff Turley.

Scary StoriesGrades 3-5

Hide and Seekerby Daka HermonJoining his friends for a game of hide-and-seek at the welcome back party of a youngneighbor who mysteriously went missing fora year and came back rather changed, Justinwatches in horror as players are pulled into anightmarish alternate world where they areterrorized by a mysterious Seeker.

Ophie's Ghostsby Justina IrelandDiscovering her ability to see ghosts when acruel act ends her father’s life and forcesher to move in with relatives in 1920sPittsburgh, young Ophelia forges a helpfulbond with a spirit whose own life endedsuddenly and unjustly.

Rowley Jefferson's AwesomeFriendly Spooky Storiesby Jeff KinneyJeff Kinney returns with another hilariousoffering from the world of Rowley Jefferson:a collection of comically terrifying tales,straight from Rowley’s imagination, that areguaranteed to make kids laugh--and maybeeven sleep with the lights on!

Rise of ZomBertby Kara LaReauSecretly rescuing a stray cat while helpingDanny make a horror film, Mellie becomesthe recipient of the cat’s gifts of headlessbirds and mice, while Danny harbors growingsuspicions that the cat is actually a zombie.

Desmond Cole Ghost Patrol:Beware the Werewolfby Andres MiedosoWhen one of the dogs snatched by the dogcatcher is feared to be a werewolf, everyoneends up chasing their tails in this 12th spookyadventure in the Desmond Cole GhostPatrol series.

The Overthrow: Bloomby Kenneth OppelWhen the world is overtaken by monsteralien plants that emit toxic pollens andswallow up people, three kids on a remoteisland look for clues in their unusual allergiesto understand their immunity to theinvaders.

Ghost Squadby Claribel OrtegaCasting a spell that accidentally awakensmalicious spirits that wreak havocthroughout St. Augustine, Lucely and Sydteam up with the latter’s grandmother andtabby cat to break the curse and saveLucely’s firefly spirits.

Babysitting Nightmares: TheVampire Dollby Kat ShepherdAfter Tanya notices that the young girl she isbabysitting for has become too attached to adoll, she realizes that the doll is anincarnation of a supernatural threat and it isup to Tanya and her friends to save thetown.

Gloom Townby Ronald L. SmithTaking a job in a gloomy seaside manor tohelp his struggling family, 12-year-old Rorydiscovers that his new employer, who is noteven human, is trying to steal thetownspeople’s shadows on behalf of ancientotherworldly accomplices.

Shadow School: Archimancyby J. A WhiteSent to a strange boarding school in NewHampshire where she discovers that she cansee ghosts, Cordelia teams up with a fellowmedium and the class genius to uncovertheir school’s sinister origins.