Robert D. San SouciReseñas

Based on a novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Using various objects, such as a spoon, a wooden rolling pin, a piece of burlap material for the jacket, a pumpkin, and spindly wood for legs and arms, the old witch, Mother Rigby, who lives in a hoven in New England with her black cat, used her broomstick to conjure up the objects to make a dandy looking man. With a dusty tri colored hat , worn red britches worn silk stockings and a tarnished buckle, he became a handsome man.

Sending him on the path of Judge Goodkin to trance his beautiful daughter, the dapper looking man instantly fell in love with Mistress Goodkin. Polly brought him inside to meet her father. walking away, she realized she was in love with with the handsome man. Looking in the mirror in the hall as Polly walked in front of him, he did not see a handsome man, but the scarecrow.

When Polly saw the scarecrow, she cried, remembering the handsome man that she longed for. No matter what, if he was a scarecrow or a handsome man, she loved him and visited the field where he stood, she continue to visit him each day.

Mother Rigby dared to say she was not a witch and thus broke the spell. And together they walked away hand in hand.

Adventure

This is taken from the American South, specifically the Creole collection of Louisiana stories.

As a young girl, a widow with two daughters lived in a poor farm. They hoped their luck would change so that they could be well-dressed and successful high-born ladies. Mean and cross, they and their mother loved to bully Blanche, the youngest child. She did all the work around the house and was severely punished for no reason. While performing the task of obtaining cold water, Blanche was found by an old lady dressed in a black garment. When she gave the old lady some cold water, the lady walked far into the woods.

When Blanche returned to nasty group, she cried and in despair, ran away. She found the old woman who treated her well. She was tested when asked not to laugh at what she will find at the elder woman's house. While she found some very silly things, still, she did not laugh.

After a period of time, she was told to return to her original home. but before leaving, she was told to collect eggs in the hen house. She was instructed only to take the eggs that said "Take me," Those that were heavily jeweled and gold and silver were to be left alone, and when they said "Don't Take Me," Blanche needed to heed the instructions. Told to toss the eggs over her shoulders one at a time, she received many treasures.

The wicked mother was able to gain information from Blanche regarding the treasures, and she and the other two daughters went to the house of the old lady. Laughing at the objects Blanche did not, and collecting all the eggs, Throwing them over their shoulders did not accomplish the gift of jewels, rather there were nasty animals that could harm them.

The end of the story: Blance left the wicked family and living the life of a grand lady. Whit for the remaining years of their lives, the mother and sisters tried, but never could find the old lady again.

Great book for kids who enjoy scary stories. I first read this when I was about 9 or 10 years old. Upon re-reading some of the stories came back to me, some didn't. The stories are mostly re-tellings of folk tales and there is a note at the beginning of each saying what region the story comes from. I think it's cool that the author wrote an appendix so you can research the stories more and maybe track down the original wording of a particular one.

51963

Sootface is an Ojibwa Cinderella story. The youngest daughter of three is treated poorly by her two sisters (cruel and lazy). Sootface’s kind and honest heart leads her to the strong invisible warrior.

29 copies

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This would be a fun story for little girls

This is a collection of short stories, mostly adapted from very old folklore. I wouldn't exactly call them " shivery", but a nice collection for children. I love the artwork on the cover and throughout the book. A nice addition to the family bookshelf :)

Cendrillon is a Caribbean retelling of the traditional Cinderella. The interesting thing about this retelling is our main character is not Cendrillon, but her godmother. It is a story about family and culture, perseverance and, of course, true love. This would also be something fun to read in an English class to show the difference between fairy tales and other stories, but it could also be read in a Social Studies class to show Caribbean culture. The illustrations and actions within the book are great indicators of the clothing and style of this region, as well.

The quality of transfer from hard copy to digital made a bit harder to enjoy the illustrations, but I loved the delicate tale. It really seemed rooted in the time period.

Another beautiful legend of how equality, skill and intelligence triumph over their opposites. The stylized art is lovely too.

A vivid, breathtaking adventure that is stunningly illustrated. Not only that, but the story is everything you would ever want. It's a story of an independent woman who meets an independent man and, because life can't be perfect, who both come into contact with an independent giant. If you can pick it up somewhere, I highly recommend it.

Ehhhh I'm torn. Beautiful artwork though.

I honestly love Cinderella retellings. Not because of the story, but because the art and the culture really makes the difference. And this one had lovely art.

Sometimes I wonder about how illustrators decide to illustrate their book. Why end a lovely book (when you obviously have talent) with a blurry map when you could end it with a lovely portrait-esque painting which was placed earlier in the book? And if you could follow that wandering question you'll know why I dislike most of the picture books I dislike.

As a fan of Robert San Souci's The Green Arrow (A Robin Hood tale), I knew this King Arthur tale would not fail me and it didn't. I look forward to reading his others in the Arthurian cycle-- Young Merlin, Young Guinevere and Young Lancelot.

This is an awesome picture book that I found in the fairy tale/folk tale section. It is easy to read at bed time to my 6 year old and 4 year old. It would also be easy to read for a story time for older children, say in the 2nd-4th grade. As a child, I loved Robin Hood and King Arthur stories. Definitely a book for a reluctant boy reader over the age of 6.

Read aloud to my daughter many, many times.

I remember this book being mildly terrifying as a child.

More Short & Shivery features 30 spooky tales from folklore and literature, retold by Author Robert D. San Souci. There are five Short & Shivery books. They are all great collections of scary folklore for kids. All stories are age appropriate and entertaining for middle-grade students. The illustrations by Katherine Coville and Jacqueline Rogers add a nice extra shiver to the tales.

More Short & Shivery offers up tales of terror from all around the world. Some of the tales are familar (like The Devil and Tom Walker) and retold for kids. In the back of the book is a list of sources for those who want to read the originals or discover more information about the stories and authors. I love the fact the book includes information on the origins of the stories! The source notes give a bit of background about the tale, the country it came from, and for some, the author that wrote the original story.

I love scary story collections like this. I read a lot of really, really heavy adult fiction and non-fiction and sometimes I just want some entertaining stories that allow me a night of peaceful, enjoyable reading. My favorite palate cleansers between more heavy reading are story collections like this one. Little shivery tales that always have a spooky surprise or creepy-cool ending. I loved these books when I was young....loved them when I read them out loud to my kids....and I still love them now. :) A story doesn't have to be gory, soul shockingly terrifying or violent in order to be creepy or scary. These tales chill to the bone without being too much. Great entertainment for camping, Halloween festivities or during sleepovers. I could also see these stories being used in the classroom for reading aloud, as an introduction to get students started on a creative writing project to compose their own spooky tale, or just as an entertaining book to enjoy during reading time.

This story collection includes:

Hold Him, Tabb!
The Witches' Eyes
The Duppy
Two Snakes
The Draug
The Vampire Cat
Windigo Island
The Haunted Inn
The Rolling Head
The Croglin Grange Vampire
The Yara
Me, Myself
Island of Fear
Three Who Sought Death
Sister Death and the Healer
The Mouse Tower
The Devil and Tom Walker
The Greedy Daughter
The Pirate
The Golden Arm
The Serpent Woman
Loft the Enchanter
The Accursed House
Escape Up the Tree
The Headrest
The Thing in the Woods
King of the Cats
The Dead Mother
Knock....Knock.....Knock
Twice Surprised

A great collection! Perfect for kids (and adults) who like entertaining, creepy stories. :)