Cover Image: A World Full of Spooky Stories

A World Full of Spooky Stories

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

I received an ARC of this from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book had a great collection of supernatural stories from all over the world. There were ghosts, mythical creatures, witches, evil stepmothers, etc. None of them were particularly scary as they are geared towards younger children. This was a good introduction to these stories until children get older and can read the more detailed versions.

Good read during Halloween season.

Was this review helpful?

This book contains a variety of folk, fairy tales and cultural traditions from around the world. Honestly they are not really spooky, but I am reading this as an adult.
I would love to give this to my child. They could learn about a variety of cultures and enjoy things that are just a little spooky.
The art is really cute as well.

Was this review helpful?

Awesome sauce spooky read for Halloween. Beautifully illustrated spooky stories from all around the world. This book is mesmerizing you will fall in love with illustrations and the stories. The perfect read for this fall. A fun read for kids and teens out there.

A short and illustrated book that keeps you interested. Pick up the book!

E-ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair review. Thank you, Publisher!

Was this review helpful?

I think I kept forgetting that this book is for kids. So if I was a kid, I would've loved this book. I was quite the reader then. Still am. But I digress. Fun book to have for kids who like to shiver a little before bedtime.

Was this review helpful?

This was a cute volume of scary stories that I feel you could read every Halloween if you wanted to. I thought the illustrations were beautiful and I loved how it was truly 'a world' as it included stories from many different places. I think if I owned this I would pick it up again and again throughout the year whenever I needed a little spookiness.

Was this review helpful?

This collection of spooky tales is wonderful, with engaging illustrations and fantastic writing. This book would make a great gift for kids who are interested in the paranormal, as well as those who enjoy learning about other cultures.

Was this review helpful?

I really enjoyed this collection of stories!! It was SOOO amazing! So many stories, from so many places with unique artwork! Simply must own this!

Was this review helpful?

Things I love about this book: spooky stories, kid friendly, enough depth to captivate adults too, arranged by geography with cultural context, charming illustration, a mix of familiar characters and deep cuts.

Was this review helpful?

Spooky tales to read and learn about from other countries and their culture in the world. I found the tales to be fantastic! Some of the tales I have never heard of or read before. There are ghosts or demons in the stories. While the tales can be spooky, I don’t think it will give young children fear that will turn into nightmares. Fairy tales can often be much more scared and horrific in comparison. It’s an excellent representation of stories with lovely illustrations. If you are looking for books that can scare you so that you have to sleep with a light on, this book is not for you. This book a sweet, gentle type of spooky tales that are fantastic!

Was this review helpful?

This was an enjoyable collection of myths from around the world. Pretty much all myths are fairly spooky (eerie, grisly, terrible) at heart, so not many are ruled out from this collection. But there were quite a few I'd never read, and I enjoy that. I found the groupings not *quite* intuitive, but that's ok. The artwork was a perfect companion to the stories and I enjoyed it greatly.

Was this review helpful?

A World Full of Spooky Stories does exactly what it says on the tin! Full of traditional spooky tales from a wide range of countries and communities around the world you really do find stories from each continent that have a bit of a spooky slant! I enjoyed reading each of the tales and learning a little of the oral tradition of different parts of the world. There were even stories from the UK that were completely new to me.

I received an eARC of this book from the publishers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

My two kids and I absolutely adore this book. It's the perfect mix of creepy & intriguing. .. I may buy this one in person for us!

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley.

Was this review helpful?

*thank you to Netgalley, Quarto Publishing Group - Frances Lincoln Childrens and Angela McAllister for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review*


4 stars.

I thoroughly enjoyed this. What a wonderful collection of 50 different stories from around the world. I don't think I would have classed quite a few of them as 'Spooky' stories, feven for middle grade readers, but I enjoyed them so much that I didn't mind. This collection has a few tales that I knew of, such as Hansel and Gretel, which was a nice touch to have that be the first story. It was well chosen. For the most part though, I hadn't heard of them.

So many short story collections come with a bunch of stories that I tend to not enjoy but I was pleasantly surprised by this lot as I didn't actually not like any of them. Yes some where better than others but I enjoyed them all.

One other reason why this isn't 5 stars is because I didn't love the illustrations. Yeah they were alright. They weren't bad but they just didn't really make me care for them all that much. But, they were ok.

This would be a great book to have around that you can just pick up and read from any page as the stories were mainly only a page or two long. I would definitely recommend this.

Was this review helpful?

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This book is a fantastic collection of creepy tales. I really enjoyed it and I think kids will too.

Was this review helpful?

A lovely book filled with spooky unusual stories perfect for the run-up to Halloween. I love the drawings, very in keeping with the hard edges of the stories.

Was this review helpful?

You might wonder why your child’s home, school, or public library needs another book of fairy tales and fables, a fair sentiment given the number of volumes on the subject. However, A World Full of Spooky Stories stands out for a few reasons. For me, illustrator Madalina Andronic, who has worked with Angela McAllister on other books, transforms this into a bona fide work of art. Her drawings are colorful, detailed, and amazing and do such an excellent job reflecting the essence of the narrative.

The book’s collection of spooky tales also will thrill young readers who will be frightened in what I think is a fun instead of haunting manner. The tales reflect their original, darker plots and include battles, cemeteries, and death, but these are much tamer than that found in most of today’s entertainment. A final praiseworthy attribute of the collection is the diversity of source material. While there are some traditional fairy tales like Hansel and Gretel and Little Red Riding Hood, most of the stories are rarer and come from countries around the world. In “The Enchanted Apple Tree,” a story from France,” an old woman named Misery cheats death. Russia’s “Vasilissa the Beautiful” pits the kind daughter of a merchant against the feared Baba Yaga in her house set on chicken legs. The collection includes tales from Egypt, Brazil, Japan, Tibet, Iran, Greece, and more. Most of the stories emphasize honesty, kindness, and cleverness, giving rewards to those who embody those virtues and punishments to those who do not.

This beautiful volume will be a treasured book that guardians can share with their children and read over and over again finding new delights with each pass.

Thanks to NetGalley and Frances Lincoln Children's Books for an advance reading copy in exchange for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

Get a taste of the spooky stories from around the world in this delightful little book! It was a great little read, and my boys enjoyed the stories from all over the world that have been giving little kids chills for decades.

We enjoyed the read!

Was this review helpful?

Anthologies of folk tales with such global sweeps as this should be things to love, and this comes with a hearty dose of illustration, variety and nous from the compiler. And while there is eventually much to love about this book – not the least its truly global enthusiasm – it does stutter here and there. I didn't find too much at fault with the first couple, but a tale from Egypt regarding a graverobber was a little too bland, and that was nothing compared to Little Red Riding Hood, which bluntly as possible got to the gran's being eaten and nothing else. It was almost as if the designer had said "right, you've got one page and one page only, what are you going to do?" "Er… I've got half a story that might fit." Tam Lin, and a Nepalese mountain ogre, are almost as poor in their abrupt endings.

Still, as time went on with this book I have to say that such early blips were ironed out. Fun tricks played on Old Nick for the sake of some dancing shoes (and a soul as well as some soles), and even English stories I'd not read before, proved this book's worth. You get a siren song from the Brazilian jungle, a Chinese Rapunzel, and more you won't have had in your similar books as a child but will immediately engage with. You have to hope for a more consistent style in these volumes, however, for one bum note could send a child elsewhere, or scupper the adult reading aloud. It's all a matter of principle – such as not making a dog-snouted bunyip look like a sabre-toothed something on one page, and an owl on the other, and never at all canine. But while the author does hiccup when thrusting a whole story into a couple of paragraphs for her one-page efforts, it is if anything front-loaded with weaknesses and generally of a very high quality, and overall I certainly do wish it success.

Was this review helpful?

This collection gets an A+ for diversity. It's definitely a comprehensive volume of spooky tales from all around the world. Some of the illustrations really do capture the mood quite well, but some seem whimsical rather than spooky. All in all, it would be a great addition to any home or classroom library. Four stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me a DRC of this book, which will be available for purchase on September 3rd.

Was this review helpful?

I like that this has lots of spooky stories from various countries. It's a nice little collection to have. The writing is a little bland, I personally would have like a bit more of a lyrical tone. But, overall, I say this is a neat book to have in bookstores and one I would definitely recommend.

Was this review helpful?