Four Scary Stories

by Tony Johnston, Tomie dePaola

An imp, a goblin, a scalawag, and a boy tell each other scary stories.

Genres: Halloween, Childrens, Picture Books, Fiction, Juvenile, Horror

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1978

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Tony Johnston has written many acclaimed books for young people. She and her husband lived in Mexico for fifteen years, where they raised their children. She now lives in San Marino, California.

Reviews

[Melki · Rating 4 out of 5]

An imp, a goblin, and a scalawag tell scary tales about the most frightening thing they can think of --- a human child!

Cute stories with illustrations by Tomie dePaola.

[Tamra · Rating 3 out of 5]

My 5-year-old brought this book to me, without having read it himself, and said, "This book is really funny. You should try it out!"

It's a cute take on monsters being scared of a human kid. The illustrations are what are the most fun: the imp, goblin, and scalawag are pretty cute. No scary monsters here.

I have to admit that some of the illustrations were hard to follow. Some are done in a sort of comic book play-by-play sort of way, with several boxes on the same page. Maybe if I were more familiar with comic books, this wouldn't have thrown me off.

Still, pretty cute. In the end, of course, the three creatures and the boy become friends. Because that's the way the world should work.

[Velvet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent chapter fable for the not-easily frightened elementary aged kids who love both icky trolls and who can find humour (and the ever-important lesson) in each story. I bought the book tonight and my 7 year old son has read every story already.

[Natalie Cottam · Rating 5 out of 5]

As we like to say as we're reading a completely ridiculous story..."that was wack, jack!". and in the best way possible. this book cracked us all up. super, super cute.

[SaraKat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super cute book for little tykes. The stories aren't really scary--but are about topics that would scare little monsters like taking baths or seeing a boy. The imp, goblin, and scalawag take turns telling stories about the time a boy scared them. It would be a good book for children who are afraid of monsters since it shows that the little monsters are afraid of boys just as much as boys are afraid of them! The pictures were nice and the banter between the monsters was amusing.

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Copyright 1978 by Troll Associates of all people! This is a set of 4 goofy stories about an imp, a goblin, a scalawag, & a boy. Kind of wordy for under preschool & over might not be impressed with the stories.

[Lynn Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four short stories - one by an imp, one by a scalawag, one by a goblin, and one by a boy. Cute stories that are scary only to the teller, so amusing to the reader/listener. Great illustrations.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.6

This didn't work for us. The stories weren't scary -- they were even proclaimed 'boring.' Boring isn't a word I find helpful. Maybe tedious, or not engaging.

[Abby Stopka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scaring a boy, is more fun than catching a boy. These stories are so cute. Great for your little ones and even for you if you're just looking for a quick easy read.

[Matthew · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay story, fun de Paola illustrations. My rating - 2/5

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

1978 - Simon and Schuster

Fun book - great artwork. I did not quite see what was so scary about the stories.