Nothing to be Afraid Of by Jan Mark

by Jan Mark

Seven short stories explore the grotesque and the humorous in everyday events.

Genres: Short Stories, Childrens

Paperback

First published January 1, 1980

About the author

Janet Marjorie Mark (1943-2006) was a British children's author and two time winner of the Carnegie Medal. She also taught art and English in Gravesend, Kent, was part of the faculty of Education at Oxford Polytechnic in the early 1980s and was a tutor and mentor to other writers before her death from meningitis-related septicaemia.

Meet the author:

What is your favourite animal?
The noble rat

What is your favourite boy’s name?
George

What is your favourite girl’s name?
Marjorie

What is your favourite food?
Pickled herring

What is your favourite music?
Klezmer

What is your favourite hobby?
Listening to music

Reviews

[Marnanel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first read this as a child, but it's one of those books which stays with you. I've bought replacement copies at least twice. In the title story, the best of the bunch, a young child who has been sheltered by his mother from all fear (and therefore has nothing to be afraid of) is taken for a walk in the park by his older cousin. She makes up such a torrent of horror stories for him on the way that he has nightmares for weeks, but he can't wait to get back to the park on his next visit. It has much to say about our minds' need for dark places.

Of the other stories, I particularly like "The Choice is Yours" (about a pupil trapped between two warring teachers, with an ending sad on one level yet full of hope on another), "Nule" (about sibling rivalry in the face of nightmare), and "William's Version" (about how toddlers perceive narrative). All the stories are worth a read.

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

'Nule' is a horrifying tale which haunted me as child.

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

All the stories in here are great, but it gets five stars just for 'Nule'.

[Jane Scholey · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent set of short stories that will keep an Uks2 class glued to you as you read them aloud.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a truly amazing book! All I can say is 'read it!'

[Farah Mendlesohn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous short collection of stories in the Joan Aiken tradition, although the one I like best is the realist, The Choice is Yours, in which a girl is caught between the demands of two teachers and a prefect, none of whom recognise that they are bulling her, and all of whom think she is able to operate "free choice". Many of us will recognise this from school, and the story should be on teacher training courses.

Mark's attentiveness to how children behave is really convincing.

[Mrs G · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book of mysterious short stories. They were familiar... maybe I read this as a child or maybe the childhoods described reminded me of my own? Either way it felt like a trip down Memory Lane. Stories that take the ordinary and mix with suggestion and imagination to leave you guessing. Nule was my favourite.

[Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seven short stories, all with an eerie feel or a quirky vibe.

It's been several months since I've read any of the children's books on my 1001 list, but this morning I woke up with an idea in my brain. Lots of the books I have left to read on my list - 770 read, with 231 left, if my math is right, which it rarely is - are spooky stories, scary stories, horror even, and these are the kinds of stories I didn't like as a kid and I don't like as an adult. Still, when better to take some of these on than now, in October?

A 1001 Children's Book YMRBYGU.

[Sinead Mccormick]

Worry Guts
Jan Mark

This is a great little story for year 5/6 children that might be worrying about the SATS. It tells the story of a boy called Ciaran that has started to write his worries in a list that is growing by the day. They’re the type of worries that most children could relate to – mainly losing things! One of his classmates tells him about her worry dolls and he decides to make his own worry monsters to deal with his problems. When his teacher discovers the plasticine going missing it turns out a lot more children have decided to do the same. They join them together and make one giant worry monster to share their worries. I think this book would ease a lot of childrens minds if they were to realise they are not alone and everyone has their own worries.

[Leesmenu · Rating 4 out of 5]

In de Leesmenu-lijst: "Kortverhalen"

Van de in 2006 overleden Britse schrijfster Jan Mark heb ik geleerd dat romans en korte verhalen schrijven twee totaal verschillende disciplines zijn. Zelf beheerste ze die disciplines allebei wonderwel. [...]

Lees verder op: http://leesmenu.be/component/k2/item/...

[Will Sargent · Rating 3 out of 5]

odd, kooky, old fashioned. Plain weird. Great.