More Bones

by Arielle North Olson, Howard Schwartz, E.M. Gist (Illustrations)

Ready for scary?! Shhh! Have you heard about the man who marries . . . a corpse?! Or what about the magic school where one student in every class is never allowed to leave? Or the beautiful red-haired maiden whose hair is actually serpents? Many of these tales go back hundreds of years and to the farthest corners of the earth, but as diverse as they are, they also reveal one important everyone loves a scary story. The authors have dug deeply?from Egypt to Iceland?to find the spookiest stories for More Bones . Listen! Can you hear the bones beginning to rattle?

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Childrens, Fiction, Middle Grade, Fantasy, Young Adult

176 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Arielle North Olson is an author of children's books.

Arielle is the daughter of noted author Sterling North, who wrote Rascal. She is also the niece of author, poet, and editor Jessica Nelson North. She is one of the copyright owners of Sterling North's body of work. She now has 3 children and 7 grandchildren, and is a resident of St. Louis, Missouri.

Arielle is from a multi-generation literary family. Arielle's great-grandparents, James Hervey Nelson and Sarah Orelup Nelson, were Wisconsin pioneers. In 1917, which would have been her great-grandfather James Hervey Nelson's 100th birthday, three of her great-uncles, including early Amazon missionary Justus Henry Nelson, wrote extended biographies about their parents and their pioneer farm life. These writing efforts may have been a literary inspiration to both her father, Sterling, and her aunt, Jessica.

Reviews

[Joe Krakovsky · Rating 3 out of 5]

MORE BONES was a cute book of horror stories. Is that an oxymoron? Not if you want to read it to your kids, under the blanket tent, with a flashlight. The little bedwetters might be wanting you to leave the light on and the door open when you try to tuck them in.

The title states that these are stories from around the world. I suppose there is just enough background material to sound like it. There are just enough creepy illustrations to give kids something to think about as you read this to them. Of course most kids would have no trouble reading these stories themselves. Definitely no gore fest here. Younger kids might enjoy it. I wasn't scared, but then I read most of it sitting next to my wife with a bright light on.

[✨Bean's Books✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very entertaining! Simple scary stories from around the world. I love that, under the title of each story, it states what country/region the story is from. While the reading level is at about middle grade, some of the content may not be. Some of these stories are pretty gruesome. Loved the artwork too. Great addition to the stories.

[Justin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have you ever read a book that sent cold chills down you spine? Well if you never had that experience, read this book and I guarantee that these scary short stories will make you hair on you neck stand up. These stories go from a headless horsemen from Iceland to The Witch of Eastern Europe. These are scariest stories are from across the world. But all these stories come combined to be the scariest story book that will knock you socks off. These stories are scarier than a haunted mansion full of scary ghosts and demons. If you dare to read this book read it with caution and be prepared to be terrified.
In my opinion this was my favorite short stories book. This book had all the combination of details and descriptive writing put together to make the best stories. It’s even more special that it came from all around the world except for just in the Untied States so people in U.S. will learn different stories that can be passed down to other siblings or kids. Also, it can spread across the world and become more common and popular. In my opinion this was a great book that really did scare, if you want a nice scare you should read this book.
I give this book a 4 out of 5 stars. This book was a really good horror book and I haven’t really read one in a while. I was really hungry for a good scary book and this filled my hungriness for a horror book. Also had very good details and very good descriptive writing and I could visualize the scariness in my head, so I would stay awake at night just thinking about what happened in the book. Overall this was a great book and I recommend anybody to read.

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 5 out of 5]

These were some of the creepiest folk tales I've ever read! The authors do an outstanding job of retelling these tales, adding to the creepiness with their eerie descriptions and abrupt endings. The illustrations, though black and white, are appropriately chilling. I couldn't read the whole book at once. I had to read a few tales and put the book down, to savor the images and their overall feeling. These would be great for reading aloud in a dimly-lit room, at night, with the wind whistling through the empty branches... Yes, I must purchase a copy of this for myself!

[Sandra Turton · Rating 2 out of 5]

*1.5*

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good horror book to read as a kid, there was indeed more bones

[Anthony Carnet · Rating 5 out of 5]

More Bones by Arielle North Olson is about scary stories from all over the world. Each story has it's own problem: from dead corpses killing you in your sleep to witches sticking knives into demon's hearts. Each story has it's own unique plot. I recommend this book to people who love being on the edge of their seat and people who enjoy suspense.

[Hayden Gilbert · Rating 2 out of 5]

Something I find interesting in these international stories, as compared to American folklore contained in Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, is just how commonplace magic and sorcery seems to be. It isn’t as surreal as it’s American counterpart, but also isn’t as self-conscious. That being said, I never thought the storytelling of Alvin Schwartz was particularly great until I read these. Oof. There certainly is an art to crafting micro-retellings of folklore with wit and personality. And these guys ain’t got it.

[Austin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not too creepy, but definitely unique and quite odd!

[Rachel Stine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great folk tales. I especially enjoyed the Gruesome Test.

[Derrick Bojorquez · Rating 5 out of 5]

More Bones by Arielle North Olson is a collection of stories from all over the world but not regular stories ScArY stories and all of them gave me a good spook making sure that a shaggy grey hand didn't grab me. ALL the stories were good and I would give a 10 out of 5 if it was possible 100 percent recommendation.

[G. Edweird Cheese · Rating 3 out of 5]

a cool collection of folk tales from around the world in the same vain as Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.

[Vanessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about different scary stories around the world. Each have nothing in common, other than scaring people to death. One story is about a guy named Pat trying to find a place to stay home but these elderly people said that they wanted a story in order to let him in but he didn't have a story so they slammed the door. So Pat went to look for a place to stay and he saw two men burning a human body. One of the men said that they were too tired and the other said "Let Pat turn the corpse." Freaky.

[Connie Santos · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although I didn't find the stories as interesting as I thought they would be, I enjoyed reading this retelling of 22 horror stories from around the world, most of which were originally written in the late 1800s or early 1900s. It seems that a lot of the themes in horror stories are universal.

[Nathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pg.151 It was a good story. And it was moltipol story's not just one so u would not get bord.

[Alayna Payton · Rating 2 out of 5]

not that great..... mostly just skimmed the stories

[Hedgar Marin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very spine-shivering! I have read over 6 scary story books and I think that this is the 2nd best one I have read. If you are in to scary and spooky stories I recommend this book.

[Ashlei · Rating 2 out of 5]

More Bones Scary stories from around the world:

A story to tell (Ireland): short 4-6 minutes, not really scary-man travels and tries to find lodging, goes to old couple’s house and they will give him shelter for a story, he has no stories so they cast him out, he sleeps in barn of old people. Two huge men come in with a corpse and roast it. Even though Pat tries repeatedly to get away, they always know where he is and have him do terrible chores. He finds himself back at the house, and does have a story to tell.

Courting Astriah (Germany): short 4-6 minutes, man is looking for a bride, sees a maiden walking with beautiful red hair but does not see her face. Follows her to her door but she tells him to come back tomorrow. Continues until he meets her at midnight and her hair turns to snakes and they suck her blood.

The Shaggy Gray Arm (Iceland): bit longer 5-7 minutes kid goes to magic school, shaggy gray arm opens door, feeds them and gives them books, he studies for seven years and when he is ready to leave, he hears the shaggy gray arm will snatch the last in line and keep him there. Kid thinks he outsmarts the arm and it grabs only his shadow, now people will think he is a demon? Not sure about this one or what it means


The Prince’s Fate (Egypt): longer 5-7 minutes, not really scary-King and queen are told by the hathors that their son will be killed by a crocodile, snake or dog, they keep him safe but he wants a dog so they relent and get him one, his wife saves him from the first two animals but when the prince follows his dog after a fox, they fall into a tomb and he dies when he catches the dog.

The Headless Horseman (Ireland): short 3-5 minutes, stupid man rides with headless horseman because the headless horseman says he will make sure he and his horse are safe. Idiot rides off a cliff and says you promised and the headless horseman tells him not to trust a headless rider.


The Knife (Germany): short 3-5 minutes, not badwoman dies and does not tell her son where her inheritance is hidden, he searches all over and finally goes to a witch to ask for her help, she agrees for half of the inheritance, she then sharpens her knife and gets a demon to bring her the mother who finally gives a clue, when the son finds the inheritance he leaves without paying the witch, but she isn’t worried, she just sharpens her knife.

***The Werewolf in the Forest (Eastern Europe): short 3-5 minutes cute and funny, not so scary, poor man finds ring in forest, it is magic he wishes for money and buys a new coat and shawl for his wife and good food, the wife nags him until he tells her the secret and she uses the ring to make him a werewolf, one night he sneaks into the house and changes her into a donkey. ONLY ONE I WOULD PROBABLY READ TO KIDS

The Secret (Italy): longer 4-6 minutes, not scary, kinda stupid greedy girl kills her entire family to learn the family secret, she imagines wealth but the secret is a skull that must be tended all day, she is haunted by the skull until she tries to bury it and it sends her into a pit and she dies.

The Severed head (Persia): longer 4-6 minutes evil king beheads everyone but he is sick with sores and headache, man cures him but his evil vizier convinces the king the man can kill him if he can cure them, man tricks king and vizier into opening poisoned book both die.

The Dangerous Dead (China): short 3-4 minutes evil innkeeper allows the corpse of his daughter in law to kill and rob travelers, one remains awake and lives, he runs and she gives chase, a tree swallows her whole…no idea

The Haunted Bell (Spain): longer 4-6 minutes evil baron kills people, they finally rise up and kill him, his armor is haunted, they turn it into a bell, bell declares bad things

The Gruesome Test (Japan): longer 4-6 minutes, lovely maiden looking for a groom, she asks her suitors to pass a test and takes them to a grave where she eats a corpse, she asks him to eat too and when he does he finds that it is candy, jokes on her thought cause he goes to dig up a real corpse.

The enchanted Cave (Spain): longest 7-10 minutes, good, poor man helps a moor and the moor gives him a way to get into the secret cave of treasure, good man shares with friend, evil rich guy gets greedy and is trapped in cave forever.

The Witch of the Woods (Eastern Europe) longer 5-7 minutes, rumplestiltzkin with a princess and a witch, clever princess must find where horrible witch lives or must give up her first love and be a slave, she finds the house but takes a scorpion knocker

Wishes Gone Awry (Scotland): longer 4-6 minutes guy takes mermaid scale and she must grant three wishes, guy does not make good wishes, becomes a fish

The Ghost of the Rainbow Maiden (Hawaii): short 3-5 minutes bad chief kills rainbow maiden, good guy comes and saves her and reunited her and her body, they devise a test and the bad chief must throw himself into the volcano.

The Wife’s Tale (China): short 3-5 minutes girl marries a trader, she is really a rat…uhm, yeah that’s about it

Youth without age (Turkey): short 3-5 minutes prince cries in mother’s womb, dad promises youth without age and life without death, baby is calmed, at 16 son asks for what was promised then must set out on his own to find it. Finds a witch and he spends 7 says with her as a lovely princess, when she kicks him out he finds the seven days were really 7 years. He goes back to the palace and finds his death in a box and dies???/

The Haunted violin (Germany): short 3-5 minutes magician is dying and tells carpenter to make his coffin out of a tree near his home and make nothing else from it. It is good wood and the carpenter makes a violin out of the leftover wood, he plays the violin and dies in quicksand. Not sure why.

The Evil Sea Ghost (Norway): longer 6-8 minutes kinda scary, poor kid makes a pact with a sea ghost and becomes rich but kills a bunch of people including his family in the process then dies himself.

The Peasant’s Revenge (Germany): longer 6-8 minutes mean evil lord takes all the food, when peasants are hungry they approach him and he locks them in a granary and sets it on fire. The ashes turn to thousands of hungry mice that eat him out of house home and body

The Wizard’s Apprentice (eastern Europe): bit longer 5-8 minutes man and wife want a baby go to wizard and promise the baby for one year on its tenth birthday, couple has baby, boy spends year with wizard, boy learns magic and they live happily ever after.

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun, suspenseful, exciting... this book is almost like a collection of fairy tales, but more disturbing. This book gives you a glimpse of many different cultures and their stories. It was interesting to see the kinds of stories that come from different places, because each tale was unique. Some included magic, while others didn't. Some ended happily, and others, not so much. Some didn't have a happy or sad ending, and were somewhere in between. These stories featured a variety of magical creatures, from shape-shifting witches to sea monsters that would cause ships to sink called draugs. The author commonly used vivid descriptions so that the reader could have a more detailed image in their mind. For example, on page 4 of the book, it says, "Later that night, harsh voices awakened him. He didn't dare make a sound, but he peeked through a little hole between some blades of straw. And there in the middle of the barn he saw two huge men starting a fire on the dirt floor. Their faces were almost hidden by their long, greasy hair. When the flames rose, Pat could see them pull something out of the shadows..." Many of the stories are full of suspense, like this one. This book is a lot of fun to read and share with friends. I especially liked "The Gruesome Test" from Japan on page 74, "The Haunted Bell" from Spain on page 66, and "The Dangerous Dead" from China on page 60.

[Daniel Hojan · Rating 5 out of 5]

More Bones
By Arielle North Olson

Reading level: 4th
Book Level: 5th

Summary: More Bones is a collection of scary stories from around the world. With spooky stories involves witches, werewolves, mermaids and more, frightfully good times are to be had by all.

Genre: Multicultural Lit.

Mentor Writing Traits:
Word Choice: Scary stories always have the best words to make you feel that tingle along the back of your neck and a shiver down your spine. This book of scary stories is no different, in that it can show students just how important the choice of a word can be for the entertainment of the reader. The spooky imagery is carefully crafted by the author to deliver frights to the reader. Such a collection of stories could be perfect for a lesson or two towards the end of October, where students can be encouraged to make scary stories of their own to share with the class. Add a fake campfire and some s'mores and you have one heck of a classroom Halloween party.

[Valerie McEnroe · Rating 2 out of 5]

These scary stories just aren't that great. If I didn't know better, I'd assume this is a compilation of submissions from a high school writing assignment. The stories aren't that interesting. Most of them start off well enough with a decent premise, but somewhere along the way they get boring and veer off into the land of lame endings. I recommend kids who want a good scare pass on this and head over to the Goosebumps collection.

[Aadhisree Subramanian · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would recommend this book because it was a thriller book . The author made you sit on the edge . I was very intrigued in to the book . The first few pages were not of a eye catching pages but as you travel through the book , it pulls you in . If you really like horror books that fascinate you , then you really read this book . Each chapter is a different story that is pleasing to read .

[Hilde Sky · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like how the book tells stories form other parts of the world. However, the stories themselves did not appeal to me. The art work was great, but the art was not what should capture my attention most it's the story. Which I might add failed to achieve.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful collection of spooky stories. Some are frightening, some are sad, some give justice to the bad guys and some don't show any mercy to the good guys. All are v. v. macabre. I loved them. Perfect for this time of year.

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an entertaining book to read, filled with interesting tales from around the world.

[Ember Air · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read for #AllHallowsRead2017

[Rio (fairy circle ink) · Rating 1 out of 5]

not only where these stories extremely cheesy and i enjoy horror but because of my Christianity i could barley read any of these stories and didn't want to.

[Cajada Mcinnis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like it

[Lori March · Rating 3 out of 5]

Suppose to be scary but they don't rope you in well enough to get a freak out. Some read like long jokes. Has entertainment value.

[Gofita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun retellings of various scary stories from around the world. There are some very nice illustrations and my son enjoyed listening to them. It was a great read for Halloween-time.