Nightmareland

Scary Tales #4

by James Preller, Iacopo Bruno (Illustrator)

Welcome. Have a seat. The wolves will wait. Let us tell you a story. But be warned. Nightmareland isn’t just any tale. This is a Scary Tale.

Meet Aaron Wheeler, who just got a strange, new video game. A game that sucks Aaron right in. All alone, caught in a snowstorm, a howl comes from the nearby woods. And there is no way out….

Prepare yourself for the next installment of James Preller’s heart-poundingly scary chapter book series filled with dark and creepy illustrations from acclaimed artist Iacopo Bruno.

Genres: Horror, Childrens, Chapter Books

113 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 7, 2014

About the author

James Preller (born 1961) is the children's book author of the Jigsaw Jones Mysteries, which are published by Scholastic Corporation. He grew up in Wantagh, New York and went to college in Oneonta, New York. After graduating from college in 1983, James Preller was employed as a waiter for one year before being hired as a copywriter by Scholastic Corporation, where he was introduced (through their books) to many noatable children's authors. This inspired James Preller to try writing his own books. James Preller published his first book, entitled MAXX TRAX: Avalanche Rescue, in 1986. Since that time, James Preller has written a variety of books, and has written under a number of pen names, including Mitzy Kafka, James Patrick, and Izzy Bonkers. James Preller lives in Delmar, New York with his wife Lisa and their three children.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/jamesp...

Reviews

[Crystal · Rating 4 out of 5]

An easy read for a busy week. I hadn’t heard about this series or read the previous books, but it seems to be an anthology so l wasn’t missing any important details. Have to say I really did enjoy reading a scary story with a lesson at the end. Planning to read the rest of this series

[Different Is Beautiful · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jumanji meets horror

[Mireille Wojtanek · Rating 3 out of 5]

My son, who is 8 years old, enjoys these scary stories by James Preller. They are fun to read and they are not very scary. This is pretty mild as far as a scary story goes. It can make you think though, if you stop to think into it a bit. I like that this book touches on values such as the importance of family and family bonds. It very casually shows that no matter what your family situation, single parent, divorce, etc., your family bond is important. The draw for kids is the creepy stuff and video game stuff, but it sneaks in some lessons for the kids too. Chapters are short and easy to do before bed.

[AleJandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sigo intentándolo con el terror.

Esta vez me fui a lo fácil y leí un libro para pre-adolescentes.

La historia es ligera y entretenida, pero no me hiso sentir absolutamente nada, se me fue como un suspiró.

Lo que si me asustaron fueron las imágenes, creepy.

[KWinks · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really love these for the pre-teen set who want something spookier than average, but not heart pounding terrifying. These always have just the right amount of chill in them. Perfect for this time of year, reluctant readers, and short story fans.

[Chelsie Howerton · Rating 4 out of 5]

SUMMARY
Aaron finds the video game Nightmareland while browsing the bargain bin at the video store with his sister, Addy. It turns out to be more than just a video game—Aaron feels like he is becoming one with the controller, and swears he can see and feel the cold darkness of Nightmareland all around him. Freddy, the pizza delivery boy (and fellow gamer), shows up just in time to help Addy, who discovers Aaron in a trance--IN the television, IN Nightmareland. Together they must fight off the Nightmareland villains and rediscover the importance of family.

QUESTIONS
1. On page 20, the author describes the character’s mom and “The way she sometimes drifted through the house like a ghost.” Why does the author compare mom to a ghost?
2. What are some of the details and signs that convinces Aaron that he is involved in the video game rather than just playing it?
3. The words “whoosh” (page 29) and “ding-dong” (page 33) are examples of what type of literary device? Explain why these words are used in these examples.
4. Describe Aaron’s attitude about his family’s situation at the beginning of the story (page 10, page 28) versus the end of the story (page 55-56, 67). What do you think causes this change?
5. What is a turret? (Chapter 11: Page 67). Why does Aaron think he is inside of one? (Make a prediction using context clues before looking the word up in the dictionary).

CITATION
Preller, J. (2014). Scary tales: Nighmareland. New York, NY: Feiwel and Friends.

[Henry · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think that this book is good the ending was amazing but the story needs more I keep thinking that it gets better but then it ended and did not get better. I do like the series and cant wait to read the 5th one.

[Virginia Bliss · Rating 5 out of 5]

My son thought this book was great. He’s a big video game fan so that element was interesting for him.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

LOL! I really enjoyed this one! It will make kids think before they play a random video game called Nightmareland!

[Evan Welle]

I didn't really like how short it was but it was great, i like how each book there is different characters to root for.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quality writing for young readers with a taste for spooky, but not quite ready for the Goosebumps series.

[Am Y · Rating 3 out of 5]

I guess this will do if you need your horror fix. But it's very run of the mill and nothing special.

[Jonathan Maas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great tale, I hope to write a full review shortly

[Caresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favorite one out of the series so far, but still a quick and fun read

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a short story good for children grades 3-5. It's not too scary, more odd, like Twilight Zone type of story, but entertaining and well-written. Would be a good choice for kids who enjoyed the Goosebumps books. I would recommend.

[Awake at Midnight · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aaron finds a video game he’s never heard of in the bargain bin and when he brings it home to play, he finds himself lost inside it a little further than usual. He faces off against a pack of slavering, starving, desperate wolves and an army of nasty, evil snowmen. Meanwhile, his sister and a gamer-dude from the pizza shop struggle to get him home safely… because his body’s been left vacant on the couch.

Be warned: Nightmareland is more than a game. Much more. It is the wind in the graveyard, it is the whisper in the keyhole, the claw across the window pane. It is the knife, the fang, and the razor...

This is scary-- a great rainy-day read for those not quite ready for Goosebumps yet!
Awake at Midnight: Scary Tales

[Texas State Poder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aaron Wheeler just got a brand new video game from the store you might think that may be cool but the terror is just about to begin.
The main character Aaron is a game freak, he loves them.He'll play for hours. He would play for hours in one sitting. But this time it may be his last game to play.
Aaron gets pulled into a game that contains little to no return escaping packs of wolves, to rampaging snow men. Can Aaron escape from these tradgitys, and come out alive, read to find out.
I would recommened this book to any one that like a little sucppence and action. like Pedro,Luis,Matthew,and Brandon N.Because I know that they love scary books.

[Rachel P. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Grade: 3-5.
Subjects: video games, winter, brother and sister

I didn't enjoy this as much as the first in the series (Home Sweet Horror) but will recommend to young tweens who like fairly spooky stories and/or gaming. The character development felt especially weak to me, and the plot wasn't original or even very interesting -- but kids who like these sorts of books won't care.

[Andrea Labonte · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read if you like scary tales. This one wasn't too scary but it was about a boy that gets lost in a game for real and the only way he can be saved is by finishing the game. His sister Addy, who is not a gamer, with a help of a guy she knows from school, who is a gamer, tries to beat the game. Read to find out what happened to Aaron and his family. A must read.

[Cornell Poder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Do you like things that scary you well you will love this book. This book about a little boy named Aaron who is caught in video game where he can't get out it.This video game is called Nightmareland and it is the most scaryest thing you ever play before.It will give you nightmares for days,or maybe you won't come back into real life because you
byFelipe

[Texas State Poder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Imagine a video game not a normal video game that will trap you inside. O i almost forgot i am not being sarcastic about what i said .It all started when Aaron bought a video game called HORROR LAND!!!! when he started playing the game he started to feel a strange feeling like if he was in the game then something happen ?want to find out what happen check out the book ?

[Sarah Threlkeld · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well-written and engaging horror book aimed at the 3rd/4th grade set. This book sucked me in and I read it in one sitting (although that may not be saying much since it's pretty short and the font is a tad large). I will definitely recommend this to students next time they ask for a creepy story.

[Sarah Hay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not too creepy, probably good for 9-10 year olds who are looking for a scary book.

[Tamara the Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great scary books students will love.

[Karen Arendt · Rating 5 out of 5]

A truly scary series perfect for second and third graders. Descriptive, detailed, and imaginative, with perhaps a subtle message of too much screen time.

[Jessica Van Tassell · Rating 3 out of 5]

My least favorite story of the series. However it was still well written so I couldn't dock it too much.

[✦BookishlyRichie✦ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty creepy & fun. It's perfect for the Halloween season.