The Fun Book of Scary Stuff

by Emily Jenkins, Hyewon Yum (Illustrator)

There are lots of frightening things out there. Witches. Trolls. Sharks. The DARK!But nothing seems as scary once you turn on the light. In this hilarious picture book, a boy and his two dogs go through a list of all the things, both real and imagined, that make the hair on the backs of their necks stand on end-and come up with a clever way to face their fears.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Halloween, Humor, Fiction, Dogs, Animals

32 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 11, 2015

About the author

Emily Jenkins is the author of many books for children, including the recent picture books Tiger and Badger, illustrated by Marie-Louise Gay, and Princessland, illustrated by Yoko Tanaka. Her chapter books include the Toys series, illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky; she is co-author of the Upside-down Magic series. Emily Jenkins lives in New York City.

Reviews

[Susan Siow · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute book about overcoming your fears.

[Paula · Rating 5 out of 5]

At his dad’s suggestion, a young boy makes a list of the things that scare him, both imaginary and real: witches, trolls, his cousin, the school crossing guard and a shark, among others. His two dogs, a sardonic bull terrier and slightly cowardly pug, offer witty repartees for each of the boy’s fears: “What’s so bad about ghosts?”; "When did you see trolls?"; I don’t mind witches if “they’ve got food.” The speech-balloon dialogue continues the banter with both dogs consistently downplaying the boy’s fears until the boy comes up with everyone’s ultimate fear: the dark. At last, the bull terrier has to admit the dark is “a little scary.” When they are thrown into the complete darkness of the closet, panic sets in for the dog, but the boy pointedly saves the day by simply turning on the light. He realizes that he too can be brave and that everyone is afraid of something. The wry humor of this tale is paired with pencil and watercolor illustrations that are animated and emotive. Parents will find this tale appropriate for the very young as it addresses a familiar topic in a clever and reassuring way.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent! The humor was spot on and I absolutely loved the dogs!

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

At the advice of his father, a boy makes a list of scary things to help him conquer his fears. He and his two dogs are sure that while monsters, ghosts, witches, trolls and his cousin Jemima have their scary aspects, but it's nothing they can't handle. But when they enter a dark closet, even the dogs are scared--that is, until the boy turns on the light. With its lively, engaging illustrations that replicate exactly what it is that makes someone afraid, this picture book might prove useful in helping youngsters conquer their fears by demystifying them and also be showing that everyone has some fears, even those two very brave dogs. Youngsters will enjoy having this title read aloud, over and over, especially before facing a task or a new experience.

[Jillian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was super cute! I really liked the way the narrator was having the conversation with his dogs (because grown-ups just don't get it) but also how it was the bigger dog (medium dog, apparently) that was the one coming up with rationalizations for the narrator's fears.
I also liked how, even during the dark - which they were ALL afraid of - it was the narrator himself who figured out how to banish the fear.

This would be a great book for the kiddos who are still working their way out of a similar situation!

[Roben · Rating 4 out of 5]

What are you afraid of? Make a list - and then go over it with friends so they can help you work on those fears! Very well done picture book. There is a lot of detail in the pictures... so I'm not sure how well this would work as a read aloud for storytime. But it is a great book to share one one one or with a small group. This could be used with pre-K (though know your audience because it is, after all, filled with scary things!) all the way up through the elementary ages. Most everyone is afraid of something -- and this book helps you work through that.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

A boy discusses his fears with his two dogs. I like the way each fear is explained very well and in an age appropriate way by the boy and then reasoned away by the "bravest" dog.

This would be a great book for sharing with a PreK-2 child struggling with some common childhood fears.

Watercolor artwork.

[Daphne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This picture addresses children's fears in ways that are both realistic and hilarious. I love the conversations with the dogs, and who wouldn't be afraid of a school crossing guard who's bossy and smells like gasoline?

[Peacegal · Rating 2 out of 5]

A kid and two dogs discuss things they do (and do not) find scary. Lots of dialogue between the characters. This one might be helpful for a kid who is fearful of many things, but parents may want to look it over first to make sure some of the images (such as a huge shark rising out of swimming pool) don't create new fears.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute book to help some kids see the funny side of things they might one scary.

[Kifflie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The fun starts with the title of the book, and keeps going. A child makes a list of the things that scare him, and his two dogs work to dispel his fears, in comical ways. The supernatural things are disposed of first, and then the real-life things (bullying cousins, intimidating crossing guards, big dogs, etc.) are dealt with. And finally the boy finds a way to help out the dogs when *they* get scared.

I like the approach of using word balloons to tell the story.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is PERFECTION. It's funny in all the right ways, it teaches a lesson without it taking itself too seriously, the artwork is seriously cute, and the humour just really...it's perfect. Added bonus? It features a PoC as the main character!

*Edit - so the cover of the book on Goodreads shows a kid that is clearly white? I was fairly certain the kid had dark wavy skin and very tan/dark skin in the book...maybe I imagined this??

[Pamela Powell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely adorable book about a little boy's list of what he finds scary. His dad told him that if he made a list it could help him be less scared. By going through the list with his dogs, it actually works.....a little. The illustrations add much to this story. This would be a great read aloud to help children with their fears!

[Judy Desetti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book for sharing with a child who has some fears that need to be wrestled with. This boy is afraid of many things but his dog makes it clear there is nothing to fear... except the dark. But in this case the boy shows the way of fixing that..... with a light switch.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dog: What's on the list?
Boy: Can't tell you. It's too much terror.

A boy and his dogs work through his list of scary things until the things don't seem so scary anymore. Written mostly in speech bubbles.

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great illustrations and reassuring concept. Fears aren't SO scary when you examine them in the light.

[Tracie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A child and two dogs discuss things that are scary. This one is funny and great!

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

It really is a fun book of scary stuff. A little boy writes a list of things he's scared of( both fantastical and realistic) that his bull terrier and pug dispute.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

A funny and helpful take on overcoming your fears.

[Caryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I heard the author read this one aloud; Emily Jenkins does the *best* voices!

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Philosophical way of looking at the stuff that scares us, great addition with the dogs doing part of the talking so its less didactic than it would be from a parent's perspective, all dialogue.

[Carrie Gelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a fun book to talk about fears - lots of humour.

[Casandria · Rating 4 out of 5]

A boy discusses his fears with his dog, who's very realistic about the whole thing.

[Maren Prestegaard · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book that explains away fears.

[Vee · Rating 3 out of 5]

My son and I enjoyed this picture book. Two dogs, a young child and monsters . . . charming.

[Molly Cluff (Library!) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not really "Halloweeny" per se, but a great conversation starter for overcoming fears! Might be too tricky for storytime with all the dialogue bubbles, but would be great one-on-one

[AleJandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Una historia muy linda y divertida, de un niño y sus mascotas, explicándonos sus miedos, y tratando de afrontarlos.

Lo más divertido del libro es la perrita pug, todos sus comentarios se me hicieron muy tiernos.

Algo curioso referente a este libro fue que mi hija lo escogió, de entre muchas otras opciones. Fue el día del Family Literacy Day, por lo que la lleve a que ella escogiera el libro que quisiera.

Y aunque tenia muchas opciones, que escogiera este no me sorprendió, pero si su razón para hacerlo. Dijo que lo escogió, porque el protagonista es un niño, no lo había notado, pero en su librería casi todos los libros tienen a niñas como protagonistas, que bueno que ella me hizo notarlo sin duda hare algo al respecto.

Mi niña siempre me sorprende, cada día con ella es una aventura.

[Nicola · Rating 3 out of 5]

Miss 3 and I like to explore different books and authors at the library, sometimes around particular topics or themes. We try to get different ones out every week or so; it's fun for both of us to have the variety and to look at a mix of new & favourite authors.

This was a random picture book that I chose. A nice way of showing that everyone has things they're afraid of, from the generic (like ghosts) to the specific (like the funny smelling crossing guard). Also that things that scare one person may not the other.

[Carina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kid rating = 3, because even though the book is making a point that you don’t have to be scared of monsters and the dark, it was still scary to think about those things!

Parent rating = 5! This book was really cute. I enjoyed reading the characters’ with different voices and the fact that the dogs talk is funny. The humor and illustrations are great. I’d read it again with my kid when she’s a little older.

[Adeline Arpin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Children are scared of many things, and this book highlights just a few of those fears. When a young boy's dogs tell him that the things that are scary to him aren't actually scary or aren't even real, the boy gets confused on how the dogs can't be scared. At the end of the book, the dogs and the young boy go into a dark room, and instead of the boys being scared, the dogs are now terrified of such a "nameless evil."