My Little Occult Book Club: A Creepy Collection

by Steven Rhodes

My Little Occult Book Club is a hilarious collection of Steven Rhodes' parody book covers for the aspiring occultist, exorcist, necromancer, and more, illustrated in his fan-favorite artistic twist on retro '70s and '80s children's books.

The humorous fake titles include Sell Your Soul! (Economics for Children), Necromancy for Beginners, and Caring for Your Demon Cat, and much more.
Written in a playful voice that parodies subscription book catalogs
Features puzzles, activities, and even a free fold-out poster
Funny fake mail order offers for gifts such as "Cursed Videocassette"
Whether you're looking for a health guide for your changing werewolf body or a simple introduction to alien abduction, this silly and twisted read features a wide selection of books for any occult need.

For fans of dark humor, nostalgic horror, and vintage books alike, don't wait—order today!
Perfect gift for fans of Stranger Things, IT, and The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina

Add it to the shelf with books like Yiddish with Dick and Jane by Ellis Weiner and Barbara Davilman and My Best Friend's Exorcism: A Novel by Grady Hendrix

Genres: Horror, Humor, Art, Fiction, Graphic Novels, Comedy, Comics

80 pages, Hardcover

First published August 25, 2020

Reviews

[Schizanthus Nerd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Remember those Scholastic catalogues you used to drool over as a kid? This book is sort of like those, if they went over to the dark side. Retro style book covers are given a makeover by artist Steven Rhodes.

Although you can easily imagine the contents of the stories these covers depict, blurbs accompany a few of them. You’ll also find some activities scattered through the book, including a join the dot abomination and find a word (words I found include necromancy, grave and hex).

Make sure you pay attention to the names of the authors. You’ll find such gems as Lou Siffer, who wrote Pumpkin’s Revenge.

After centuries of being plucked, carved, and left to rot, the Pumpkin Demon has awoken, and this Halloween it will have its revenge!

A spine-tingling tale of vegetable justice!

This was a fun but very quick read. My favourite covers were Worship Coffee



[Image source: Threadless]

and Timmy has a Visitor.



[Image source: Author’s Website]

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Chronicle Books for the opportunity to read this book.

N.B. The quote is taken from the ARC, which may be subject to change.

Blog - https://schizanthusnerd.com

[MissBecka Gee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a lot of fun.

It reminded me of the old Scholastic book flyers from my childhood.

I can totally see this becoming a gag gift for many of my friends.

Thanks to NetGalley, Chronicle Books & Steven Rhodes for my DRC.

[karen]

BONUS HALLOWEEEEEEEN READ!



REVIEW TO COME!!!

[Stay Fetters · Rating 4 out of 5]

"How did I get in the woods? Why am I naked with warm blood dripping down my chin? Whose mutilated corpse is this?"

I felt as if I traveled back in time to my elementary school days. That beloved book fair just hit me in the face and I want to go back! Send me back!

How can I get my hands on these books? I mean, I would read all of these! Please make it happen!

[Elaine Howlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this up because it reminded me of My Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady Hendrix. The two books would look very well on a shelf together or make a very nice gift packaged together. The 80’s nostalgia (with a bit of 70’s in this book) mixed with occult and horror themes makes for a very entertaining book. It’s styled on those old catalogues of books for kids with some puzzles and activities (join the dots on Satan, anyone?),with short descriptions on some of the books and order forms for occult items such as a cursed video tape. It’s mainly a collection of very funny horror-parody children’s book covers. I would love to have some of them as posters for my office especially the “Sleep is my God” one.

The illustrations are wonderful and the horror/occult theme is entertaining throughout never passing into grotesqueness.


Read more reviews and other bookish content on my blog https://elainehowlin.com

[Oyinda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you so much Chronicle Books and Steven Rhodes for my DRC via Netgalley in exchange for a honest review.

This was fun in a creepy way and creepy in a fun way. This is a book I'd definitely want to have, as it has so much fun stuff. It has a lot of vibrant and occultic illustrations, and a lot of elements in the book took me back to my childhood reading Apple Scholastic books.

The book featured a lot of fun entries, and the titles really made me LOL. This is one book I recommend for everyone!

[Kyra Leseberg (Roots & Reads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of dark but humorous book covers inspired by the 70s/80s design.
It's a fun parody of the much-loved Scholastic Book Fair catalogs with titles like Sell Your Soul! (Economics for Children) and B.M.Hex Gang. Activities like connect the dots that will reveal an abomination released on the world by an unsuspecting child and a Go To Hell maze are included.
Does this sound really dark and in poor taste? Then probably don't pick this book up.
This will be a fun coffee table book to flip through for the illustrations and the brief book summaries if you're a fan of dark humor, old paperbacks, pop culture, and vintage design.

Thanks to Chronicle Books and NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review. My Little Occult Book Club is scheduled for release on August 25, 2020.

For more reviews, visit www.rootsandreads.wordpress.com

[Macarena (followed that rabbit) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quite original and funny!
The book is a catalogue to order the most sinister titles to help children improve their "dark arts" skills. An absolutely essential guide for kids of all ages.

Thanks to Chronicle Books and NetGalley for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

[Mehsi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.


So I was lured in by the title and the cover. What would this book actually be about? Well, I found out quickly it is kind of like a book catalogue just with occult and hilarious books about darkness and devils, for your children. I laughed, giggled, ohhh and aahhhed, and had so much fun reading this one. Also, can I order one or more of these books and hope they become real? Some of them sound awesome.

Not all of the books have book descriptions, sometimes this catalogue only shows a book cover. I liked this variety, though I wouldn’t have minded book descriptions to the books we only see the cover of as I am quite curious about the books. Like what kind of songs are included in the Cult Music Sing-Along? And does the Easy-Bake Coven feature recipes?
I loved that we got non-fiction books and fiction. Demon pets and puberty oh my!
There are books on how to summon demons, how get two weeks more of vacation (would you sacrifice your brother for that?), what happens in puberty (apparently you don’t just grow hair… you also become a werewolf), selling your soul, hugging a snake, and many many more.
OMG, I was delighted to see a certain girl pop out of a well again. Ohhh there she is, Hi Sadako! also waves at Bloody Mary

There are also advertisements included in the book, for instance you can get your own cursed videocassette. To which I say, no thank you. I know what happened in The Ring (Japanese version please). And there are also activities to be found in this book. Yep, this book is full with everything you may want… or may not want. 😛

I love the illustrations, the style is just amazing and quite nostalgic and retro.

All in all, I just flew through this book. I need more. Please make more? Please? I would highly recommend this book to all.

Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/

[Sydney S · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a fan of the author’s shirt designs, I had to request this book. It’s not so much a book to read, or even a graphic novel, but it’s a great little coffee table book. Fans of Rhodes’s art will appreciate this little art book. As long as you know what you're getting, I recommend this. It's literally just a collection of the author's designs. I’d love to have a physical copy when it comes out, just to display.

[Radwa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this arc a couple of week ago, and somehow forgot to add it?
I loved the dark humor in this and would highly recommend it!

I thank Netgalley for the arc!

[Alex Sarll]

A collection of covers for creepy children's books which, more's the pity, don't exist (though the Usborne guides were a pretty good approximation) - the retro-styled likes of Caring For Your Hell Hound and My First Alien Autopsy. You'll probably have seen some online, or even as t-shirts: Let's Summon Demons is very much the hit. There are a few blurbs, even an activity or two (though the wordsearch is made trickier by not saying what words you're after, only that they're spooky, and who's to say Woqugac isn't the name of some dread entity?), but really this is less the sort of book one actually reads than the sort to leave around for visitors to flick through and hopefully grin. Which is a slight problem now 'visitors' have become every bit as strange and forbidden a concept as ghosts, monsters and devils.

(Netgalley ARC)

[Etienne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny as an ARC, not sure I would spend money on a book like that to be honest but yeah I enjoy reading it a lot. In an 80s style of illustrations and pop culture in general, this book is like a catalog or a magazine that propose toys to buy, books, and stuff like that but was is good is that they're like crazy toys or story the «occult» aspect of it. So some kids of satirist dark humor here, I know I explain it horribly wrong but it was good and worth looking at if you can put your hand on it for a cheap price!

[Madara · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Jack and Jill went up the hill
to tetch a pail of water,
The well was cursed.
they fell headfirst,
to vile and gruesome slaughter."

Looking for a perfect gift for the little rascal you know? My Little Occult Book Club is filled with great recommendations that you or the child you know can choose from. Like Let's Sacrifice Toby, Easy Bake Coven, Curses and Spells for Kids and many more.

This was just really short and fun. Some of the illustrations made me giggle and I kind of wish some of the titles were real because I'd most definitely add them to my collection.

Review copy provided by the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Mason :) · Rating 4 out of 5]

AMAZING DRAWINGS. PERFECTION.

[mad mags · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Scholastic Book Club Meets Grady Hendrix

(Full disclosure: I received a free e-ARC for review through NetGalley.)

My Little Occult Book Club is an absolute, 110%, must-read for the following demos:

1. Children of the '80s.
2. Book nerds.
3. The SPN fandom.
4. All of the above.

Graphic artist Steven Rhodes gives the 1980s Scholastic Book Club flyers the Grady Hendrix treatment, to pretty awesome effect.

Here you'll find advertisements for would-be books such as B.M. Hex Gang by Diane Rott, My First Zombie Apocalypse (Abbie Toir), and Alien Abduction Club; connect-the-dots games where the dots = demons; adverts for spirit specs and alien-attracting helmets (for the anti-tinfoil hat crowd); and unholy word search games.

There's even a mock order form at the front of the book! That sound? The squealing of my inner middle-schooler.



Most of the artwork consists of book covers, which seems like it would get repetitious - if not for Rhodes's talent, style, and wicked sense of humor.

According to his bio, Rhodes's designs grace t-shirts in Spencer's and Hot Topic, so that should give you an idea of his overall aesthetic.

I would not object to receiving unisex tees and/or mid-sized posters sporting any of these gems.











I have a soft spot for the sell your soul one, since my youngest brother sold his to a second-grade classmate for a mere fifty cents. Needless to say, we still tease him about it a decade and a half later.

http://www.easyvegan.info/2020/08/25/...

[Bobbie Bomber · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of My Little Occult Book Club from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Oh my god this book was just so much fun and would make for a great book to leave laying around when guest come over. Lol.

This is mainly a graphic book that features the different shirt designs that I have seen around and there are a few that I had never seen before but I need immediately!

The art is fun, funny, really colorful, and just all around eye-catching.

[Amie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun walk down memory lane...with a twist.
It felt like I was shopping for titles to buy at this year's Scholastic Book Fair in Hell.
The drawing's were great. The writing was funny AND punny. I'd love to keep this book out lying around for friends to pick up when they come over.

[Ashley G · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love these illustrations, specifically "Easy Bake Coven" and the "mommy can I keep it?" drawings. Very humorous parody of a Schoolastic book fair catalog. If I had a print copy of this book, I would definitely cut out all of the pages and use them as posters.

[Anna Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun, short little book of Steven Rhodes' nostalgic artwork with a twist. All those kids books like "A Beginner's Guide to [fill in the blank]" morphed into 'My First Alien Autopsy' or 'Let's Conjure Bloody Mary.' The artwork is the best part and I definitely understand why Steven Rhodes has a product line available in franchise's like Hot Topic and Spencer's. Basically a short more compact coffee table book, though I mostly recommend for horror fans (must have a sense of humor though).

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for this review copy, all opinions are my own.

[Deborah van den Berg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Satirical, dark humour combined with gorgeous '70s and '80s inspired artwork? Count me in!

Like vintage catalogues, the work of Steven Rhodes accompany different listings of occult items (and handbooks) that seem to be for sale. A couple of times I had a good laugh over the book covers portraited, especially as it has been linked to children - a group you'd normally keep as far away as possible from the occult and paranormal entities - I'm sure I don't have to mention examples of instances where the combination of both ended up being nothing less than horrifying.

I loved the artwork a lot, as well as the descriptions accompanying them. It often made me long for more information, especially when there was no description present at all. I would have loved to read a short excerpt from the book on how to care for your demon cat, for example. My favourite print by far must have been the "Worship Coffee" one, mostly because it reminded me of my own childhood where I kept asking for coffee, only to be rejected almost as many times.

I doubted between 3 and 4 stars, as it isn't a book I'd read very often. To me it feels more like a funny gift to someone interested in the occult or paranormal, but I doubt I would buy it for myself. However, the artwork is impressive, and the idea of molding it into a catalogue is interesting to say the least. Given the fact it made me laugh quite a few times - and even my boyfriend when he looked at my screen asking wtf I was looking at - I will gladly give it 4 out of 5 stars.

- Thanks to Netgalley and Chronicle Books for an ARC in exchange for my honest review -

[Theediscerning · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, I have to say this was better than I at first thought. It's a direct, played-straight parody of old-fashioned mail order catalogues, designed for kids with too much pocket money and parents gullible enough to send a cheque off in the post for them to get absolute tat. In our world that would have been X-ray glasses, fortune-telling plastic fish and Charles Atlas bumf. Here, in the Occult Book Club ("unsubscribing is not an option") you buy books warning of stranger danger that feature the neighbourhood idiot going off with an alien, and guides to pyrokinesis, caring for satanic pets and summoning the devil. You get activities to do, such as joining the dots (not exactly 666 of them, but the results are the same) and taking part in the latest dance craze, walking down stairs on your hands while head first and upside down. It does feature some weakly feeble puns of the wackily-named fictional author variety, but I certainly laughed at the rest, and the designs, evoking our childhood advertising and book covers from the 1970s, are spot on. I don't think it's something you'd read through often, but going into this knowing it's a cheesy 'gift book', I think you'd be well satisfied.

[AlenGarou · Rating 5 out of 5]

Questo è, senza ombra di dubbio, il catalogo più bello che abbia mai visto in vita mia.
Curato nei minimi dettagli, con quel vibes anni 80’ immancabile, apre le porte allo spiritismo per bambini e dilettanti. Insomma, chi non vuole avere una fornitura di cassette maledette, degli occhiali per poter vedere gli spiriti e diversi manuali su come sacrificare i propri amici o imparare la pirocinesi? Credetemi, c’è di tutto e di più! Inoltre vi sono molti giochi divertenti con cui passare il tempo mentre si decide quale cucciolo infernale sia meglio adottare.
Aggiungiamoci pure un poster gratis e bingo!
Ok, ridendo e scherzando: se Rhodes deciderà di scrivere altro avrà immediatamente i miei soldi!

[Lanae · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do you have fond memories of the 80s Scholastic book fliers? Do you like horror / paranormal / fantasy?

If you answered yes, this is the book for you. Although it isn't what most folks would call a coffee table book, this is one you will want to lay around as there are more pictures than text.

Probably not for those who are easily offended or who cannot find humor in things like Satan.

I would totally wear most of these covers as t-shirts. I hope there are t-shirts! There is one about coffee that my hubby definitely needs. I know many who would want the Death Metal cover on a shirt or poster. I have a very sweet demon cat, there is a cover for that book too! I need the My Imaginary Friends Think I’m Cool as a shirt.

Let us not forget the activities - connect the dots, a maze, a word search, a paper doll, a coloring page, how to make shadow puppets, all mixed up (finding objects to help Molly on her vampire hunt), Who lives here, where you match the monster to their homes. Odd One out where you help a witch pick which animals make a good familiar and which one would not.

This is a super fun book!

[Natalia · Rating 5 out of 5]

No plot spoilers for this one because there is no plot, but I’ll be damned if I didn’t laugh-out-loud the entire time reading and going through these pictures.

My Little Occult Book Club is for anyone looking for a good laugh. Do you know that t-shirt so many people seem to have, the “Let’s summon demons” one with a kid laying in a pentagram? No? Okay, go look it up, because that is the exact thing you’re going to find in My Little Occult Book Club. I’m not even joking. That image is actually in the book. HA.

I really couldn’t stop laughing, and I don’t think I can say it enough.

This book has images which I totally want poster copies of to hang on my walls, such as “My first voodoo doll,” “Everybody’s doing the spider-walk,” “Let’s call the exorcist,” and “Easy bake coven!”

What I found most funny is that this book is written as though you could send away for different items like the Cursed Videocassette, as featured on TV! I mean, come on. Who wouldn’t want to have a video to curse their home, Ring-esque style??

Overall, the book was short and demonically-sweet, sitting at about eighty-or-so pages, that will leave you dying for more!


Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this review copy!

[Lena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Steven Rhodes is a creative genius, a visionary, and a god amongst men. His art is rapidly taking over my walls and my wardrobe and my mug collection. I just can't stop throwing my money at him, I truly can't.

This book is a work of art. The attention to detail is absolutely incredible, especially the fake author names for the books advertised in the catalogue. The paper quality is beautiful, too. I hope we get many more of these in the future, because I'd love to have a giant My Little Occult Book Club collection on my bookshelf.

[Reina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do you miss ordering books from a catalog? Was the Scholastic Book Fair the best part of your school year? Do you see horrifying visions of blood and bones when you close your eyes, reminding you of your own mortality and also of that man you hit with your car and left for dead? This may be the right book of illustrations for you.

I wish I had the book Your Changing Body as a kid, so I could've been more aware and really more confident of my time of the month. I wasted so much time on clothes that ripped apart during my change, and ate so many whole rabbits. So, so many whole rabbits. If I had known more about lycanthropy to begin with, I would've been so much safer and probably way cooler in middle school. I think I probably did have the Cursed Videotape, though. Or maybe that was just a videotape of Mac and Me I forgot to return to Blockbuster.

Either way, this book is a fantastic look at Steven Rhodes' spooky retro art. You could use it as a great coffee table book, give it to a friend, or anoint it with some grave dust and animal fat before burying it under the right cornerstone of your enemy's house. They deserve it. They know what they did.

[Dev · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an ARC copy of this book from NetGalley

actual rating: 3.5

This was a fun book to look through but didn't really have enough content for me to feel like I should bump it up to 4 stars. A few of the book covers also had a plot summary to go with them which were really funny so I wish they had done that with more or all of the covers. Still, the art is really good and the 80s children's book meets classic horror tropes idea is a very good one. Probably would be good as a coffee table book or maybe even to take apart and frame some of the pages if you get the physical copy.

[Nash Bridges · Rating 5 out of 5]

These need to be real. I love this idea of kids books having to do with horror/occult/monsters and Cryptids.....

One of my favorite reads this year honestly as it reads like a Golden Book with activities.

[LeAnna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this nostalgia-filled send-up -- it really captured the essence of being a kid who loved those Scholastic Book Fairs (and also has a penchant for dark humor and 70's/80's horror). So much so that I wish some of these titles were real...does that make me sound creepy?

The tone was pitch perfect, the art was fantastic. A fun little romp, especially for fans of Grady Hendrix.

*ARC provided by Net Galley and publisher in exchange for honest review.