by Jill Philby

With Halloween just around the corner, Ames Public Library lends more spooky stories than usual.  Older children and teens love a good scare and will read books like Aaron Reynolds’ “Creepy Tales!” series, “The Jumbies” by Tracey Baptiste, or Katherine Arden’s “Small Spaces” series at any time of year. But books like Alvin Schwartz’ “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark” are especially popular the closer we get to Halloween. 

Kids and teens love books that are scary, and the thrill in feeling the goosebumps on your arms or the shiver down your spine can be enticing.  Even though you know everything will turn out fine in the end, the suspense that keeps you reading to find out if it truly will be fine is the mark of a great story.

Even little kids enjoy a suspenseful story.  The anticipation in not knowing what will happen next can bring feelings ranging from excitement to indignation to wide-eyed dread. And then laughter and relief as these same stories often have a surprisingly funny twist that leads to a happy ending.

Scary stories are a wonderful way for kids of any age to safely learn how to handle fears.  Safely because reading a book gives kids control over how much scary they are able to handle.  They can read a bit at a time, ask you to stop reading, be reassured, snuggle for comfort, or put the book away until they feel ready to handle confronting something frightening. 

And when they are ready to handle that scary story, it helps them build resiliency.  They see good characters confront bad characters or scary situations and see how those characters conquer their fears to become safe, secure, and even powerful. 

Still not comfortable reading a scary book to a younger child? That’s okay!  Instead put the kids in their Halloween costumes and come to Ames Public Library’s Family Storytime on Halloween morning at 10:30am to join in a sweetly spooky Halloween-themed Family Storytime!  We will read some Halloween books, sing songs about spiders, and stomp around the room like monsters! Follow up storytime with a craft and a bit of trick-or-treating in the library, and create some not-so-spooky Halloween memories with your kids.