the essential children’s books to shiver at night

Playing to scare yourself is the great Halloween game. And to stay with the theme, instead of handing out candy, we suggest offering books that will make the youngest ones shiver.
In the “classic” section, immerse yourself with delight in the series of RL novels. Stine, Goosebumps, published in France by Bayard jeunesse. With more than 400 million copies sold worldwide, it’s THE series that children can read to scare themselves.

On the menu, witches, evil dolls, etc. All handled with humor, which helps defuse any worrying situation. Everything is neat and crafted in these novels with fear “under control” (let’s not forget that they are aimed at children). The fear in this series of novels begins with the cover and the very… creepy titles.

Still in the teen section (9-12 years), Flammarion Jeunesse launched a collection of novels last year in a collection called The Bureau of Strange Stories. Each book, and this is rare, has two indications on the back: age and a degree of fear symbolized by skulls.. On the menu, thrills mixing investigations and horror. But, and this is important, which ends well!

For those who wonder where these monsters that populate our nightmares could come from,Albin Michel Jeunesse editions entrusted Benjamin Lacombe with the direction of a very fine collection of books entitled The encyclopedia of the marvelous.

In volume 5 of this collection, you will understand (or not) why ghosts fascinate us. An encyclopedia where you will discover ghosts from all countries, such as the onryo of Japan, the “gray lady” of Scotland, or the Chinese mogwai, under the talented pen of Sebastien Perez and the drawings of Isabelle Mazzanti.

In the same series and under the pen and drawings of Cécile Roumiguière and Etienne Friessyou will go to meet the Christmas ogress, the Japanese oni, or the slightly creepy ogre of Tom Thumb. To read and devour from 6 years old.

Another classic of children’s literature for which the École des Loisirs has just published a collection: The Witch Cornebidouille, here again humor softens the fear.

The witch Cornebidouille is a witch who comes to terrorize the children (around midnight), especially those who haven’t eaten their soup ! In any case, the story ends well and with a lot of laughter. It must be said that from the start, Cornebidouille meets an adversary equal to him: little Pierre who doesn’t have his tongue in his pocket and doesn’t really care about the witch’s threats.

The Cornebidouille collection consists of 6 books written and illustrated by the duo Pierre Bertrand and Magali Bonniol. To read from 3 years old and… while eating soup.

For ages 6-9, enjoy Cursed reading published by Amaterra. Cursed reading East a collection of 10 stories where Céline Gourjault, the author, and Gemma Palacio, the illustratorskillfully mix fear, thrill and suspense. Ten stories like Bruce MacDouall’s Castle, Bob the Butcher, The Emerald Necklace, Art and nightmares, The undertaker and the witch, Cursed reading or even The path of the dead etc. 10 stories to scare yourself without ending up under the bed!

These ten stories have several advantages: the heroes are the age of the readers (this helps to calm down), the stories do not veer into gore and it is possible to make this book last by picking up one story per evening.

The characters in these stories are the same age as the readers. They will identify and tremble with them! For older children (young adults), the publishing house Gallimard has just launched a new collection directed by Benjamin Lacombe and called Black butterfly. Two titles have just been published, but for this selection, we will retain The Witches of Venice by Sébastien Perez, illustrated by Marco Mazzoni.

Here we are immersed in a post-apocalyptic tale in Venice. It is both a graphic (and beautiful) story and a philosophical tale. Benjamin Lacombe, who directs this collection, details this nugget of literature like this on the Gallimard website: “2045, in an Italy under reconstruction, prey to segregation after a terrible pandemic. We follow the life of Simone, 16 years old, who accompanies his friend Manuele on a quest to save his sister and the child she is carrying. And it is a way for the great author Sébastien Perez to carry. a reflection on the harmful effects of patriarchywhich unfortunately crosses time and the ages.

Because the story will take us to the Middle Ages, to a small Venetian island that has become the refuge of a witch woman. We will also discover his diary in the middle of the book. And all this is narrated graphically by the immense visual artist Marco Mazzoni, who alternates between drawings sketched with colored pencils, very advanced graphic novel plates in black and white and even Indian ink on paper with this journal of a witch. It’s absolutely spectacular, magnificent work.”

And it is. Every page of this book borders on the sublime. Pure art. In this collection you will also find The Picture of Dorian Gray (the text is enriched with previously censored parts reintegrated into the text by Xavier Giudicelli, specialist in Oscar Wilde) illustrated by the painter of emotions Benjamin Lacombe. An exhibition will accompany the birth of this collection Black Butterfly at the Gallimard gallery from November 27.

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