Weird Stories Gone Wrong
6 primary works • 10 total works
Book 1
The first in a series of scary tall tales from award-winning children's novelist Philippa Dowding.
Why is Grandpa acting so weird? And why are there so many giant flies?
Jake spends every summer on his grandpa's farm. But this year, things are a little weird. First, there are huge flies everywhere. Second, Grandpa is acting kind of funny. And third, Jake's friend Kate keeps trying to scare him with creepy stories. Last year's tale about the swamp creature was bad enough, but this year's story about a hand that someone found in a farmer's field is even worse. And it wasn't just any hand either. It was a giant's hand!
It might just be the creepiest story of all. It can't be real. Can it?
Why is Grandpa acting so weird? And why are there so many giant flies?
Jake spends every summer on his grandpa's farm. But this year, things are a little weird. First, there are huge flies everywhere. Second, Grandpa is acting kind of funny. And third, Jake's friend Kate keeps trying to scare him with creepy stories. Last year's tale about the swamp creature was bad enough, but this year's story about a hand that someone found in a farmer's field is even worse. And it wasn't just any hand either. It was a giant's hand!
It might just be the creepiest story of all. It can't be real. Can it?
Book 2
A series of creepy events follow Myles and his family one rainy night as they move across the country. But the scariest thing has to be the misty, red-eyed figure that won't leave them alone.
Book 3
Carter discovers a creepy maze at the fair and travels farther and farther back in time. How will he ever get back to the present?
The fair is dull, dull, dull, and nothing interesting will ever happen to Carter again ... until Carter discovers the curious maze.
Nothing has ever happened here in the history of the world, he thinks. But the maze has some strange secrets, and the spot Carter stands upon has seen some very exciting events over the centuries.
Once Carter enters the maze, odd people begin to appear. First he meets Mr. Green, the mysterious, creepy maze-keeper, then a leaf-covered girl, a lost little boy in old-fashioned clothes, a wounded British soldier, and finally an eighteenth-century Native boy who seems very authentic, indeed.
When Carter eventually escapes the curious maze, the fair is all wrong. There are too many horses, ladies in bonnets, and what's a freak show doing there? Carter begins his travels through time, and his dull afternoon is about to get very, very interesting.
The fair is dull, dull, dull, and nothing interesting will ever happen to Carter again ... until Carter discovers the curious maze.
Nothing has ever happened here in the history of the world, he thinks. But the maze has some strange secrets, and the spot Carter stands upon has seen some very exciting events over the centuries.
Once Carter enters the maze, odd people begin to appear. First he meets Mr. Green, the mysterious, creepy maze-keeper, then a leaf-covered girl, a lost little boy in old-fashioned clothes, a wounded British soldier, and finally an eighteenth-century Native boy who seems very authentic, indeed.
When Carter eventually escapes the curious maze, the fair is all wrong. There are too many horses, ladies in bonnets, and what's a freak show doing there? Carter begins his travels through time, and his dull afternoon is about to get very, very interesting.
Book 4
Beware The Other ...
Alex is the loneliest boy at school. Not only are his parents away (again), but his beloved cat is missing. Plus, one morning his reflection in the haunted bathroom mirror at school starts talking to him. Then two mysterious strangers in overcoats and sunglasses appear, whispering the same message, over and over: Beware The Other....
But, worse than all that, is the girl with the braid. She looks just like Alex. She's better than him at everything, and they even share the same name. Soon, she's the only Alex anyone can see, at school, at work, even at home. In no time, it's almost as though the real Alex never existed at all.
Can the real Alex outsmart his evil twin and get his life back before she replaces him for good? And, more importantly, who is the real Alex, anyway?
Alex is the loneliest boy at school. Not only are his parents away (again), but his beloved cat is missing. Plus, one morning his reflection in the haunted bathroom mirror at school starts talking to him. Then two mysterious strangers in overcoats and sunglasses appear, whispering the same message, over and over: Beware The Other....
But, worse than all that, is the girl with the braid. She looks just like Alex. She's better than him at everything, and they even share the same name. Soon, she's the only Alex anyone can see, at school, at work, even at home. In no time, it's almost as though the real Alex never existed at all.
Can the real Alex outsmart his evil twin and get his life back before she replaces him for good? And, more importantly, who is the real Alex, anyway?
Book 5
Do you hear the distant drums? And what about that weird screaming ...
Emma Blackwell used to love mermaids. Jonah Blackwell used to love pirates. And William Blackwell tried to be a good captain. Which he would be, if he could get his twin brother and sister to stop fighting long enough to sail their boat, the Peregrine, across the bay. But after the Blackwells see a phantom ship, barely survive a terrible storm, and then mysteriously wake up with seaweed in their mouths, everything changes.
They're becalmed in fog. They run aground on a strange island. They hear distant drums, and their weird adventure begins! The Blackwells face zombie pirates, terrifying mermaids, and a shipwrecked group of cursed ship's figureheads, including a Roman gladiator and an English knight, all led by the strange dolphin-boy, Finn.
It'll make a great sea yarn one day, if they can just survive it.
Emma Blackwell used to love mermaids. Jonah Blackwell used to love pirates. And William Blackwell tried to be a good captain. Which he would be, if he could get his twin brother and sister to stop fighting long enough to sail their boat, the Peregrine, across the bay. But after the Blackwells see a phantom ship, barely survive a terrible storm, and then mysteriously wake up with seaweed in their mouths, everything changes.
They're becalmed in fog. They run aground on a strange island. They hear distant drums, and their weird adventure begins! The Blackwells face zombie pirates, terrifying mermaids, and a shipwrecked group of cursed ship's figureheads, including a Roman gladiator and an English knight, all led by the strange dolphin-boy, Finn.
It'll make a great sea yarn one day, if they can just survive it.
Book 6
Quinn might get used to the food, Work Bots, and creating the Blue Brick (TM) ... but why are children all around him turning blue?
Quinn Fleet, twelve, Packager (QF12P) has only been at the Work Centre for three days, but he's already seen a Caver run away, faced interrogation, and been made to stand in front of a crowd of children in the Grand Hall to apologize for breaking a Blue Brick (TM).
That's when he notices that all the children at the Work Centre look so thin, ragged, and blue.
Why are the children turning blue? Why can they make the strange blue spark when they snap their fingers? What's the blue shimmer in the air? And why do a renegade Work Bot and an Officer want Quinn to lead the NewBlues to the sanctuary of the Quiet, Quiet?
But more than all that, what is the Quiet, Quiet, anyway?
Quinn Fleet, twelve, Packager (QF12P) has only been at the Work Centre for three days, but he's already seen a Caver run away, faced interrogation, and been made to stand in front of a crowd of children in the Grand Hall to apologize for breaking a Blue Brick (TM).
That's when he notices that all the children at the Work Centre look so thin, ragged, and blue.
Why are the children turning blue? Why can they make the strange blue spark when they snap their fingers? What's the blue shimmer in the air? And why do a renegade Work Bot and an Officer want Quinn to lead the NewBlues to the sanctuary of the Quiet, Quiet?
But more than all that, what is the Quiet, Quiet, anyway?
They're troubling. They're bizarre. And they JUST might be true. They're Weird Stories Gone Wrong. Here are three spectacularly spooky books from acclaimed children's author Philippa Dowding that will have you wondering about tall tales, giant flies, and mysterious monsters in the dark. Includes Jake and the Giant Hand Jake doesn't really believe a giant's hand was found in a field near his grandfather's farm, but when Jake begins noticing giant flies buzzing around and Grandpa says the basement is off-limits, he doesn't know what to believe. Myles and the Monster Outside 2016/2017 Hackmatack Children's Choice Book Award - Shortlisted A series of creepy events follow Myles and his family one rainy night as they move across the country. But the scariest thing has to be the misty, red-eyed figure that won't leave them alone. Carter and the Curious Maze Carter discovers a creepy maze at the fair and travels farther and farther back in time. How will he ever get back to the present? ''A well-crafted horror story with a suspenseful buildup and truly creepy details.'' -School Library Journal ''Philippa Dowding has cooked up a delicious blend of mystery, humour, and adventure that middle-grade readers are sure to devour!'' -Richard Scarsbrook (Author of The Monkey-Face Chronicles)
They're troubling. They're bizarre. And they JUST might be true. They're Weird Stories Gone Wrong. Here are two spectacularly spooky stories from acclaimed children's author Philippa Dowding that will have you wondering about tall tales, giant flies and mysterious monsters in the dark. Includes Jake and the Giant Hand Jake doesn't really believe a giant's hand was found in a field near his grandfather's farm, but when Jake begins noticing giant flies buzzing around and Grandpa says the basement is off-limits, he doesn't know what to believe. Myles and the Monster Outside A series of creepy events follow Myles and his family one rainy night as they move across the country. But the scariest thing has to be the misty, red-eyed figure that won't leave them alone. ''A well-crafted horror story with a suspenseful buildup and truly creepy details.'' -School Library Journal ''Philippa Dowding has cooked up a delicious blend of mystery, humour, and adventure that middle-grade readers are sure to devour!'' -Richard Scarsbrook (Author of The Monkey-Face Chronicles)
