Cover Image

Scarum fair

by Swaim, Jessica.

Format: Print Book 2010
Availability: Available at 1 Library 1 of 2 copies

Available (1)
Location Collection Call #
South Park Library Juvenile j811.6 SWA
Location  South Park Library
 
Collection  Juvenile
 
Call Number  j811.6 SWA
 
 
 
Unavailable (1)
Location Collection Status
Northland Public Library Children's Nonfiction CHECKED OUT
Location  Northland Public Library
 
Collection  Children's Nonfiction
 
Status  CHECKED OUT
 
 

Summary
Enter the Scarum Fair ... if you dare! Take a ride on the Scary-Go-Round and Teacup Terror, or enter the Coffin Race. Meet The Head, The Hand, and Madame Ratowski, the palm reader who likes to be paid in swiss cheese. Visit the chiropractic tent of Dr. Crunch, who'll "pulverize your sternum, and disconnect your knee, then move your metatarsals where your tailbone used to be." And unusual food awaits: sample some cat-hair stew, I-scream, and a type-A blood-red punch. Cap off the entertainment with a special event: Count Dracula's wedding. Jessica Swaims's deliciously creepy, funny poems are brought to life by Carol Ashley's gorgeous, ghoulish illustrations in this CRA Eureka! Nonfiction Children's Silver Honor Book.
Published Reviews
Booklist Review: "There's something about the singsong nature of rhyming poetry the assurance of that inevitable final-line shock that makes it an ideal delivery method for the spooky. In this macabre little exercise, a group of children (themselves rather scary, with their dark-ringed eyes making them look sleepless or haunted) enters Scarum Fair, where various monsters, sinister forces, and hybrid creatures sell their wares and operate games of skill. A giant green hand points out the various routes: Or flip a coin / to help you choose. / Heads or tails, / you're bound to lose. There are the expected vampires and mummies and occasional groaners ( I-Scream ), but this is a mostly fresh take, offering up decomposing bands, mad tattoo artists, haunted teacup rides, and more. Ashley's acrylics-and-graphite art provides plenty of creepy touches, from the confusing, Seussian road signs to stuff that gleefully defies explanation (the egg incubator from one poem is, weirdly enough, mounted atop someone's head). Books of poetry are usually episodic, so bonus points for all the repeat characters referenced in both the text and illustrations.--Kraus, Daniel Copyright 2010 Booklist"
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Publisher's Weekly Review: "A little bit silly, a little bit sinister, Swaim's poems introduce different denizens and attractions at the playfully twisted Scarum Fair. There's devil's food cake to eat, shrouds for sale, and a werewolf den to visit-"Like our friendly canine cousins,/ we're a cute and cuddly bunch./ Just think of us as puppies,/ and we'll think of you as... lunch." Ghoulish images of eyeless fanged creatures of every sort make this a punchy treat for fans of the macabre. Ages 9-11. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved."
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Additional Information
Subjects Carnivals -- Juvenile poetry.
Ghouls and ogres -- Juvenile poetry.
Carnivals -- Poetry.
Ghouls and ogres -- Poetry.
Poetry.
Children's poetry, American.
Humorous poetry, American.
Publisher Honesdale, Pa. :Wordsong,2010
Edition 1st ed.
Contributors Ashley, Carol.
Language English
Description 31 pages : color illustrations ; 29 cm
ISBN 9781590785904 (alk. paper)
1590785908 (alk. paper)
Other Classic View