Welcome to Top Grade: CanLit for the Classroom, a blog and preview video series that features new releases from Canadian book publishers ideal for use in K-12 classrooms and school library collections. Throughout the year, we dive into new titles, highlighting relevant curriculum links and themes.
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Written by secondary school teacher Spencer Miller
If you’ve ever been the third or fourth (or fifth or sixth) substitute teacher to walk into a classroom in a week, you know how difficult it can be to engage a group of students who’ve been out of routine for too long. As a substitute teacher, one trick I carried up my sleeve was to dim the lights, lower the blinds, and read a scary story from Jeff Szpirglas’ Tales from the Fringes of Fear. I loved reaching a suspenseful moment or arriving at a sudden twist and hearing a class of students gasp, groan, or whisper about what the character should do to escape.
Horror is highly engaging. And that’s just one thing I like about bringing the genre into the classroom. Here are a few other reasons for why I encourage reading horror stories:
- Explore fear. Fear is a normal, healthy, everyday emotion. But fear can also grow out of control. Reading horror is a good way for students to explore fear in a safe and comfortable environment.
- Promote problem-solving. While reading, students can pause to consider what they would do if they found themselves stuck in a scary situation.
- Dig into creative writing. Horror writers know how to make you squirm in your seat or make your heart race. Guide students to look for details in the text that build suspense or establish a creepy setting.
- Encourage friendship and teamwork. What’s the number one rule in horror stories? Don’t split up! In horror stories, students can see examples of brave young people willing to stand together to face any challenge.
- Grow confidence and hope. Spoiler alert! In children’s and young adult horror, the protagonist always escapes, overcomes, or defeats the horror in the end. Horror stories teach that young people can do scary things and that good triumphs over evil every time.
Of course, it’s important to find horror books that are age and school appropriate. Dive into the creepy, the thrilling, the supernatural, and the paranormal and find what fits best in your classroom. Explore what’s new in children’s and young adult horror from Canadian authors and illustrators in the book list below!
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Bog Myrtle (ages 6-11) is a witty and creepy early reader graphic novel. This modern folktale features a drafty old house, a grumpy older sister, and spiders of various sizes. There are also lessons to be learned about the dangers of greed and the blessings of living sustainably.
In Class: Have some fun with these activity sheets and support the spiders on strike.
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Teddy Vs. The Slimy Evil (ages 8-12) is part of the Secrets of Ravensbarrow, an illustrated novel series that’s “funny with a side of scary”. Includes positive representation of a main character with anxiety among an inclusive cast of characters.
In Class: Keep the conversation going with this discussion guide.
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Ghosts of Gastown (ages 8-12) is a gripping ghost story with alot going on under the surface. The story follows 12-year-old Hope Graves who can see the dead. When Hope and her mom, a popular horror novelist, move to the Gastown area of Vancouver and into an ancient apartment that sits over a weird crystal shop, Hope’s encounters with the beyond escalate.
In Class: Do some research and find some ghost stories and haunted history local to you.
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Bad Bot and Creepy Classroom (ages 9-12) are two new books in the Orca Shivers series that offers fast-paced, quick reads designed to thrill. With short chapters, illustrations and intriguing horror scenarios, these books will keep middle-grade readers turning pages.
In Class: Challenge students to write a flash fiction horror story about an everyday situation turned bad.
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Pages of Doom (9-12) is a collection of bite-sized scary stories that put characters into all types of frightening situations. Many of the scary stories take place in a school setting (author Jeff Szpirglas is a teacher).
In Class: Step outside of the classroom and film some silent 1-minute horror films in the hallways of your school.
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Beast (ages 14 and up) is a supernatural 19080s-era nostalgia YA horror novel set in the Northwest Territories. The story revolves around a “The Treaty” between the Dogrib and the Chipewyan that protects the community as it becomes threatened by an ancient being and includes themes of friendship, tradition and forgiveness.
In Class: Learn what Indigenous storytellers have to say about scary stories and the wisdom they hold.
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God Flare (ages 15 and up) is the third volume in the Reckoner Rises graphic novel series—celebrated for bringing a fresh perspective to the superhero genre, weaving in elements of horror, Cree culture and conversations about mental health.
In Class: Discuss representation of mental illness and disability in media. Make a list of other positive depictions in books, TV shows, and movies.
>> View and download this book list
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Spencer Miller is a teacher, writer, reader, and fan of the Toronto Raptors. He is currently pursuing graduate studies at the University of Calgary (Treaty 7). You can follow more of Spencer’s passion for books on Instagram @SpencerBMiller.
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