• Age: 9 to 12
• Grade: 4 to 7
• Reading age: 9 to 12

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)

Philippa Dowding is a children’s author, poet, musician and copywriter. She has won many industry awards and has had poetry and short fiction published in journals across North America. Her children’s books have been nominated for numerous literary awards in Canada and abroad, including the SYRCA Diamond Willow, OLA Silver Birch, OLA Red Maple, Hackmatack and White Raven awards. In 2017, Myles and the Monster Outside was an OLA Silver Birch Express Honour Book and her 2021 novel, Firefly, won a Governor General’s Literary Award in the Children’s Literature – Text category. Philippa Dowding currently lives in Toronto, Ontario.

Philippa Dowding's profile page

• Short-listed, Hackmatack Children's Choice Book Award