by Michael Dahl
a person who is cheated, tricked, or made to suffer
wiggling (WIG-uhl-ing) —
making short, quick movements
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
In “Dead End,” Ren gets lost in his own neighborhood. Have you ever gotten lost? Discuss how it made you feel.
In the story “Pickled,” Garvey is trapped inside a tornado shelter with a family that has been hiding there for years. Garvey’s friends run away, leaving him there alone. Discuss what you would’ve done if you had been there.
Norman is terrified of bedbugs in the story “Don’t Let the Bedbug Bite.” Talk about the things you’re most afraid of.
WRITING PROMPTS
I wrote “One Hundred Words” with a challenge in mind. Respond to the prompt that I used to help me come up with the first story in this book:
What if you only had one hundred words to tell a story? What if something terrible was happening to you, and you only had one hundred words to ask for help?
Imagine you are Livia in the story “The Doll that Waved Goodbye.” Write a version of the story from Livia’s point of view.
Monsters, like the ones in “Meet the Parents,” often show up in scary stories. What kind of monster scares you the most? Is it a ghost? A zombie? A goblin? Or something in between? Write a paragraph describing the monster.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Michael Dahl, the author of the Library of Doom and Troll Hunters series, is an expert on fear. He is afraid of heights (but he still flies). He is afraid of small, enclosed spaces (but his house is crammed with over 3,000 books). He is afraid of ghosts (but that same house is haunted). He hopes that by writing about fear, he will eventually be able to overcome his own. So far it is not working. But he is afraid to stop. He claims that, if he had to, he would travel to Mount Doom in order to toss in a dangerous piece of jewelry. Even though he is afraid of volcanoes. And jewelry.
ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR
Xavier Bonet is an illustrator and comic-book artist who resides in Barcelona. Experienced in 2D illustration, he has worked as an animator and a background artist for several different production companies. He aims to create works full of color, texture, and sensation, using both traditional and digital tools. His work in children’s literature is inspired by magic and fantasy as well as his passion for the art.
Michael Dahl’s Really Scary Stories is published by Stone Arch Books
A Capstone Imprint
1710 Roe Crest Drive
North Mankato, Minnesota 56003
www.capstonepub.com
© 2016 Stone Arch Books
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Dahl, Michael, author.
The doll that waved goodbye : and other scary tales / by Michael Dahl ; illustrated by Xavier Bonet.
pages cm. --
(Michael Dahl’s really scary stories)
Summary: Livia wears a small porcelain hand around her neck, all that is left of a doll that once belonged to her grandmother, but on the first night at summer camp the hand comes alive and terrifies an envious cabinmate--and there are plenty of chills in five other stories in this collection.
ISBN 978-1-4965-0595-8 (library binding)
ISBN 978-1-4965-2333-4 (ebook pdf)
ISBN 978-1-4965-3909-0 (ebook)
Dolls--Juvenile fiction. 2. Horror tales. [1. Horror stories. 2. Short stories.] I. Bonet, Xavier, 1979- illustrator. II. Title.
PZ7.D15134Do 2016
813.54--dc23 [Fic]
2015000126
Designer: Hilary Wacholz
Image Credits: Dmitry Natashin