by Michael Dahl
Chapter 1: A Bump in the Night
Chapter 2: The Hungry Book
Chapter 3: The Moving Mouth
Chapter 4: Teeth
Chapter 5: Volume 8
Chapter 6: Deep in the Book
Behold the Library of Doom! The world’s largest collection of deadly and dangerous books. Only the Librarian can prevent these books from falling into the hands of those who would use them for evil.
HOW DOES A PERSON FIND THE LIBRARIAN WHEN THEY NEED HIS HELP?
Chapter 1
A Bump in the Night
Jack sits at the computer in his bedroom. He is ALONE.
Well, he thinks he is alone.
Dear Librarian, he types.
I need your help. My brother Tyler needs your help.
He has been EATEN by a book.
I found a website called The Library of Doom, Jack types.
I don’t know if you’ll read this or not. But if you do, you are the ONLY person who can help us.
I have heard that you destroy books that are evil. Well, this book is definitely evil!
Jack hears a noise behind him.
He quickly TURNS around.
He walks over to the bedroom door and makes sure it is LOCKED.
He hears a bump and rustling SOUNDS in the hall outside.
Jack returns to his computer. You have to help me, he types. Before the book eats me next.
Jack hears another BUMP outside the door. Then another.
The bumps are growing louder. Jack begins to type faster.
Chapter 2
The Hungry Book
It all started when Tyler found the book in the DOGHOUSE, Jack types.
Tyler was looking for our dog, Buck.
Buck had been MISSING all day.
When Tyler looked in Buck’s doghouse, he saw a book inside.
The book was very old and very big.
Tyler had TROUBLE reading the cover. He thought it was an adventure book.
Tyler brought the book inside. He took it up to his room to check it out.
He had FORGOTTEN all about Buck.
Tyler tried to open the book, but couldn’t.
He thought the book growled at him. So he threw it in the closet and shut the door.
That night, Tyler heard a noise from his closet. Something was bumping in there.
He came and told me about it, types Jack. But I didn’t believe him. I thought he was making it all up.
I told Tyler to go back to his room.
So he did. That was the LAST time I saw him.
My parents think that Tyler ran away.
But I know what really happened.
That book ATE him.
I know, because I saw its mouth.
Chapter 3
The Moving Mouth
We looked for TYLER the next day, Jack types.
I looked in his closet. I saw an OLD book in there. I figured it must have been the book he talked about.
I picked it up and opened it.
It was weird. On the first page was a picture of a big MOUTH.
I was going to turn the page, but then the mouth moved.
It MOVED its lips toward my hand.
I think I even saw part of a TOOTH.
I threw the book into the closet. It hit the floor.
Then I saw the cover flip open.
The mouth moved like it was chewing something.
That’s when I heard it.
The VOICE.
It came from far away, and sounded just like Tyler yelling.
“Jack,” said the voice. “Save me!”
Chapter 4
Teeth
“Tyler!” I yelled. “Where are you?”
“I’m inside,” he called. “INSIDE the book! Jack, you have to help me!”
I took a step toward the book. It growled. Then it jumped at me!
You should have seen the teeth on that thing.
I RAN out of Tyler’s room and came in here.
That’s when I thought of you, types Jack.
I read somewhere that you help people when they have TROUBLE with books.
Can you help us?
The door to Jack’s bedroom crashes open. The book is there. Its covers open and shut angrily.
Drool OOZES from several of the pages.
“Get away!” yells Jack.
Jack JUMPS up on his bed.
He hopes the book will not be able to reach him up there.
Then the book opens its covers.
The mouth on the front page opens WIDE.
It keeps opening, wider and wider.
The mouth seems to fill the bedroom.
There is a GROWL and a scream.
Seconds later, Jack disappears.
Only his SHOES are left behind, sitting on the bedroom floor.
Chapter 5
Volume 8
In a nearby town, a young girl named Iris REACHES for a book.
She is at an outdoor library sale.
Iris pulls the BOOK out of a box.
“Look, Mom,” she says. “This is the one I was looking for.”
Iris reads the cover. “Harry Potter, Volume ATE.”
“That’s silly,” says Iris’s mother. “They made a mistake. It should say Volume Eight.”
“I don’t care,” says Iris. “I STILL want to get it.”
So Iris buys the book.
That afternoon she sits in her room and begins to READ.
The HOUSE is quiet.
Her parents are next door talking to the neighbors.
Iris opens the book and sees a picture on the first page.
It is a picture of a mouth.
Iris hears a GROWL.
She thinks it is coming from the book.
She JUMPS up from her chair and puts the book on a table.
Suddenly, her younger brother runs into the room. “What’s that noise?” he asks.
“Don’t, Barry,” says Iris. “Get away!”
Then Barry sees the book on the table.
The book flips open its cover. The mouth stretches wide.
Iris screams. “Barry!”
“Iris!” yells the boy.
The book’s mouth seems to fill the room.
Iris closes her eyes.
>
Seconds later, her brother is GONE.
Chapter 6
Deep in the Book
Jack is inside a dark, SLIMY tunnel.
The curving walls of the tunnel glow. Jack can see that the tunnel stretches on and on.
“Tyler! Where are you?” he yells.
Jack sees a shadow in the tunnel. As he gets closer, he sees a young boy. It is not his brother.
“Where did you come from?” asks Jack.
The boy shakes his head. “I want my sister,” he cries.
“Jack!” comes Tyler’s voice. “Help me!”
Jack CRAWLS quickly down the slippery tunnel.
The young boy, Barry, follows him.
Jack sees an opening up ahead.
He sees two hands holding on to the EDGE of the tunnel.
“Jack!” yells Tyler.
Jack’s BROTHER is hanging from the edge of the tunnel.
Below Tyler’s dangling feet is a huge cavern filled with liquid.
The liquid BUBBLES and gurgles.
“Pull me up!” shouts Tyler.
Jack and Barry reach toward Tyler. But their hands are SLIPPERY from the tunnel.
“I can’t hold on!” says Tyler.
Suddenly, a woman appears in the tunnel.
She reaches out a STRONG arm and pulls Tyler to safety.
Then she turns to Jack. “I got your letter,” she says.
“Are you the Librarian?” asks Jack.
She shakes her head. “They call me the Specialist,” she says. “I help the Librarian now and then.”
“You’ll see him soon,” she adds. “But first, let me take care of this.”
The Specialist pulls a book out of her vest. She HURLS it into the bubbling liquid.
“Take a deep breath,” says the Specialist. “And hold on tight!”
The boys grip her hands.
The tunnel begins to shake and thrash.
The liquid EXPLODES.
A wall of bubbling goo shoots into the tunnel.
The goo CRASHES into the Specialist and the boys.
It forces them back through the tunnel.
Jack feels like toothpaste being SQUEEZED through a tube.
Then he hears a girl scream.
Jack looks up and sees that they are all standing in a strange bedroom.
Barry RUNS toward his sister, Iris.
“What kind of book did you use?” says a DEEP voice.
A man stands on the other side of the room.
He is tall and wears DARK glasses and a long coat.
The man is the Librarian.
The Specialist smiles. “Advanced ROCKET science,” she replies.
He nods at the Specialist. “Good thinking,” he says. “That book is hard to digest.”
“This is Jack,” says the Specialist. “He’s the one who WROTE to you.”
“Thanks, Jack,” says the Librarian.
“We have been hunting that EVIL book for months,” the Librarian says. “Each mouth hid behind a different cover.”
“Are there other mouths?” asks Jack.
“Five more,” replies the Specialist.
“We need to find the AUTHOR,” says the Librarian. “Before he writes another book.”
“I want to go home,” says Tyler. “I need a bath after all that.”
The SPECIALIST hands Iris a book.
“I think this is the book you were really looking for,” she says.
The girl’s eyes LIGHT up. “Thank you,” says Iris.
A wind suddenly BLOWS through the bedroom.
The two strangers and the older boys are gone.
Iris and Barry look out the window.
They see four shadows flying through the evening SKY.
Author
Michael Dahl is the author of more than 200 books for children and young adults. He has won the AEP Distinguished Achievement Award three times for his nonfiction. His Finnegan Zwake mystery series was shortlisted twice by the Anthony and Agatha awards. He has also written the Library of Doom series. He is a featured speaker at conferences around the country on graphic novels and high-interest books for boys.
Illustrator
Bradford Kendall has enjoyed drawing for as long as he can remember. As a boy, he loved to read comic books and watch old monster movies. He graduated from Rhode Island School of Design with a BFA in Illustration. He has owned his own commercial art business since 1983, and lives in Providence, Rhode Island, with his wife, Leigh, and their two children Lily and Stephen. They also have a cat named Hansel and a dog named Gretel.
Glossary
advanced (ad-VANSD)—not easy, high-level
adventure (ad-VEN-chur)—exciting, action-packed
cavern (KAV-ern)—a large cave
digest (dye-JEST)—to understand, or to break down as food
disappears (diss-uh-PIHRZ)—goes out of sight
explodes (ek-SPLODEZ)—blows apart with a loud bang and great force
rustling (RUHSS-uhl-ing)—making a soft, crackling sound
slippery (SLIP-ur-ee)—smooth, oily, wet, hard to grip onto
thrash (THRASH)—to move wildly or violently
tunnel (TUHN-uhl)—a passage built beneath the ground or water
Real name: unknown (may begin with a T or a G)
Parents: unknown
Birthplace/birthdate: unknown
Questions: Has he always existed? Will he ever be defeated? Are there books he doesn’t protect?
Weaknesses: Water, crumbs, dirty fingers
Strengths: Speed reading, ability to fly, martial arts
Real name: Sophia (last name unknown)
Parents: unknown
Birthplace/birthdate: America, 20th century
Questions: What is her role in protecting the Librarian? Can she be stopped?
Weaknesses: Bad listeners
Strengths: Does not need sleep, can research anything
V oracious Tome wants nothing more than to devour readers. He traps them with enchanting rare books — books that they have always wanted to read. Then, when they least expect it, the children are swallowed whole by the books.
Eight mouths have been discovered by the Librarian and his associate, the Specialist. Three have been closed forever — two recently, and one decades ago. But Voracious Tome remains at large, and the five mouths that still exist are open.
The mouths could be in any book. Readers are encouraged to be very careful.
Discussion Questions
Why were the books EATING children?
What did you think about the title of this book? Does it match what you felt when you read the STORY?
Who is the Librarian? Who is the Specialist?
Writing Prompts
Look at the TITLES of books in this story. Make a list of books that you would like to read. They can be real books, or you can create your own titles.
Imagine that you were eaten by a book. What does it look like inside? What does it smell like? What sounds can you hear? What does it feel like? Describe the experience.
Write your own LETTER to the Librarian.
EDGE BOOKS ARE PUBLISHED BY CAPSTONE PRESS,
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COPYRIGHT © 2011 BY 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.
THE BOOK THAT ATE MY BROTHER / WRITTEN BY MICHAEL DAHL ;
ILLUSTRATED BY BRADFORD KENDALL.
P. CM. -- (RETURN TO THE LIBRARY OF DOOM)
ISBN 978-1-4342-2144-5 (LIBRARY BINDING)
ISBN 978-1-4965-0443-2 (eBook)
(1. BROTHERS--FICTION. 2. BOOKS AND READING--FICTION. 3. HORROR STORIES.) I. KENDALL, BRADFORD, ILL. II. TITLE.