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Summary
Summary
BEWARE OF MARY MCSCARY, a fearless, fierce and funny new picture book heroine on a mission to scare her cousin Harry, from beloved, best-selling children's book icons, RL Stine and Marc Brown. A Barnes and Noble Halloween National Storytime pick! Meet Mary McScary. Mary likes to be scary . She scares her mom, her dad, her pets, and even a balloon! But there's just one person Mary can't scare -- her cousin, Harry McScary. He's not afraid of the usual things, like spiders, snakes, and other creepy crawlies. But Mary doesn't give up that easily, and one way or another she'll find a way to give Harry the scare of his life. . . Beware of Mary McScary!Renowned bestselling children's book talents R.L. Stine, creator of the Goosebumps series, and Marc Brown, creator of the Arthur Adventure series, join forces once again in a spine-tingling, wildly funny picture book story featuring a fearless anti-heroine that will have kids and their parents cheering, "BOOOOOO!"
Author Notes
R. L. Stine was born in Columbus Ohio on October 8, 1943. He graduated from Ohio State University in 1965. Under the name Jovial Bob Stine, he wrote dozens of joke books and humor books for kids including How to Be Funny, 101 Silly Monster Jokes, and Bozos on Patrol. He also created Bananas, a zany humor magazine which he worked on for ten years.
His first teen horror novel, Blind Date, was published in 1986 under the name R. L. Stine. His other works include Beach House, Hit and Run, The Babysitter, The Girlfriend, the Goosebumps series, and the Fear Street series. He also wrote an adult novel entitled Superstitious.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-In this their second picture book collaboration, Stine and Brown introduce Mary McScary. Mary delights in scaring everyone but can't find a way to frighten her cousin Harry, so she pulls out all the stops when he comes to visit. Giant spiders, a ferocious gorilla, slimy snakes, a hungry hippo-Mary moans in despair as each dastardly deed backfires. Harry cuddles with the spiders, rides the gorilla, hugs the snakes, and tickles the hippo. Just when it seems like the red-haired fiend will give up, Mary concocts her most devious scheme yet: a kiss! With a long scream, Harry flees, and Mary reminds readers why she is truly scary. Brown's collage illustrations are the real showstopper in this cute, if slightly predictable, story. Mary's expressive close-ups, especially her evil mastermind realization that leads to Harry's downfall, perfectly capture her terrifying charm without plunging the story into depths too spooky. Bright, bold colors stretch across the pages, and Brown's inclusion of famous artwork on the walls, such as Edvard Munch's The Scream, is a subtle nod to the macabre. Stine's use of repetition and patterning makes this an ideal choice for sharing aloud with children, and Harry's humorous responses to Mary's scares allows it to be a gentle choice for younger audiences. VERDICT A first purchase holiday selection for school and public libraries.-Rachel Zuffa, Racine Public Library, WI © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
This second collaboration between Stine and Brown, after The Little Shop of Monsters, turns on one of the oldest jokes: boys hate being kissed by girls. Mary McScary, who "has fun scaring dogs" and "likes to scare goldfish, too," is primed to frighten her Cousin Harry. But sweet-natured Harry-he's essentially Brown's Arthur without the self-doubt-is so at home in the world that when Mary unleashes an angry gorilla, an asphyxiating snake, and a hungry hippo on him, he instantly establishes a relationship with all three creatures. It takes Mary's weaponized kiss-proffered with the girliest of puckers-to send Harry fleeing in horror. Brown's generous sense of scale plays up his pictures' lush textures and bold palette, and few artists are his match when it comes to making good-heartedness a compelling character trait. But there's no real tension: Mary is a one-dimensional brat (her last words are "I told you I was scary!"), and seeing the game-for-anything Harry bolt, even if a not-unreasonable reaction, feels stale. Ages 4-8. (Aug.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
Mary McScary can scare everyone around--except her cousin Harry. Mary throws increasingly large (and dangerous) animals at Harry, but he befriends every creature instead. There's nothing left to do but kiss him ("EEEEEEEEK!"). Stine shows his horror-humor skills, though the repetition grows a bit wearying. Brown's illustrations humorously balance the everyday elements with the creature-feature details. (c) Copyright 2018. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Mary McScary takes her name very seriously, but will she manage to scare her unscarable cousin Harry? The cover illustration embodies Mary's personality: flaming red hair in braided pigtails, an obviously unique sense of style, and quirked mouth and slanted eyebrows signaling her determination. Even the white girl's stance speaks volumes: arms flung out to open a set of double doors, legs widely spaced. The thought of tangling with Mary might bring to adult readers' minds the boy from O. Henry's "Ransom of Red Chief." Indeed, Mary lives to scare, and she practices her art on her family members and pets at every opportunity. But she has yet to scare Harry, who has come for a visit. Will her hairiest monster costume work? A gorilla or jarful of spiders? What about snakes or a hippo? All fail. But just when Harry believes Mary's pronouncement that she's quit, she turns to him to admit defeat and puckers up. That sends him running away screaming! Brown's illustrations just may be the bane of parents everywhere, as they are a trove of ideas for mischief-making young readers. Mary's cat is especially expressive, and adults will chuckle at some of the artwork on the wall. Readers should indeed heed Stine's repeated refrain and "Beware of Mary McScary!" (Picture book. 3-7) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
