REVIEW: Boo! by Clive Gifford

BY: DAVEY

Boo! Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Fear (But Were Afraid to Ask) by Clive Gifford is a new illustrated guide to fear from Wide Eyed Editions, an imprint of Quarto. It’s written for readers ages 10 to 13, but I had a blast with it too.

Gifford has written more than 200 books for young readers and won the Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize for Eye Benders. Rohan Eason’s hand-drawn black and white illustrations, inspired by Aubrey Beardsley and Arthur Rackham, make it a joy to flip through.

Across thirteen chapters, the book covers the brain science of fear, famous phobias like Emperor Augustus and his fear of lightning, real hauntings at York’s Treasurer’s House and Ireland’s Leap Castle, how horror movies scare us, and practical tips for facing your own fears.

I’ve spent years traveling to haunted places, so the hauntings section was my favorite, and I’d happily read a whole book from Gifford on the horror movie chapter alone. If you have a young horror fan in your life, this is an easy Halloween gift, and I’m glad to have it on my shelf.