Alvin Schwartz
Personal Information
Description
Alvin Schwartz began his career as a journalist, but, after the publication of his bestselling book A Twister of Twists, a Tangler of Tongues, he devoted himself to becoming a collector and arranger of folk wisdom, rhyme, and silliness. Schwartz is known for a body of work of more than two dozen books of folklore for young readers that explore everything from wordplay and humor to tales and legends of all kinds. Schwatz is best known for the Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark series, which featured gruesome, nightmarish illustrations by Stephen Gammell. The series was America's most frequently challenged book (or book series) for library inclusion of 1990-1999.
Books
The Scary Stories Treasury
Stories of ghosts and witches, "jump" stories, scary songs, and modern-day scary stories.
An unlikely prophet
"A profound investigation into the shifting nature of identity and reality"--Provided by publisher.
Stories to tell a cat
A collection of cat stories drawn from folklore, some realistic and some fanciful.
I Saw You in the Bathtub
Presents an illustrated collection of traditional folk rhymes, some composed by children.
Gold & silver, silver & gold
Presents legends, true stories, and tall tales about the hunting, finding, and losing of treasure, including pirate treasure and treasure not yet uncovered.
More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark
More traditional and modern-day stories of ghosts, witches, vampires, "jump" stories, and scary songs.
Telling fortunes
A collection of traditional beliefs, popular sayings, and superstitions that can be used as games to determine the future.
Ten Copycats in a Boat and Other Riddles
A collection of riddles selected from folklore around the world.
Tales of trickery from the Land of Spoof
A collection of humorous tales from a variety of sources.
All of our noses are here, and other noodle tales
A collection of five stories about a family of silly people, based on noodle folklore from America, India, Japan, Korea, and the Arabian Nights.
In a Dark, Dark Room and Other Scary Stories
Seven scary stories to tell at night in front of a fire or in the dark, based on traditional stories and folktales from various countries.
There Is a Carrot in My Ear and Other Noodle Tales
A collection of six stories about a family of silly people, based on noodle folklore from America, Europe, and Asia Minor.
Unriddling
A collection of riddles of various traditional types including queer-word, hidden-answer, neck, leg, rebus, and tricky-question riddles.
Busy buzzing bumblebees and other tongue twisters
A collection of forty-six tongue twisters.
Chin music
Presents examples of folk speech used during the period 1815 to 1950. Identifies their meaning and the regions in which they were collected.
When I grew up long ago
Brief statements from people whose childhoods were in the period 1890-1914 on such areas of their past lives as food, social life, music, holidays, and health present glimpses of life in the United States at that time.