Reviews

The Haunted Playground by Shaun Tan

brambresseleers's review against another edition

mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

bookgirlsummer's review against another edition

fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

mjfmjfmjf's review against another edition

3.0

Children's ghost story from an author more known as an artist. The book did have some illustrations which were. fine. It wasn't told as a campfire story so it didn't come across as a classic ghost story. But close enough. The pov character never really becomes someone we know, and the ghosts are just vaguely interesting. And it's not too creepy. So okay but nothing all that special.

aftanith's review against another edition

4.0

For a book that's only about seventy pages--with fairly huge print to boot--I was quite surprised how creepy this managed to be! With a "Scholastic Guided Reading Level" of M, it's intended for second graders, and if I'd read it at that age, I definitely would have loved it. Of course, the story is super simple and the extremely sudden ending is a bit disappointing... but it's several leagues better than I was expecting, making The Haunted Playground a pleasant surprise.

If you have a young child (four to eight, depending on their reading proficiency) who enjoys scary stories, I'd recommend giving this one a chance.

angelofmine1974's review

dark fast-paced

3.0

My review of this book can be found on my YouTube Vlog at:

https://youtu.be/b8FKMDJUbek

Enjoy!

cvt's review

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

psychoxkitty's review against another edition

3.0

was a quick creepy read

cmiller0401's review against another edition

3.0

The writing was ok (good for a kids audience), not the great writing found in his "Tales from Outer Suburbia" (but that was geared towards more mature readers). His usually wonderful illustrations were so simple in this book, and since it wasn't so much a picture book, they were also few and far between.

mayhap's review

3.0

Spare and creepy.

sarahsponda's review

2.0

I expected more!--even the illustrations (where Tan should SHINE) were unimpressive. This was a pretty standard "first chapter book," predictable and bland.

I like Tan's picture books better.