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"The DiTerlizzis pack the emotions of a whole novel into a tale with minimal text: It’s funny, poignant, alarming, heartwarming, and easy to read."

—Kirkus Reviews

A Very Scary Book

From NYT bestsellers Angela and Tony DiTerlizzi comes a humorous, social-emotional story about not judging a book by its cover—even if that cover is super scary!

Up in the attic where no one ever goes, there lives a very scary book. He might look scary, but all he wants is a friend. When, one day, he feels brave enough to venture downstairs, he ends up frightening the other books. Will Scary ever be able to find a friend who sees him for who he truly is?

Angela and Tony DiTerlizzi, the bestselling husband-and-wife team behind A Very Cranky Book, have crafted a tale that is both a friendship story and social-emotional fable. It’s the perfect reminder that sometimes good friends can come in unexpected packages.

Published: August 11, 2026
Ages: 4-8
Format: Hardcover, 40 pages
Author: Angela DiTerlizzi
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins Purchase Info

Books in this series

Extras

Browse Art

Check out this very scary art!

Activities

Have fun with these scary activities inspired by the book.

Praise

“A fantastic book for all libraries, just in time for spooky season, with illustrations that are an unforgettable delight.”
–School Library Journal

“The DiTerlizzis pack the emotions of a whole novel into a tale with minimal text: It’s funny, poignant, alarming, heartwarming, and easy to read. As in the earlier installment, photos of actual books are digitally tweaked, imbued with facial features, limbs, and other attributes; dynamic use of perspective gives this tale a dramatic, cinematic flair. A clever reminder not to judge a book by its cover.”
–Kirkus Reviews

Browse Books

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Tony DiTerlizzi: Never abandon imagination.

Imagination is a world of possibility that exists within each of us. It is what makes us uniquely human. It is our creative fingerprint that touches and influences the world around us. Imagination is essential to art and science; to innovation and prosperity. It gives us hope, calls us to action and leads to change.

Whether it’s fairies, dragons, robots or aliens, all of my children’s book characters are siblings born of my imagination – an imagination strengthened through years of encouragement from family, teachers and friends. While so many others abandoned it during their transition from childhood to adulthood, I fiercely held onto mine, hoping for a day when I could share it to inspire the next generation of dreamers. Innovators. World changers.

Imagination empowers us to envision and create a reality of what could be. We must hold it dear, foster it and never abandon it.