We tend to associate spooky tales with Halloween, but summer is a great time for them. No doubt many of us remember sitting by a campfire, roasting marshmallows and listening to stories aimed to make it hard to sleep that night. And really, who wants to sleep during the peak of summer's long days? It's too hard to leave off the fun. And with friends around, feeling frightened is fun; the shared feeling builds camaraderie. Think of the story "The Shivers" from Arnold Lobel's Frog and Toad books. Come to think of it, they were sitting by a fire too:
Here are some chilling middle grade novels to inspire the shivers: