Eric's first day of summer vacation does not go as expected. Wherever he goes, whatever he does, he finds that he's on the receiving end of one horror story after another. The introduction describes the gross urban legends that the boy's family and friends tell him, leading him to believe that they are true. Some of them may be familiar to readers; others may be new, but all will get them to gasp or cringe or shudder. Told as stories within the context of Eric's day, this short book is a quick read that will have special appeal to reluctant readers. The print is large, the pictures are cartoonlike, and the punch lines come quickly. There's a nice tie-in at the end of the book to the first story, told by Eric's older brother, but the selections do not have to be read in any order and the book can be picked up at any point

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