Uncanny (short story collection) facts for kids

Uncanny is an exciting book filled with short stories by the famous Australian author Paul Jennings. It was first released in 1988. This book is the fourth in a series of amazing story collections from him.

Amazing Stories in Uncanny

This book is packed with nine thrilling and sometimes spooky tales. Get ready to read about strange events, funny characters, and unexpected twists!

On the Bottom

A boy goes fishing with his dad. He finds something really weird: a finger with a bear tattoo! This tattoo then comes to life. It shows the boy to its original owner. This person is covered in many tattoos. Suddenly, all those tattoos come alive too! They jump onto the boy, making things very strange.

A Good Tip for Ghosts

Twin brothers start at a new school. A bully makes them touch some false teeth. He forces them to visit a haunted garbage dump at night. If they don't, he promises to beat them up. But then, a ghost at the dump appears! The ghost says he has been looking for those false teeth. In the end, the bully gets a taste of his own medicine. The ghost starts to haunt him, just as the brothers asked! This story was later made into an episode of Round The Twist.

Frozen Stiff

An old man earns money by collecting dead animals. He freezes them in his ice factory. In another part of the story, a mean man keeps a cow locked up at his home. A different boy tries to help the cow. He wants to get it back to the countryside where it belongs.

UFD

A boy tells his family he saw a flying dog. But no one believes him! He makes a big bet with his father. If he can prove he saw a flying dog, his dad will give him a thousand dollars. If he can't, the boy has to wash dishes for three years!

Cracking Up

A boy gets into a lot of trouble with his angry teacher. His worst punishment is looking after the teacher's pot plant for one night. But there's a bigger problem. Two people died in his new bedroom! The spirit of one person starts to tickle him. This makes him break the pot plant. The next day at school, the spirit follows him. Only he can see it. He gets blamed for everything the spirit does!

Greensleeves

A poor man makes money by blowing up tree stumps. He sells the wood chips as firewood. One day, a huge whale washes up on the shore. It dies and causes big problems for the town. The man is promised a lot of money. He just needs to get rid of the whale.

Mousechap

A boy stays at his aunt and uncle's house. His uncle has started acting like a mouse! So, he is locked in the basement. His aunt explains that the uncle invented a special mousetrap. This machine doesn't kill mice. Instead, it makes them run away. Meanwhile, a mouse in the boy's room starts acting like a person! The boy later discovers something amazing. If two animals touch the machine at the same time, their brains swap places!

Spaghetti Pig-out

A boy is always lonely at school. The school bully never lets anyone be friends with him. He is also lonely at home because he doesn't have much technology. But one day, he gets a strange video player. Its remote control also works on people! However, the bully eventually steals the remote. Back at school, they both enter a spaghetti-eating contest. The winner gets a free holiday! The bully uses the remote's fast-forward function to eat too much spaghetti. He gets sick and is disqualified. This allows the lonely boy to win the holiday! This story was later made into an episode of Round The Twist.

Know All

A family finds a box of old circus outfits. Whoever wears them gains the skills of the person who first owned them. Even a scarecrow gets special abilities when dressed in one of the outfits. But the original owner of that scarecrow outfit was not a very nice person! This story was later made into an episode of Round The Twist.