Encourage a love of reading as your child grows by combining their favorite hobbies, like video games, with captivating books that’ll catch and hold their attention until the last page. One great option: Introduce your child to the thrilling books in the Five Nights at Freddy’s series. Written by Scott Cawthon, the creator of the renowned media franchise and New York Times best-selling author, this series is perfect for readers in grades 7 and up who love some good scares.
This series is based on the imaginative and frightening original video game. In it, players watch the first-person story of a nighttime security guard working a shift at a Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza. Tasked with surviving the night via the use of various tools, gamers get plenty of spine-chilling thrills as the sinister old animatronics — Freddy Fazbear the brown bear, Chica the yellow chicken, Bonnie the indigo rabbit, and Foxy the red pirate fox — come to life and attack the guard’s post.
Since its initial release date in 2014, this eerie video game series with its nightmarish atmosphere and jump scares has become an instant hit with horror fans. It has also been transformed into popular graphic novels and chapter books with spin-offs that include Tales from the Pizzaplex, the Fazbear Frights series, and even an official novel based on the 2023 film adaptation.
Start with the terrifying first installment, Five Nights at Freddy’s #1: The Silver Eyes, where readers follow Charlie as she and her childhood friends reunite and return to the scene of a horrific crime at her family-owned restaurant, Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza, which has sat abandoned for years. As they work their way inside, they come face-to-face with life-sized animatronic mascots that have changed from sweet characters into evil monsters with a murderous agenda.
In Tales From the Pizzaplex #1: Lally’s Game, Cawthon draws readers into three twisted novellas from other corners of the Five Nights at Freddy's world, like Selena, who is enthralled by an artifact from her fiancé’s past. Meanwhile, Jessica lives a secret double life, away from friends and family, at the children’s wing of a hospital.
No matter what catches your reader’s interest, let them get lost in the pages of terrifying collections likeThe Twisted Ones, The Fourth Closet, and Puppet Carverand watch their love of reading — and their imaginations — continue to grow.
Shop the entire Five Nights at Freddy’s collection below! You can find all books and activities at The Scholastic Store.
Five Nights at Freddy’s Chapter Books by Series
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