Children's Literature

This is book two from "43 Old Cemetery Road" series, which follows Book One, Dying to Meet You. Just the setting of this latest novel in Ghastly, Illinois, promises the reader an exciting ghostly read. Dick Tater, representative for The International Movement for the Safety & Protection of Our Kids (IMSPOOKY), makes life miserable for 11-year-old Seymour Hope after Tater removes the boy from Spence Mansion at Old Cemetery Road and puts him in the Ghastly Orphanage for his "well-being." Seymour is scheduled to remain there until his parents return home from Europe. A ghost story would, of course, not be complete without a resident ghost. Olive C. Spence, the now-deceased former owner of the mansion, fills this role to perfection. Add a somewhat eccentric publisher of ghost stories, Ignatius B. Grumply, and the mixture of characters is a hilarious romp through an imaginative story. The adventure is well-illustrated with cartoon characters, correspondence, official documents, and The Ghastly Times newspaper. The trio works diligently to free Seymour from the Orphanage and Ignatius from the Illinois Home for the Deranged where Tater had incarcerated the publisher. The surprise ending to this well-crafted story will leave the reader wondering why he or she did not think of this perfect solution to reunite the boy, ghost, and publisher. Reviewer: Annie Laura Smith