Do you know what goes bump in the night?

Recommended for grades 4-8

I would always walk past The Last Apprentice series books’ by Joseph Delaney while working at Borders, with the thought that it was just some Harry Potter wannabe.  Then, I noticed that the newer titles in the series picked up in popularity toward the last few years I was working.  A tiny seed had planted itself on my “to-read” shelf.  Finally, this past December, I decided to check out the audio book from the library to listen to on the way to and from work.  I should be on the Odyssey Award for Excellence in Audiobook Production committee because I manage to listen to so many children’s books on tape.  And I fancy myself doing pretty well judging a book on its quality.  It’s really a simple piece of criteria I judge with…is the audio book fascinating enough that I want to listen to it before AND after work.  Will I trade my relaxing, music-filled, yet traffic-bound drive home for an audio book, which requires some concentration? 

I wasn’t even through the first disc of Revenge of the Witch and I wanted to write this post, which lands the book in another rare category I have for my blog (it’s under very rare circumstances that I post about a book before finishing).  Delaney is an incredible writer!  One reviewer said The Last Apprentice series was a step above Goosebumps.  I disagree.  Delaney’s old world setting mixed with descriptive language about the things that go bump in the night—such as boggarts, witch’s and ghouls—is more than a step above Goosebumps (and I love Goosebumps).  It almost reminds me of a younger version of The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey. 

The job of the Spook is to take care of all that gives others nightmares—it’s a lonely and tough job, but someone’s gotta do it.  Thomas Ward, the twelve-year-old protagonist, who is the Spook’s newest apprentice, has a strong voice in this book.  The reader feels for him throughout the first book.  Tom and the Spook complement each other in this book and make for intriguing interactions.  The sense of adventure and suspense is palpable as Tom is tricked and befriended by a young witch, who comes from a family of highly malevolent witches.  Scenes throughout this book are creepy enough to keep even the most ardent scary story readers on their toes. 

I ordered this book for my library because I knew my 4^th and 5^th graders would eat this story up.

Delaney, J. (2005). Revenge of the witch. New York, NY: Harper Children's Audio.

Which One Is The Real Ghost?

Recommended for ages K to 2^nd

Unique ghost story just in time for Halloween…

It should come as no surprise to people who know me that Jon Muth’s character, Stillwater, is one of my favorites…hint: on the cover, he’s the one who is black and white. Stillwater, aside from being a panda, is very wise and has managed to take siblings, Michael, Addy, and Karl through some wonderful Zen stories (Zen Shorts and Zen Ties). Muth’s most recent contribution is Zen Ghosts. Right away, several of my favorite things are combined into one story—picturebook with an enlightened purpose, pandas, and Halloween/ghost stories.

This time around—the excitement for siblings Michael, Addy, and Karl is all in the decision of what they get to be for Halloween. The youngest sibling, Karl has decided to be a monster, reminiscent of Godzilla—in the illustrations, his monster mask displays the same emotions that Karl feels or is acting out (quite delightful, actually). And even though Karl declares that Michael has to decide on one thing to be, Michael ends up being an “Owl-Pirate.”

Stillwater invites the siblings to his house to hear a ghost story after they are done trick-or-treating. The storyteller they meet, mysteriously enough, is another panda that resembles Stillwater. This panda tells them the Zen story called “Senjo and Her Soul Are Separated.” It is an old Chinese ghost story, called a “koan” or a story where you have to answer the question for yourself. The story would make a great discussion of how one acts different with different people.

At the end, the only panda left in the room is the storyteller (Stillwater) and where the other panda was, there is now only a mask. This is one picturebook that not only offers a wonderful story, but beautiful illustrations as well.

Muth, J. J. (2010). Zen ghosts. New York, NY: Scholastic.