Chat with us, powered by LiveChat

A Properly Unhaunted Place



by
William Alexander
illustrated by
Kelly Murphy

Edition
Hardcover edition
Publisher
Simon & Schuster
Imprint
Margaret K. McElderry
ISBN
9781481469159

Awards and Honors
Shelf Awareness 2017 Best Books of the Year, Middle Grade Books Kirkus Reviews Best Books of 2017, Middle Grade
POTENTIALLY SENSITIVE AREAS
Language: Mild Language
$15.30   $12.75
SEE MEMBER PRICE
QTY
Out of stock

Jasper has never seen a ghost, and can't imagine his un-haunted town any other way. Then an apparition thunders into the festival grounds and turns the quiet town upside down. Black-and-white illustrations rendered in pencil.

POTENTIALLY SENSITIVE AREAS
Language: Mild Language

Details

Format

Print

Page Count

192

Trim Size

5 1/2" x 8 1/4"

Dewey

F

AR

4.7: points 6

Lexile

640L

Genre

Fiction

Scholastic Reading Counts

9

JLG Release

Oct 2017

Book Genres


Topics

Ghosts. Haunted places. Libraries. Books and reading. Mothers and daughters. Supernatural.

Standard MARC Records

Download Standard MARC Records

Cover Art

Download Cover Art

Praise & Reviews

Starred or favorable reviews have been received from these periodicals:

Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, Booklist, The Horn Book Magazine, Kirkus Reviews*, Publishers Weekly

Horn Book

In this accessible fantasy, Rosa’s mother is a “library appeasement specialist,” famous for her ability to “settle” the ghosts that hang around books. So Rosa is disappointed when, in the wake of her father’s sudden death, her mother takes a job in Ingot, the famously unhaunted town that hosts an annual Renaissance Festival (think “Ye Olde Cappuccinos”). Jasper, son and “squire” to the festival’s African American headliner Sir Morien (Rosa: “I’ve read about a Black Knight . . . ” Jasper’s dad: “ . . . but never a black knight?”), wishes Ingot weren’t so boringly normal. He’s simultaneously thrilled and terrified when an unnaturally animated bobcat with a skull for a head crashes the festival and is handily turned back by Rosa. But when Rosa’s mother loses her voice, lending it to an angry ambulatory tree, it’s up to Rosa, with Jasper’s help, to find out what the restive spirit wants. The ghost lore that Alexander creates—a whole culture that leaves pebbles before mirrors and lights candles to help ghosts “pass between boundaries”—is satisfying in its subtle reveal and coherent structure, including the plot-enabling principle that banishment never works and often backfires. As in any good haunting, the town’s backstory and ghost story are intimately related, and readers will follow along avidly as Alexander’s exciting episodes and resonant images lay out the connections. anita l. burkam

Praise & Reviews

Horn Book

In this accessible fantasy, Rosa’s mother is a “library appeasement specialist,” famous for her ability to “settle” the ghosts that hang around books. So Rosa is disappointed when, in the wake of her father’s sudden death, her mother takes a job in Ingot, the famously unhaunted town that hosts an annual Renaissance Festival (think “Ye Olde Cappuccinos”). Jasper, son and “squire” to the festival’s African American headliner Sir Morien (Rosa: “I’ve read about a Black Knight . . . ” Jasper’s dad: “ . . . but never a black knight?”), wishes Ingot weren’t so boringly normal. He’s simultaneously thrilled and terrified when an unnaturally animated bobcat with a skull for a head crashes the festival and is handily turned back by Rosa. But when Rosa’s mother loses her voice, lending it to an angry ambulatory tree, it’s up to Rosa, with Jasper’s help, to find out what the restive spirit wants. The ghost lore that Alexander creates—a whole culture that leaves pebbles before mirrors and lights candles to help ghosts “pass between boundaries”—is satisfying in its subtle reveal and coherent structure, including the plot-enabling principle that banishment never works and often backfires. As in any good haunting, the town’s backstory and ghost story are intimately related, and readers will follow along avidly as Alexander’s exciting episodes and resonant images lay out the connections. anita l. burkam

Grades 2-6
Mystery/Adventure Elementary Plus
For Grades 2-6

Spine-tingling tales of suspense and adventure compose this 12 book category-filled with both fiction and nonfiction titles. Elementary readers who thrive on a thrill will really spark to these selections.

14 books per Year
$258.44 per Year
Interests
Chapter Books,Fiction,Reluctant Readers
Like this book?
Get more like this every month.
LEARN MORE
Grades 2-6
Mystery/Adventure Elementary Plus
14 books per Year
$258.44 per Year

Other Recommended Titles From Mystery/Adventure Elementary Plus

Mystery/Adventure Elementary Plus

May 2023

City of the Dead

by James Ponti

Mystery/Adventure Elementary Plus

April 2023

Camp Creepy

by Kiersten White

Mystery/Adventure Elementary Plus

March 2023

Children of Stardust

by Edudzi Adodo

Mystery/Adventure Elementary Plus

February 2023
Copyright © 2017 Magento, Inc. All rights reserved.11