Children's Books discussion

Happy Halloween! For October, the theme in the Fiction Club will be middle grade novels featuring the mysterious, the uncanny and of course also the creepy and frightening (and also Halloween as a holiday). And just like with the previous months (and because many libraries are still under covid 19 restrictions and also facing increasing closures as the second wave is seemingly now upon us), participants are encouraged to also list and review, suggest their own middle grade creepy and ghostly choices.

BOOKS TO READ

Ghosts
Beholding Bee
Ghost Knight
The Goblin Squad
The Beasts of Clawstone Castle
The Best Halloween Ever
The Children of Green Knowe
Tom's Midnight Garden
The Secret Horses of Briar Hill
The Ghost Next Door

BOOKS I HAVE ALREADY READ THAT I THINK FIT

The Swallow: A Ghost Story
The Ghost Road
The Little Ghost (Das kleine Gespenst)
The Great Ghost Rescue
The Ghosts
The Doll in the Garden
The Old Willis Place
Castle Hangnail
The Ghost of Northumberland Strait
The Girl in the Locked Room: A Ghost Story

Not sure which book I will start with, but am especially looking forward to finally be reading Beholding Bee, Tom's Midnight Garden and The Children of Green Knowe.

But actually did end up deciding to start with Ghosts.

Ghosts

To tell the truth, I first read Raina Telgemeier's 2016 graphic novel Ghosts earlier this year, but have not really until just now managed to figure out how to actually be star ranking Ghosts and what kind of a review I would be posting.

Now I have certainly found both reading joy and exquisitely rendered pain within Raina Telegemeier's printed words (and have also found Telgemeier's accompanying artwork for Ghosts to be bright and imaginative but also at the same time still a realistic enough visual compliment to the latter, to her text) and with little Maya's increasingly losing battle with cystic fibrosis certainly bringing tears to my eyes but also feelings of immense pride with regard to how bravely and often with an engaging sense of humour Maya tries to deal with her affliction, and yes, with older sister Catrina's feelings of guilt that she rather often seems to feel impatient with and even at times resentful towards her little (and seriously ill) sister and that she is also majorly incensed at the family having had to move to a new area of California due to Maya's CF (with the hope that the more humid and foggy climate there will be better for her precarious health) both leaving me emotionally tenderhearted and full of sympathy but also sometimes and indeed rendering me quite majorly livid and furious as well with regard to how Cat is often behaving quite massively annoyingly and acting horribly towards not only her family but really towards quite everyone in town (at least at the beginning of Ghosts).

However, albeit that the family story as it is related in Ghosts (about a mother and father with a chronically and genetically ill young daughter and how this and the fact that there is no cure for cystic fibrosis is obviously affecting every family member and each in pretty different ways) has most definitely been a very much and absolutely lovely (even if also saddening) reading experience, if indeed this were the extent of Ghosts I would most likely be ranking Raina Telgemeier's narrative (and her combination of text and images) with four to five stars. But yes and unfortunately, there also is a very strong and persistent supernatural element and Day of the Dead scenario being featured and presented in Ghosts (including the rather strange and not really ever sufficiently enough for me explained factoid that all of the departed spirits talked about and celebrated in Ghosts are in fact supposed to be totally and absolutely real and that the Day of the Dead celebrations in Ghosts do therefore not only honour deceased ancestors but that these same ancestors actually do then make bona fide ghostly appearances and even physically interact with the celebrants, drinking with them, dancing with them, talking with them).

And while I do not generally have issues reading ghost stories (if they are not too creepy, that is, and Ghosts has certainly not been creepy or frightening), I also do tend to find the entire Day of the Dead element and the departed spirits actually and totally being the real truth of the matter both a bit personally uncomfortable and unbelievable and equally also rather tacked onto the main storyline of Ghosts and not really incorporated all that well and smoothly into Catrina and her family's personal story and their life and health based issues and problems with younger sister Maya's CF (rather suspended in space and feeling to me personally as though Raina Telgemeier has simply added the Day of the Dead and the ghostly appearances for shock and for an interesting autumn celebration to be portrayed and shown value, and in my humble opinion with the end result being that the entire Day of the Dead celebration parts and all of the explanations of ghosts and the like being potentially real kind of feeling and reading like a bit of an afterthought and perhaps even somewhat of an inadvertent caricature, not terrible of course, but in my opinion certainly pretty much more than somewhat diluting the tender and heartfelt family tale parst of Raina Telgemeier's text and thus only making Ghosts but a three star story for me).

A friend who lives in the Deep South recently brought Root Magic to my attention. It centers around the Gullah Geechee culture and is getting good reviews so far. I believe it's an #OwnVoices author, as well. Ghost stories aren't really my thing so I'm not planning to read it, but I thought it worth adding to the list here.

I, personally, respect and admire the Day of the Dead tradition, and had no trouble with the inclusion of it in Raina's graphic story. It's a bigger thing in the Far West and Southwest US, of course, than elsewhere, and may seem jarring to those new to it.

Cheryl wrote: "I, personally, respect and admire the Day of the Dead tradition, and had no trouble with the inclusion of it in Raina's graphic story. It's a bigger thing in the Far West and Southwest US, of cours..."

I also like the general Day of the Dead tradition as well but I do think that the tradition itself has not been all the well incorporated into the text. And I do know that some Mexican American reviewers think that Telgemeier did not really get the actual tradition right and kind of presented a fanciful but not realistic version thereof.

Kathryn wrote: "A friend who lives in the Deep South recently brought Root Magic to my attention. It centers around the Gullah Geechee culture and is getting good reviews so far. I believe it's an ..."

I will consider this, just because I'm curious.

The Ghosts

This was a favourite novel in 1977 when I was eleven years old. And I still love it now.

So yes indeed, Antonia Barber's delightful and atmospheric ghost story (or perhaps, more of a time slip novel, as the supposed departed spirits in The Ghosts are actually time travelling children, two British siblings from the past, and also two British siblings from the present) was one of the first full-length children's novels I read entirely in English (in the autumn of 1977, a school library book that took me almost two months to finish, however, considering I was eleven years old at the time and had only been speaking, reading and writing English for less than a year, perhaps not all that long a reading time, since I also at that time still had to look up a goodly number of words in the dictionary and there were also certain British expressions that were of course wholly unfamiliar to me, as we had immigrated not to the United Kingdom but to Canada).

And being a rather timid and sensitive child (but always interested in history, genealogy, and travelling back in time to "set the record straight" so to speak), The Ghosts was for me at the age of eleven, an absolutely perfect combination (historical, genealogical, even slightly spooky, but with not too much creepiness so as to unnecessarily frighten me), a massively enjoyable read that aside from pleasure also instilled a sense of pride of completion in me (and made me realise with satisfaction that I was now indeed ready for more than easy-to-read chapter books in English, even if many of my teachers were still and sometimes quite stubbornly so vociferously insisting on these for me, not caring that I for one was both bored and feeling increasingly and annoyingly frustrated).

Now my more recent rereads of The Ghosts, they have proven almost, but perhaps also not quite as massively enjoyable and satisfying as my 1977 reading (for while I still very much love this sweet little tale, I am also not in any way blind to the fact that there are definite some issues with datedness and certain leaps of logic). Yes, for the most part, Antonia Barber has more than succeeded creating, has verbally painted and described in The Ghosts a nuanced, descriptive, and mostly believable, realistic (albeit also a bit magical) atmosphere (both in the present and in the Victorian past) and with some minor exceptions, the presented characters are also realistically and believably conceptualised (the one main and rather glaring exception being that especially the two main antagonists in The Ghosts, the Victorian housekeepers, are just a wee bit too one-sided, a trifle too wholly nasty and cardboard stock like evil for my liking). And while there are also and indeed a few issues with social and gender stratification occurring in The Ghosts (namely that Jamie, although much younger than his sister Lucy, ends up inheriting the manor simply because he is male) one must remember that The Ghosts was penned in 1969 and that laws of primogeniture were at that time still very much and firmly in place in much if not most of Great Britain (and they actually often are still in place even today).

But yes, as an adult reader, the entire time slip, the entire going back in time to "set things right" scenario of The Ghosts might perhaps seem rather unbelievable, if not even impossible (for if Sarah and Georgie had actually died in that manor house fire, as it is shown at the beginning of The Ghosts, and before Lucy and Jamie had travelled back in time to save them, they realistically and logically could not have been related to the latter, as Sarah and Georgie would never have lived to grow up and bear children). But let's face it, these types of inconsistencies are very common in many if not actually even rather the majority of such time travel fantasies (and both in adult and children's fiction for that matter), and as a child, these inconsistencies did not bother me at all. And in fact, I have also only very mildly noticed them during my recent rereadings of The Ghosts (enough for me to be aware of them, but not in any manner sufficiently for me to be overly much peeved and frustrated).

Finally, while I personally in no way mind the Anglicanism, the Easter based religiosity at the end of The Ghosts (and actually appreciate its inclusion, as it adds to the sense of time and place, and shows in particular the village Vicar as being not only just religious but first and foremost a human being who strives to comfort, lead and advise) I do understand that for some readers, this does or could have the tendency to feel a bit tacked on and super-imposed (and perhaps even feel religiously uncomfortable). Thus, while I absolutely do strongly recommend The Ghosts, I must also offer as caveats that there are certainly minor potential points of contention with regard to social/gender stratification, gaps of, leaps of logic and that there is the rather overt inclusion of Anglican religion and dogma at the end (however for me, the most problematic and yes frustratingly annoying issue with The Ghosts is actually that the novel is not only not in current print and relatively rare, but that even the used mass market paperback editions often tend to be very, sometimes even obscenely expensive).

EDITED TO ADD: Please do note that The Ghosts has also been published as The Amazing Mr. Blunden (and there was actually a movie made in the 1970s with the latter title which unfortunately, I have not had the opportunity to watch). And I have indeed noticed that The Amazing Mr. Blunden does seem somewhat more readily available and at times even very slightly less expensive than The Ghosts (but I actually also have no idea whether The Amazing Mr. Blunden is simply the same story as The Ghosts under a different title or whether there have been additions or subtractions, read changes or abridgements).

I tend to enjoy ghost stories much more if the ghost being featured is benign and The Ghost of Northumberland Strait (set in PEI) is absolutely lovely.

Thirteen year old Charly, her mother and older sister Nikki have moved from Alberta to Prince Edward Island following her parents' divorce. Having moved in with Grammie (Charly's maternal grandmother), everyone, Charly included, is experiencing some problems adjusting. Grammie and Charly's mother don't always get along, while Nikki seems more moody than usual. And while Charly seems to have adjusted better than her mother and sister, she does miss her father, her former home in Alberta, but most of all, she misses her best friend, Allie. One day, Charly, Nikki and other local children break into an old, abandoned house on the Northumberland Strait, where Charly perceives a mysterious presence. Returning alone to the house the next day, she seemingly slips back in time and meets Katherine, the house's mysterious, sad inhabitant. As Charly and Katherine become friends, Charly realises that Katherine (who is, indeed, a ghost) is trapped in her former house, unable to find peace, due to her grief over the death of her infant son, Robert. By helping Katherine come to terms with Robert's death, to find peace, Charly herself learns not only to accept her new life, the divorce, the move to P.E.I., she also discovers that Katherine is/was intimately and personally connected with and to the family.

Although I would definitely categories Lori Knutson's The Ghost of Northumberland Strait as a ghost story, the novel actually focuses much more (and for me fortunately) on family relationships and inter-personal conflicts than the uncanny, the supernatural. With that in mind, even readers who might tend to find ghost stories creepy and frightening would most likely not have any (or few) such issues with this novel; The Ghost of Northumberland Strait is basically a sweet and evocative family story packaged in the loose wrappings (the costume) of a ghost story.

The characters encountered throughout The Ghost of Northumberland Strait are, for the most part, vividly and realistically depicted. Charlie especially is an engaging and personable narrator-protagonist, and while the narrative and flow of the text do appear a bit disjointed and distracted at times, this scenario actually makes the story feel all the more realistic, all the more believable as being the thoughts and musings of a young teenage girl; Charly's distracted storylines and anecdotes appear authentic, typical for her agel. Grammie and Katherine are equally vividly drawn. You can almost feel and taste Katherine's fear and sadness, while the grandmother is clearly shown and depicted as being not only a person who believes in the uncanny and mysterious, she is also presented as someone who actually and truly tries to listen (Charly's grandmother believes in her story, in her account that she has seen a ghost, while her mother does not only not believe Charly at first, but has also been rather remote and distant lately, too occupied with her own misery to be aware of Charly's sadness about the divorce, her homesickness for Alberta and her fears about adjusting to the family's new life in P.E.I.).

Although I did (at least at first) find some of the multiple conflicts and frictions between Grammie and her daughters (Charly's mother and aunt) a bit puzzling and difficult to comprehend, one must remember, yet again, that the inter-generational conflicts and squabbles described in The Ghost of Northumberland Strait are reported through the filter, through the lens of Charly's own voice and perception, and that she might in fact not know all of the relevant information, or might not have been told everything. For example, one of Charly's uncles died young, but since nobody in the family ever talks about this, there is no way for Charly and by extension the reader to know if some of the family conflicts might have their origin there (and of course, I am only speculating here, but I really do want and need to demonstrate that Charly's own perception, her own knowledge of her family background or rather her potential lack thereof might also likely have made her descriptions of the frictions between her grandmother and her daughters seem somewhat lacking and unconvincing).

The only episode in The Ghost of Northumberland Strait that has always seemed a bit artificial and thus a tad problematic to me is the quite overtly Christian ceremony that Charly and her family have for Katherine at the town cemetery. Now I actually think that the idea of a ceremony at the cemetery so that Katherine might finally find peace is a wonderful, hopeful idea (and ending) in and of itself. But because of the fact that organised religion, that Christianity, was never a major, relevant theme throughout most of the novel, the quite overtly Christian prayer and song (Amazing Grace) do feel a bit artificial and abrupt, a bit like an externally imposed moral; a simple prayer or poem not specifically Christian, not specific to any religion, would (in my opinion) have worked much better and felt more natural. However, except for this minor little quibble, I have very much enjoyed this little gem and would not hesitate to recommend The Ghost of Northumberland Strait for older children (especially young tween or teenaged girls from about age eleven onwards). It is an engaging, sweet family story, with both a winsome and charming young protagonist as well as a winsome and charming ghost (both Charly and Katherine are treasures, and Grammie also truly shines).

So if you can find Angela Bell's wonderful translation, Otfried Preußler's Das kleine Gespenst (The Little Ghost) is both endearing and fun, perfect for younger readers and also for readers who want an engaging but humourous (and never creepy) ghost or Halloween story.

Although creepy stories with dangerous and vengeful spirits have never been all that much to my reading tastes (and in fact often tend to rather frighten me), Otfried Preußler's 1966 Das kleine Gespenst (The Little Ghost in its English translation by the late Anthea Bell) is for all intents and purposes not at all the former, not in any manner morbid or gruesome but simply a fun and engaging tale of a diminutive and lovable castle ghost who gets a bit more than what it bargained and actually had secretly wished for (and I am using the neutral pronoun it here as in the story, as in Das kleine Gespenst, Preußler actually never does point out whether his little ghost is a male or a female entity) when inadvertently nighttime kind of becomes daytime (clock wise) for the little ghost and it starts haunting the town of Eulenberg during the day and no longer at night (being rendered due to sunlight from a white ghost into a black hued spirit, disrupting Eulenberg's historical reenactment pageant of the town being attacked by the Swedes during the Thirty Years' War because the little ghost naturally assumes that the Swedes have in fact legitimately returned to fire their cannons and besiege the town, and indeed creating much havoc and mayhem for all until the town hall clock is fixed and the little ghost is finally able to return to its castle and a nighttime and ghostly white existence).

One of my favourite stories from my childhood, from before we immigrated to Canada in 1976 is Das kleine Gespenst and also a story that for me has certainly also stood the test of time so to speak, for when I reread Das kleine Gespenst early this morning, not only was my reading experience a nostalgic delight, I in fact have enjoyed it as just as much as I did as an eight year old (when I read Das kleine Gespenst in grade two, the first time for school, and then repeatedly for my own pleasure and enjoyment).

Now the only small caveat that I do (but indeed rather grudgingly at that) leave is that yes, within the storyline of Das kleine Gespenst, the little ghost is rendered from its nighttime white colouring into black by the sun's rays (and very much unhappy about this), and while I personally do not at all consider this a scenario with possible ethnic or racial implications, I know that there are indeed some readers and reviewers who unfortunately tend to find this aspect of Das kleine Gespenst as not all that politically correct. But yes indeed, even though I for one do not in fact consider the little ghost's frustration as a black spirit haunting Eulenberg in the daytime instead of a white spirit of the night problematic or in any manner racially charged, I still feel as though I should at least mention this in case others might have a different attitude and would feel offended (even though I really do NOT AT ALL think that there is anything to be offended by in Das kleine Gespenst and that any ethnicity based issues with the ghost turning from white to black are in my opinion rather overly and annoyingly exaggerated and therefore also making a huge and silly mountain out of the proverbial molehill).

Kathryn wrote: "A friend who lives in the Deep South recently brought Root Magic to my attention. It centers around the Gullah Geechee culture and is getting good reviews so far. I believe it's an ..."

Thanks, this does look interesting and adding it to Mount TBR.

By including Beholding Bee on your list, that gives away a huge spoiler!

I LOVED ghost stories and time slip novels when I was younger. Not so much anymore. I loved
Stonewords: A Ghost Story
Wait Till Helen Comes
Tom's Midnight Garden
The Doll in the Garden
Something Upstairs (SOOO good but SOOOO inaccurate! The historical society has a Something Upstairs walking tour for school kids).
Can I Get There by Candlelight?

Most of these look familiar https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/8...

There was one about a ghost in the computer I can't find.

I am SUPER not into ghosts anymore. I roll my eyes because a co-worker was on a popular ghost hunting TV program for 2 seasons and something of a local paranormal celebrity. He led ghost tours of the mill museum and people honestly believe everything he says is true when he flat out told me what he does to make it creepy and asked for opinions on how to make the tour better! (Some of the creepiness is a 200+ year old building in the middle of a huge, noisy city).

Well, I included Beholding Bee because it fits the topic and has been on my to read list for ages.

I do not think I would enjoy Mary Downing Hahn's Wait Till Helen Comes but I certainly did like The Doll in the Garden and especially her The Old Willis Place.

The Great Ghost Rescue

Perfect and really a fun little ghost story for younger readers (about the ages of seven to ten in my opinion)

Now for the most part, I have found Eva Ibbotson's 1975 children's novel The Great Ghost Rescue fun and engaging (full of both laugh out loud and sly humour as well as being imbued with just enough mild icky creepiness, but also presenting much wisdom and many important but never in my opinion too overly didactic messages regarding ecology and especially promoting an appreciation of and for history and that older buildings, castles and such should not automatically be considered as passé, as needing to be modernised or worse, actually needing to be torn down to make room for newer and supposedly therefore better and superior constructions and buildings).

And yes, for a middle grade novel, The Great Ghost Rescue is actually surprisingly nuanced and with for the most part good if not delightful character development. For I do love how young Rick not only immediately takes charge and tries to start working on a plan to recuse the United Kingdom's displaced ghosts and to find them a government ordained official sanctuary (as so many of them are being turned out of their ancestral castles and homes due to modernity, so-called evolution and development) but that Rick is also willing and able to challenge his own beliefs and to make changes as necessary (such as for example, realising that his own consumption of meat is not really all that different from vampire bats needing to consume blood in order to stay alive), not to mention that at the end of The Great Ghost Rescue when all danger is past, when the exorcists have been trounced and order has been restored at Insleyfarne, Rick also makes sure that ghost friend Humphrey receives the accolades and praise he so richly deserves (for having gone to fetch Rick back to Insleyfarne at the proverbial nick of time) by stating that from now on Humphrey should be known as Humphrey the Heroic (that if Rick is to have the moniker of Rick the Rescuer, then Humphrey for his own courage at leaving by himself and indeed very ill and weak due to the exorcisms to search for Rick and tell him of Lord Bullhaven's treachery must now be seen and addressed as Humphrey the Heroic).

Furthermore and indeed, the only (and while minor still somewhat annoying) reason why I am rating The Great Ghost Rescue with a high three stars and not yet with four stars is that personally and from a textual and narrational point of departure, I do find the entire scenario that Insleyfarne is meant to be a trap and Lord Bullhaven not only a villain but a total and utter cardboard-like flat arch-evil entity par excellence a bit facile, a bit too one-sidedly out of the blue and unexpected. For while Lord Bullhvaven's treachery and his nefarious ploy to have all of the ghosts of Great Britain exorcised out of existence does I guess set the necessary stage in The Great Ghost Rescue for a final showdown and battle, and of course also for Humphrey to show his personal mettle and heroism, I definitely would much prefer it if the Insleyfarne trap and Lord Bullhaven's villainy and treachery were not so totally unexpected, in other words, that there should definitely be a few more obvious indications of potential evil and villainy provided by Eva Ibbotson right when we first set eyes on and meet up with Lord Bullhaven in the Prime Minster's office.

Manybooks wrote: "Not sure which book I will start with, but am especially looking forward to finally be reading Beholding Bee, Tom's Midnight Garden and [book:The Children of Green Kno..."

I have read Tom's Midnight Garden several times--it is one of my favorite fantasy/time slip novels. So, like the Antonia Barber's The Ghosts, there aren't really any ghosts.

For the middle graders who like creepy stories, I recommend the books of author John Bellairs. I have read most of them over the past two or three decades. One of the first is The House with a Clock in Its Walls, which was made into a pretty good movie a couple of years ago. I recently came across one that I didn't remember reading, so I read it and my review is below:
The Mansion in the Mist
A fun, fast-paced book in which 13-year-old Anthony Monday and his senior citizen friends, Miss Eells, a librarian, and her brother, Emerson Eells (in their late 60s) stumble across another dimension, the sorcerer denizens of which want to take over the Earth. This happens while they are vacationing in Emerson's summer cottage on an unnamed island in northern Canada. The characters are interesting, although the sorcerers are little more than stock evil beings, and the atmosphere of the other dimension is suitably creepy and dismal. This is one of the last middle grade novels that John Bellairs wrote before he passed. I have read most of his spooky middle grade novels, and it is a good addition to his oeuvre. Bellairs is very good with fast-paced plots and creepy atmospheres, but doesn't spend a lot of time on characterization, although his main characters are interesting--people the reader might want to be friends with.
After John Bellairs passed away, his unfinished manuscripts were finished by Brad Strickland, and he did a good job of keeping to the style of Bellairs.

Beverly wrote: "Manybooks wrote: "Not sure which book I will start with, but am especially looking forward to finally be reading Beholding Bee, Tom's Midnight Garden and [book:The Chi..."

The stories do not have to have ghosts, but they can.

Another fun little tale about a sweet little witch and perfect for Halloween is Otfried's Preußler's Die kleine Hexe (The Little Witch in English translation by Anthea Bell), but yes, I do find it sad that the 2013 Kindle edition I read (in the German original, has been "sanitized" so that the word Neger, Negro no longer appears and that in the carnival scenes, the children are also no longer allowed to be dressed up ethnically, come on, this is a book from the 1950s). And furthermore, seeing the story as an allegory for Nazism (as some literary critics and activists want to) is also silly and really grasping at straws.

Die Kleine Hexe -- 2013 Kindle Edition

When I was a young child in Germany, Otfried Preußler's 1957 children's classic Die kleine Hexe (The Little Witch in English translation) and how she learns to be a successful spell caster and equally to also rebel and actively stand against the older witches for whom being a good witch means by nature and necessity being a curmudgeonly and evil one, this was one of my favourite bedtime stories (a lovely and imaginative tale, totally in tune with childhood wonder but also presenting an important message and lesson that to become good at something, such as with the little witch's attempts to practice, improve and perfect her sorcery, this indeed should also always mean obtaining success without doing harm to others, that one's own success should never be painful for others and should also be helpful to and for society).

And yes, if I were to simply read Die kleine Hexe as a story in and of itself (and of course, this also would mean reading the original 1957 version) I would most certainly be gladly and smilingly ranking this book with a solid five stars (and a permanent place on my favourites shelf). But sadly, I do not (or rather I no longer) own a copy of the latter and the 2013 Kindle edition of Die kleine Hexe unfortunately presents some rather sillily ignorant modern-day word changes and omissions, where for example, village children celebrating carnival dressed as negroes in 1957, in 2013, they have been labelled and described as knife throwers instead, and words such as gypsy have also been removed and expunged because of supposed political incorrectness (totally naive and at best problematic in my opinion for a children's novel penned and published in 1957, and really, if parents etc. have issues with some of the words used in Die kleine Hexe they should simply discuss this with their children instead of like what has indeed happened, officially whining and complaining to the publisher and actually getting Thienemann Verlag to not only change around these oh so "horrible" words but also to seemingly and quite strongly bully and cajole Otfried Preußler's family to agree to these changes, as Preußler himself was certainly always and rightfully so totally against any such censorship, alterations and removals).

And thus, while I do still love love love Die kleine Hexe, there is no way that I am going to be ranking the 2013 Kindle edition with its to and for me both totally unnecessary and also inappropriate textual changes with more than three stars (and sadly since ALL post 2013 versions of Die kleine Hexe whether they be e-books or traditional dead tree tomes do seem to present and include the above mentioned alterations and omissions, I would certainly and very strongly suggest that interested readers consider trying to obtain older and as such pre 2013 versions of this book).

Furthermore and indeed most definitely, I also categorically am pointing out that no indeed, I for one absolutely have never thought and will never think as some reviewers seem to believe that Otfried Preußler's narrative, that his Die kleine Hexe is in any manner supposed to represent with the battle and juxtaposition of the good little witch and the evil older witches some kind of allegory of National Socialism. For honestly, the older witches making the little witch's life miserable, they are simply run of the mill nasties and yes the kind one often encounters in good versus evil fairy and fantasy stories and on a global level at that (and furthermore, in my opinion, if Die kleine Hexe were in fact not a post WWII German children's literature classic, I for one seriously do doubt that anyone would even consider the possibility of the storyline and themes being somehow and strangely related to Naziism).

So yes, I actually quite enjoyed The Goblin Squad. It is perhaps a bit basic and on the surface but in my opinion, it works really well and is interesting, fun and engaging for younger middle grade readers who are not yet ready for Harry Potter (and my inner eight year old child really did love The Goblin Squad and found Jeremy Hayes’ tale of fantasy, adventure and togetherness a really nice little reading interlude).

So far, not liking The Best Halloween Ever as much as The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, mostly because while in the latter, the Herdmans are also shown as being delightfully human and with real insight towards the Natvity, in The Best Halloween Ever, it just seems to be a large list of one Herdman peccadillo after another and that sure is a bit tedious.

And sadly, this feeling of tedium has remained, as compared to the magic The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, The Best Halloween Ever has just felt like a continuous litany Herdman children missteps and bad behaviours, never in-depth and always pretty dragging and annoyingly one-sided.

I do like with Mary Downing Hahn’s ghost stories (with the ones I have read so far) that the tales are usually not just haunts and chills but also deal with issues such as friendship, family dysfunction, the need to be forgiving and other such essentials. For really, a ghost tale that is either simply frightening or conversely simply silly really tends to not have enough narrational meat on it for me, something that Mary Downing Hahn tends to avoid.

I can understand why The Children of Green Knowe is considered a classic. Just started but already absolutely in love with the sense of place and time and yes I sure would love to visit the house that stands as model, one of the oldest buildings in England.

So really surprising for me, I ended up reverting to Ghost Knight, Oliver Latsch’s translation of Cornelia Funke’s Geisterritter because for me reading about a totally British boy in a British boarding school in German (even if the original is in German) just does not feel authentic but rather artificial. And thus far, I am definitely enjoying the English translation much more than the German original and feel that the characters are also more relatable and real in English than in German considering everything is set in Salisbury.

Manybooks wrote: "I can understand why The Children of Green Knowe is considered a classic. Just started but already absolutely in love with the sense of place and time and yes I sure would love to vis..."

I liked the Netflix movie but would have enjoyed the story more when I was much younger.

QNPoohBear wrote: "Manybooks wrote: "I can understand why The Children of Green Knowe is considered a classic. I liked the Netflix movie but would have enjoyed the story more when I was much younger...."

Did the movie have a different title on Netflix? I cannot find it searching for "Children of Green Knowe."

Beverly wrote: "Did the movie have a different title on Netflix? I cannot find it searching for "Children of Green Knowe."."

Yes. I stumbled across the movie first... let me try to find the title. It has Hugh Bonneville and Maggie Smith and written and directed by Julian Fellows (Downton Abbey)

From Time to Time (2009) adapted from The Chimneys Of Green Knowe
It may not be on Netflix anymore.

QNPoohBear wrote: "From Time to Time (2009) adapted from The Chimneys Of Green Knowe ...."

Thanks! I found it. It is still listed on Netflix, but only as a title that can be "Saved" to the queue, which means they may no longer have it to rent out.
Was the movie good enough for me to possibly purchase it from Amazon? (I do love Maggie Smith!)

Manybooks wrote: "So really surprising for me, I ended up reverting to Ghost Knight, Oliver Latsch’s translation of Cornelia Funke’s Geisterritter because for me reading about a total..."

I can see that it would read better in the language spoken by the people in the setting, so yes, reading it in translation makes sense in this case.

Cheryl wrote: "Manybooks wrote: "So really surprising for me, I ended up reverting to Ghost Knight, Oliver Latsch’s translation of Cornelia Funke’s Geisterritter because for me rea..."

Yes, in German, it really does not sound authentic because it is such a specific locality. I mean Salisbury cannot be anything but Salisbury and British.

From Time to Time (2009) I wouldn't buy it unless I was going to share it with young children. It was sweet, simple and nice but not memorable. Maggie Smith actually plays a loving, kind grandmother for a change!

I do love how descriptive The Children of Green Knowe is and that there is a sense of mystery and mild spookiness that is gentle and not ever really creepy. And Tom's Midnight Garden has a similar and appreciated feel.

QNPoohBear wrote: "From Time to Time (2009) I wouldn't buy it unless I was going to share it with young children. It was sweet, simple and nice but not memorable. Maggie Smith actually plays a loving, kind grandmothe..."

Thanks for your input!

The ghosts in Ghost Knight are pretty creepy but I love the history involved and this makes the creepiness acceptable and I love Jon and Ella’s totally platonic friendship.

I do think that Ghost Knight is a pretty decent boarding school ghost story, but while I enjoyed the middle of the novel (Jon and Ella’s friendship, vanquishing the ghost and reuniting Longspee with his heart and thus his love), I found the beginning and the end annoying and a bit dragging.

So would I recommend Ghost Knight? Yes, but only if you can check it out from the library to see how you yourself enjoy it.

I also really find it majorly ridiculous and totally derisively laughable that there are quite a few rabidly angry online reviews making a huge fuss about off colour language in Ghost Knight but the fact that there equally is quite a lot of violence featured and depicted in the story seems to be totally fine and acceptable (something that I for one do find not only strange but troubling and rather scary and a huge dual standard). For honestly, this is for me quite a bit like watching movies and series on prime time TV that ooze with violence and potential violence but have every single cuss word removed.

Ghosts of Greenglass House This series is quite well done and interesting especially if you've read some of the other books in the same world.

Beholding Bee Well, saying this is a ghost story is a huge spoiler because that is a major part of the plot that is not revealed to the main character right away.
This is another wonderful, poignant, touching story by Kimberly Newton Fusco. Bee is such a fabulous character. She's plucky but very emotionally fragile. My heart went out to her and I was rooting for her to survive her hardships with her head held high. She learns some wonderful lessons, delivered in the form of character dialogue, that everyone should learn. I couldn't put the book down. I had to know how Bee turned out and the story of the mysterious aunts.

Respect Your Ghosts] I love this series and my niece has enjoyed the ones she read with my dad and my brother. Our family came from the next province over and lived pretty much the same way up until 1920. There are witches, ghosts, demons and all kinds of superstitions. In this book Sergio has so much to do to help his family. His mother is always demanding he help her do something like watch his baby brothers, but the most demanding family member is the family ghost! Bis Bis (roughly great-great), Sergio's ancestor, is always loud, cranky and HUNGRY! No one else can hear Sergio's ghost so no one understands what Sergio has to do for him. When Sergio's Mama insists he move upstairs, Sergio is aghast. Live with Bis Bis? No way! Bis Bis doesn't want Sergio as a roommate either. Can Sergio figure out a way to move back downstairs? If only he can please Mama AND Bis Bis!

This book is really really cute. I liked learning more about this part of Italy, so close to where my Nonnie came from. I liked the fantasy elements too. The other kids in the story are rather bratty, except for Maria Beppina. I liked Sergio the best of the boys. He tries hard to please everyone but he can't catch a break. The family ghost is not creepy. He's an old, gross man without a solid body.

Other creepy books for middle grade readers I would recommend

A Drowned Maiden's Hair- Not precisely a ghost story but it deals with spiritualism and quite possibly a real ghost.

Which Witch? anything by Eva Ibbottson is great and creepy without being scary. This story is pretty simple and lacks complexity. The plot is fairly predictable but it's a fun journey for children who don't mind a little bit of creepiness. I read this with an eye towards gifting it to a niece but also with an adult eye. As an adult, the story didn't really appeal to me. It's a little too simple and creepy. I also didn't like the stereotypes about witches, animals and certain types of people. (The Indian princess rides a motorcycle) but I don't believe in banning books for outmoded views and especially not for minor ones that don't affect the story. I think kids won't even notice because it's such a fantasy world.

Arramin is pretty likable for a black wizard which leads me to wonder whether he really is black or if his parents did too much research and didn't allow him to develop his talents naturally? This question is actually sort of answered at the end with another character. Arramin doesn't seem to like being black and he isn't attracted to any of the witches in the coven even though they're supposed to be anonymous. The witches are all pretty awful with the exception of Belladonna and perhaps Mother Bloodwort.

Winterhouse Before a tween reads Harry Potter this one is less intense but similar. I like that the protagonist is female. In the tradition of Roald Dahl, Lemony Snicket and of course Harry Potter Series Box Set comes this new series for all those girls who wished Hermione was the hero of Hogwarts. The plot is very engaging albeit predictable for those who have read Harry Potter and other fantasy adventure books. There are very very similar plot elements so I was able to figure things out before Elizabeth. The evil is a just a little bit scary but not terribly dark. There's also a message here (as in Harry Potter) about what happens to kids who are bullied. The message is never feel superior to anyone else or you get an evil witch/wizard. Try to find the good in the bad.

QNPoohBear wrote: "Respect Your Ghosts] I love this series and my niece has enjoyed the ones she read with my dad and my brother. Our family came from the next province over and lived pretty much the same way up until 1920."

This sounds like one I might actually like. I don't mind cute ghost stories ;-)

Manybooks wrote: "I also really find it majorly ridiculous and totally derisively laughable that there are quite a few rabidly angry online reviews making a huge fuss about off colour language in [book:Ghost Knight|..."

This is interesting, but not surprising to me. I have known several families who allow their children to watch violent movies (i.e., historical types, war movies, etc.) but nothing with curse words. It does mystify me, though. Not that I want my children to go around using curse words, but I would far rather they be exposed to a few curse words than to copious amounts of violence at their young ages.

Kathryn wrote: "Manybooks wrote: "I also really find it majorly ridiculous and totally derisively laughable that there are quite a few rabidly angry online reviews making a huge fuss about off colour language in [..."

That is my own opinion as well. I just cannot understand why and how graphic violence is acceptable but swearing is not. The same holds true for attitudes where brief nudity is anathema but once again violence is not an issue.

Kathryn wrote: "QNPoohBear wrote: "Respect Your Ghosts] I love this series and my niece has enjoyed the ones she read with my dad and my brother. Our family came from the next province over and lived pretty much the same way up until 1920."

This sounds like one I might actually like. I don't mind cute ghost stories ;-)

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The whole series is cute. The first four take place simultaneously and then the storyline moves towards the conclusion. You can read aloud to your family if they're not bothered by the witches (the Manalonga, the Janara, and the Clopper hide in wells and under bridges, fly at midnight, and play tricks during Mischief Season.) My oldest niece is sensitive and she was just turning 8 when I got the each one of my siblings a book signed by the illustrator to their kids. The ending of The Secret Janara was a bit scary.
http://www.witchesofbenevento.com/

QNPoohBear wrote: "Kathryn wrote: "QNPoohBear wrote: "Respect Your Ghosts] I love this series and my niece has enjoyed the ones she read with my dad and my brother. Our family came from the next province over and liv..."

Thank you so much for the helpful comments! I'm adding it to my to-read list and, if I'm able to get a copy, will preview to see what I think for the kiddos.

Kathryn wrote: "
Thank you so much for the helpful comments! I'm adding it to my to-read list and, if I'm able to get a copy, will preview to see what I think for the kiddos..."

The youngers weren't ready to sit through a "long" book as a bedtime story and I don't think my sister's kids ever read the one I gave them. You can read a sample chapter online Witches of Benevento and see some of the illustrations. The books are step beyond graphic novel with the illustrations incorporating text and telling the story rather than just placed to illustrate a scene. My niece recognized the theater where the kids run from the Clopper when she saw my parents' pictures of their most recent trip to southern Italy.

I don't know how weird or foreign the setting seems to someone who didn't grow up in that culture. When I pointed out the illustrations of my 2xs great-grandmother bis-bis-Nonna (LOL) Sophie Blackall said "we get that a lot!" I'm sure being based in New York, they did hear that a lot.

Niece and I dressed the dolls as Primo and Rosa for Halloween that year. https://i.postimg.cc/hvKGFgjD/Anita-A...

QNPoohBear wrote: "Kathryn wrote: "
Thank you so much for the helpful comments! I'm adding it to my to-read list and, if I'm able to get a copy, will preview to see what I think for the kiddos..."

The youngers weren..."

Love that! :-)

Niece (12) and nephew (just turned 7) and my brother (their dad) are rereading Beware the Clopper!. They all love it. My niece has been to Italy and knows a little bit of the history and language so she's better able to appreciate the stories now. Nephew has just learned to read on his own and is becoming interested in bigger books with more words. My brother and SIL spent time in Italy and of course my siblings and I grew up in this culture with an "old world" grandmother who very much lived this life in the early 20th-century, nearly 100 years after the stories take place -less superstition, more education, same lifestyle as the twins on the farm. They highly recommend the series. (This is a new report from yesterday after school as told to the grandparents).

Oh, yes, witch stories. Ruth Chew has a bunch for the newly independent readers. The Witch Family by Eleanor Estes is wonderful. Ibbotson has others, too, iirc.

And there are others lesser known; search my shelves and you'll find gems!

I do love the gentle and extensive descriptiveness that Lucy Boston uses in The Children of Green Knowe. It is exactly what I am in the mood for at present and the sense of place is really delightful with oh so much British culture, history and folklore (including music) being presented. But I do think that The Children of Green Knowe is a book one has to be in the mood for, and readers desiring a fast-paced plot might be kind of disappointed (even though for me, the slow and gentle pace, the fact that any and all mysteries are never frightening but at best promoting curiosity and a desire to learn more, this is precisely what is making The Children of Green Knowe such a sweet and joyfully wonderful, brimming with magic and imagination book to read).

Cheryl wrote: "Oh, yes, witch stories. Ruth Chew has a bunch for the newly independent readers. The Witch Family by Eleanor Estes is wonderful. Ibbotson has others, too,..."

For younger readers, yes, Ruth Chew’s witch stories are great, as are Patricia Coombs’ Dorrie stories (although sadly, many are out of print and hard to find), as well as Jill Murphy’s The Worst Witch and its sequels.

I am still really enjoying The Children of Green Knowe and find that reading and savouring the story slowly is delightfully fun and also that Tolly does not immediately get to know (no pun intended) the ghost children (his ancestors)

QNPoohBear wrote: "Ghosts of Greenglass House This series is quite well done and interesting especially if you've read some of the other books in the same world.

Beholding Bee Well, ..."

I agree that saying Beholding Bee is a ghost story is spoilerish, but adding it to my list of to read items does theme wise for this month already make it clear the story will likely feature something mysterious and perhaps ghost like.