Depression Era Murder Mystery

Collier, James Lincoln (2008). The Dreadful Revenge of Ernest Gallen. Grades 5-7.

Set during the years following the Great Depression, Gene Richards begins hearing a voice, which asks him to solve a mystery involving a murder. At first, Gene tries to ignore the voice, but each time the voice returns it becomes harder to do so. Then he learns that his friend Sonny's dad also heard a voice, which urged him to walk off a construction plank and die. Gene believes that this is the same voice he is hearing and must figure out a way to solve the mystery before the voice convinces Gene to hurt himself or worse.

A dark and sinister tale...

Horowitz, Anthony (2008). Groosham Grange. Grades 5-8.

Thirteen-year-old David Eliot is the son of a wheel-chair bound father who is abusive towards him and his mother. When David is expelled from his boarding school, his father is furious and considers his son a complete failure. Then a letter mysteriously arrives from another private school, Groosham Grange, offering David an instant placement, and his father doesn't hesitate to pack him up and send him off. On the train ride to the school, David meets two other students, who also received a similar letter. They share their feelings about attending this boarding school and vow to stick together. David soon realizes that something sinister and evil is happening at Groosham Grange. Cult-like meetings in the middle of the night, and secretive behavior by teachers and students lead him to believe that something horrible is happening. But what is really going on? It is up to David and his two friends to discover the truth, before they are forced to make a difficult decision.

If you haven't read this 2009 Newbery winner, what are you waiting for??

Gaiman, Neil (2008). The Graveyard Book. Grades 5 and up.

Gaiman creates a character named Nobody "Bod" Owens, who is raised in a graveyard, which he wandered into as a toddler. The very night that he was found and adopted by Mr. and Mrs. Owens, a ghostly couple, his own family was murdered by a man called "Jack." After much deliberation, the inhabitants of the graveyard decide to accept Bod and protect him from "Jack" who still pursues the boy. Mr. and Mrs. Owens adopt the boy as their own, but also appoint a guardian named Silas. Until he is a teen, Bod experiences various adventures, both in and out of the graveyard, often having to be rescued by his guardian, Silas.

Although the book may seem chilling and dark, it is filled with bits of humor and emotion that make Bod a very likeable and believable character.

Ghosts in the Libary?

Alter, Stephen (2007). The Phantom Isles. 210 pages. Grades 5-8.

Sixth-graders Courtney, Orion, and Ming sneak into the library late one night and find a book, The Compleat Necromancer, which contains an incantation, that will awaken the ghosts. Their adventure begins as soon as they recite the spell. They find that the books were donated by Hezekiah Osgood, a scientist, and they contain the ghosts he captured on the island of Prithvideep and imprisoned within his books! Their images move and speak, but they cannot leave their page. In addition to figuring out how to help free the ghosts, the children's teacher, Mrs. Hokum stirs up controversy by attempting to ban books she disapproves of and to shut down the library. The chapters alternate between the children's adventure and the story of the ghosts they discover.

Note to reader: You may find a ghost or two hidden within the pages of this book.

Chilling Gothic Tales

Del Negro, Janice M. (2007). Passion and Poison. 64 pages. Grades 4 and up.

These eight tales are about strong women who are determined to stand up for what is right, even beyond the grave. Del Negro uses vivid imagery and detailed language in each story, from Elizabeth Frye who could change into a cat to Giovanna who avenged her sister's death. Eerie pencil illustrations set the mood. These are spine-tingling stories to read aloud on a spooky night.

A friendship that spans generations

Newbery, Linda (2007). At the Firefly Gate. 152 pages. Grades 5-7.



At the end of his Sixth year in school, Henry and his parents move to an English town near a former World War II airfield. As soon as they move in, Henry begins to see a shadowy man standing by the orchard gate surrounded by fireflies. He begins to learn more about the man, without realizing it, after he meets Dottie, his neighbor's great-aunt. She tells him that he reminds her of Henry, her fiancé, who was a Royal Air Force navigator. Unfortunately, he never returned from his 13th mission. Henry begins to wonder if the man at the gate might be Henry, the navigator's ghost! In addition to these stories from Dottie, Henry begins experiencing strange sensations, including feeling as if he is in someone else's body, and hearing old planes flying over head. Dottie never found out what happened on her fiancé's final mission, but Henry may receive more clues that will help him figure out the entire story.