A Few of My Favorite Things (Books)

 This week, I'm sharing some of my favorite chapter books for kids . . . .

Bo at Ballard Creek by Kirkpatrick Hill

It's the 1920s, and Bo was headed for an Alaska orphanage when she won the hearts of two tough gold miners who set out to raise her, enthusiastically helped by all the kind people of the nearby Eskimo village.

The Spoon in the Bathroom Wall by Tony Johnston

Living in the boiler room of the school where her father is janitor seems normal to fourth grader Martha Snapdragon, until she has experiences reminiscent of the Arthurian legends.

The Thirteenth Princess by Diane Zahler

Zita, cast aside by her father and raised as a kitchen maid, learns when she is nearly twelve that she is a princess and that her twelve sisters love her, and so when she discovers they are victims of an evil enchantment, she desperately tries to save them.

The Dollhouse Murders by Betty Ren Wright

A mysterious dollhouse and dolls that move on their own lead Amy, twelve, and her mentally-disabled sister Louann, eleven, to investigate the mystery surrounding grisly murders that occured years before.

More Books --

Below by Meg McKinlay

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

Can of Worms by Kathy Mackel

Dial-A-Ghost by Eva Ibbotson

Fairy Tale Comics by Chris Duffy

The Floods: Good Neighbors by Colin Thompson

Mr. and Mrs. Bunny: Detectives Extraordinaire by Polly Horvath

The Snow Spider by Jenny Nimmo

This Would Make a Good Story Some Day by Dana Alison Levy

Up and Down Scratchy Mountain by Laurel Snyder

Boo! Ghost Stories for Kids

 This week, I'm sharing chapter book ghost stories.  Here a few of my favorites . . . .

Christina's Ghost by Betty Ren Wright

Christina's summer in a spooky, isolated Victorian house with her grumpy uncle turns into a ghostly adventure.

Ghost Knight by Cornelia Funke

Eleven-year-old Jon Whitcroft and new friend Ella summon the ghost of Sir William Longspee, who may be able to protect Jon from a group of ghosts that threatens him harm from the day he arrives at Salisbury Cathedral's boarding school. 

The Time of the Ghost by Diana Wynne Jones

A ghost, uncertain of her identity, watches the four Melford sisters hatch a plan to get their parents' attention and slowly becomes aware of the danger from a supernatural power unleashed by the girls and their friends from the boys boarding school run by the Melfords.

Dial-A-Ghost by Eva Ibbotson

A family of nice ghosts protects a British orphan from the diabolical plans of his evil guardians. 

More Ghost Stories --

A Festival of Ghosts by William Alexander

Ghost and Bone by Andrew Prentice

The Ghost Collector by Allison Mills

Ghost Dog Secrets by Peg Kehret

The Ghost in the Glass House by Carey Wallace

The Ghost of Crutchfield Hall by Mary Downing Hahn

Ghost Squad by Claribel A. Ortega

Ghost: Thirteen Haunting Tales to Tell by various authors
Ghosted by Michael Fry
Ghosthunters and the Incredibly Revolting Ghost by Cornelia Funke

Check these books out on display at the Arnold Branch through November 5, 2021.

Ghost Stories

The Great Ghost Rescue by Eva Ibbotson
A young English boy decides to establish a sanctuary for an assortment of ghosts when the homes they have haunted are replaced by highways and other modern "improvements."

Ghost Knight by Cornelia Funke
Eleven-year-old Jon Whitcroft and new friend Ella summon the ghost of Sir William Longspee, who may be able to protect Jon from a group of ghosts that threatens him harm from the day he arrives at Salisbury Cathedral's boarding school.

The Dollhouse Murders by Betty Ren Wright
A dollhouse filled with a ghostly light in the middle of the night and dolls that have moved from where she last left them lead Amy and her sister to unravel the mystery surrounding grisly murders that took place years ago.


More Ghost Stories --
Constable & Toop by Gareth P. Jones
The Ghost by the Sea by Eileen Dunlop
Ghost Town: Seen Ghostly Stories by Joan Lower Nixon
The Ghost's Grave by Peg Kehret
The Hanging Hill by Chris Grabenstein
Haunted Houses by Robert San Souci
A Properly Unhaunted Place by William Alexander
School of the Dead by Avi
Seven Dead Pirates by Linda Bailey
Sweet Miss Honeywell's Revenge by Kathryn Reiss
Thornhill by Pam Smy

 Check these books out on display at the Arnold Branch through November 30, 2018.

Over at the Castle

This week we learned about castles during our Eyewitness program.  So I thought I would share some books that feature castles as a setting . . . 

Horton Halfpott by Tom Angleberger

Horton, an upstanding kitchen boy in a castle in nineteenth-century England, becomes embroiled in a mystery surrounding a series of thefts, which is also connected to the pursuit of a very eligible and wealthy young lady's affections.

Tuesdays at the Castle by Jessica Day George

Princess Celie must defend Castle Glower, which add rooms, stairways and secret passageways every Tuesday, when her parents are ambushed while travelling.

The Castle Behind Thorns by Merrie Haskell

When Sand, a blacksmith's apprentice, wakes up in a broken castle, he must find a way to put it back together.

Crandall's Castle by Betty Ren Wright

Charli's impulsive uncle, Will Crandall, decides to buy the town's abandoned, possibly haunted castle and fix it up as a bed-and-breakfast, but Charli and Sophia, a clairvoyant orphan who has come to stay with the Crandall family, know his plan is somehow dangerous.

Midnight Magic by Avi 

In Italy in 1491, Mangus the magician and his apprentice are summoned to the castle of Duke Claudio to determine if his daughter is indeed being haunted by a ghost.

The Castle Corona by Sharon Creech

Two orphaned peasant children discover a mysterious pouch, the contents of which lead them to the majestic Castle Corona, where their lives may be transformed forever.

More Stories Featuring Castles --

The Beasts of Clawstone Castle by Eva Ibbotson

Brand-New Page by Tony Davis

Castle of Shadows by Ellen Renner

The Children of the King by Sonya Hartnett

East of the Sun, West of the Moon by Jackie Morris

The House of Arden by E. Nesbit

The Ordinary Princess by M.M. Kaye

Pure Dead Magic by Debi Gliori

Stealaway by K.M. Peyton

A Tale of Two Castles by Gail Carson Levine