Blurb
A bi-monthly newsletter for readers (of all ages) who enjoy children’s novels.
Book news and reviews, writing activities, weird words, strange stories, and much more.
In the GHOST OF AN ISSUE:
- Go back in time with Magic Tree House
- Discover why ghosts wear sheets
- Test your ghost trivia skills
- Get a prompt to write your own weird ghost story
- Learn why ghosts are popular at Christmas
- Get haunted by a doll
Books Featured in the Current Blurb
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The 12 Screams of Christmas, R. L. Stine
The infamous, Most Wanted Goosebumps characters are out on the loose and after you. For the first time ever, it's a Goosebumps Christmas!
Kate Welles doesn't want to be special. She just wants to play the lead in her school's Christmas play. Her annoying "friend" Courtney is constantly getting in the way of that. Can you even call someone a "friend" if all they do is make fun of you and ruin everything all of the time? But Kate has to get along with Courtney or else neither of them will be allowed to take part in The 12 Screams of Christmas.
Kate and Courtney's teacher decides they need to find a special place to rehearse. A certain house with a special history. The kind of place that Kate would normally be pretty frightened to go into. The kind of place that gives new meaning to the term: Christmas Spirit.
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The Secret of Goldenrod, Jane O'Reilly
When Trina and her father move into an abandoned wreck of a mansion called Goldenrod, Trina thinks her life is finally coming together. She can put down roots at last. Maybe she'll even have a best friend! But the kids at school make fun of her, and it seems like Goldenrod itself is haunted.
Then Trina finds Augustine, a tiny porcelain doll left behind when the house was boarded up a century ago. Augustine isn't like other dolls: she talks and talks and talks. Augustine helps Trina realize that Goldenrod is trying to tell her an important secret . . . one that may just change her life. -
The Girl and the Ghost, Hanna Alkaf
* Chosen as a 2020 Kirkus Prize Finalist for Young Readers' Literature! *
A Malaysian folk tale comes to life in this emotionally layered, chilling middle grade debut, perfect for fans of The Book of Boy and The Jumbies.
I am a dark spirit, the ghost announced grandly. I am your inheritance, your grandmother's legacy. I am yours to command.
Suraya is delighted when her witch grandmother gifts her a pelesit. She names her ghostly companion Pink, and the two quickly become inseparable.
But Suraya doesn't know that pelesits have a dark side--and when Pink's shadows threaten to consume them both, they must find enough light to survive . . . before they are both lost to the darkness.
Fans of Holly Black's Doll Bones and Tahereh Mafi's Furthermore series will love this ghostly middle grade debut that explores jealousy, love, and the extraordinary power of friendship.
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Ghost Town at Sundown, Mary Pope Osborne
Make storytime a little spookier with the #1 bestselling chapter book series of all time! Every visit to the magic tree house leads to a time-travel adventure!
Is this town HAUNTED? Jack and Annie wonder when the Magic Tree House whisks them to the Wild West. But before they can say "Boo!" they rush headlong into an adventure filled with horse thieves, a lost colt, rattlesnakes, and a cowboy named Slim. Will Jack and Annie have time to solve the next Tree House Riddle? The answer may depend on a ghost!
Did you know that the Magic Tree House series has two levels?
MAGIC TREE HOUSE: Perfect for readers 6-9 who are just beginning to read chapter books—includes this boxed set!
MERLIN MISSIONS: More challenging adventures for experienced readers ages 7-10
The Magic Tree House series has been a classroom favorite for over 25 years and is sure to inspire a love of reading—and adventure—in every child who joins Jack and Annie! -
Spooky Sleuths #1: The Ghost Tree, Natasha Deen
Is it science...or strange and ghostly?
Asim's new town is freaking him out! There are weird noises at night, eerie lights, and now an evil tree that is growing way faster than it should. he's sure there's something supernatural going on.
His friend Rokshar believes that everything can be explained by science. But even she's worried when the tree takes control of their teacher! It's starting to look like an evil spirit straight out of Guyanese folklore is to blame. Can Asim and his friends save their teacher--and the town--from the ghost tree?
Find out...if you dare! It's a new spooky series based on ghost stories from Guyana. -
The Ghost of Midnight Lake, Lucy Strange
From award winning author Lucy Strange comes a thrilling ghost story about a strong willed heroine who will follow even the most restless spirit in order to untangles the dark mystery of her own past.
It's 1899. The Earl of Gosswater has died, and twelve-year-old Agatha has been cast out of her ancestral home - the only home she has ever known - by her cruel cousin, Clarence. In a tiny tumbledown cottage, she struggles to adjust to her new life and the stranger who claims to be her real father. While adjusting to her new fate, she learns that the shores of Gosswater lake are haunted, and soon comes face to face with the spirit of another young girl who's soul will not rest. Could the ghost of Gosswater hold the key to Aggie's true identity?
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Night of the Living Ted, Barry Hutchison
This Halloween season discover a new action-comedy series about two kids battling an army of evil teddy bears! What a nightmare! Can they save the day before bedtime?
After Lisa-Marie and her big brother, Vernon, visit a Create-A-Ted store, the unexpected happens.
Their teddy bears come to life!
But it turns out they aren't the only ones. All kinds of teddy bears--zombies, ghosts, aliens and more--are suddenly alive and creating mayhem . . . and soon there is an army of evil teddy bears on the loose!
Can Lisa-Marie and her big brother Vernon save themselves--and the world?
The Living Ted series appeals to readers of all ages with quick chapters, laugh-out-loud action scenes, and lively illustrations throughout. -
Riley's Ghost, John David Anderson
From John David Anderson, acclaimed author of Posted, comes a ghost story pulled from the darkest shadows of middle school.
Riley Flynn is alone.
It feels like she's been on her own since sixth grade, when her best friend, Emily, ditched her for the cool girls. Girls who don't like Riley. Girls who decide one day to lock her in the science closet after hours, after everyone else has gone home.
When Riley is finally able to escape, however, she finds that her horror story is only just beginning. All the school doors are locked, the windows won't budge, the phones are dead, and the lights aren't working. Through halls lit only by the narrow beam of her flashlight, Riley roams the building, seeking a way out, an answer, an explanation. And as she does, she starts to suspect she isn't alone after all.
While she's always liked a good scary story, Riley knows there is no such thing as ghosts. But what else could explain the things happening in the school, the haunting force that seems to lurk in every shadow, around every corner? As she tries to find answers, she starts reliving moments that brought her to this night. Moments from her own life...and a life that is not her own.
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The Graveyard Book, Neil Gaiman
Nobody Owens, known to his friends as Bod, is a normal boy.
He would be completely normal if he didn't live in a sprawling graveyard, being raised and educated by ghosts, with a solitary guardian who belongs to neither the world of the living nor of the dead.
There are dangers and adventures in the graveyard for a boy-an ancient Indigo Man beneath the hill, a gateway to a desert leading to an abandoned city of ghouls, the strange and terrible menace of the Sleer.
But if Bod leaves the graveyard, then he will come under attack from the man Jack—who has already killed Bod's family. . . .
Beloved master storyteller Neil Gaiman returns with a luminous new novel for the audience that embraced his New York Times bestselling modern classic Coraline. Magical, terrifying, and filled with breathtaking adventures, the graveyard book is sure to enthrall readers of all ages.