My Haunted House by Angie Sage

This is an enchantingly beautifully, but straight forward, little hard back that is aesthetically pleasing to hold and which focuses on Araminta Spook, affectionately known as Minty who lives with her Aunt Tabby. The ink drawings are certainly a winning point in the book. Her aunt  Tabby is definitely not right in the head and spends a large part of the novel  yelling at and complaining about the boiler in the basement of the humungus, gothic house which they share with Sir Horace, a somewhat boring, but secretive,old suit of armour. Araminta's uncle Drac, who is also somewhat dysfunctional, sleeps upside down in a sleeping bag suspended from the ceiling along with some random bats. We don't hear a great deal from him I might add.  Why is Araminta there? Well, it seems that her parents have strangely disappeared whilst hunting for vampires in Transylvania. Her aunt desperately wants to sell the house and to a find a  more comfortable and less sooty abode. This is a very quirky story which has some simplistic elements of a Tim Burton production. Araminta  is reminiscent of Wednesday Adams and spends the majority of her spare time searching for ghosts and laying traps for unsuspecting visitors who come to inspect the house. Araminta attempts to sabotage the house sale and much to her delight, discovers a strange key which leads the reader on through the rest of the plot to the balconie!. This is a basic and reasonably satisfying read but not much decoding is required. Truthfully, it was  the illustrations by Jimmy Pickering which kept me turning the pages.

The Trickster Ghost by Ellen Showell

Someone or somethings is causing trouble for Stephen. He has just recently moved into his grandparents' house with his family, and things are going missing; Stephen's precious rock, Grandma's hourglass, Rachael's seashell and now Rachael's stuffed animal, Calico. Everyone is pointing the finger at Stephen despite all his protests and the fact that he too has had something that has mysteriously disappeared. The answer it seems is in an old trunk in the attic. This non-confronting book about ghosts is a pleasant little read and a great start if you are not into bigger novels. Every short chapter includes a full page soft pencil drawing bringing the major characters to life.

The Fairground Ghost by Felicity Everett

This book is probably the easiest read on the bookshelves. Evicted from the ghost train by the Ghost Inspector, because of his low score on the scare-o-metre, the little ghost finds himself alone and out of a job. Then he meets young Jake who knows exactly what to do. The text is accompanied by soft watercolour with ink overlay illustrations and is organised into short chapters. This could be read in one Silent Reading session.

Stories to Eat With Watermelon by Jackie French

This the sequel to Stories to eat with a Banana but can be read without having read its predecessor. Phredde and Pru go off to save Sleeping Beauty from the handsome Prince, and meet a frog named Bruce who is no help whatsoever. Also there is the girl who likes eating rose bushes, pirate ships, a giant Thingummie, piranas in the moat and a werewolf brother who will keep lifting his leg on the geraniums. There are five stories in all and I must say I thought they were all a lot of fun and a good book when your brain wants something light to munch on.

The Ghost Comes Calling by Betty Ren Wright

This novel is full of suspense and a great read for upper primary students. Author, Wright, revitalizes the story of the mean ghost who cannot rest. Chad Weldon likes the shabby log cabin his dad has bought on the lake. Then his bossy friend Jeannie informs him that the shack is haunted by the old man who built it. Apparently he died with a bitter grudge against the whole town, and he doesn't want anyone in his house. Slowly, in time-honoured fashion, the ghost gets closer and closer. First Chad feels him lurking in the woods, then he hears the eerie howl of the ghost's dog. Later, a grey scowling face appears at the window and a claw-like hand. Finally, Chad finds the confidence to go beyond Jeannie and put right the wrong done to the old man long before. The contrast between the safe and cosy domestic world and the ghostly disorder intensifies the pleasure of the story. Wright picks up our fear of the rustle in the bushes, the strange shadows on the porch and the spooky atmosphere inside and outside the house.

Games by Robin Klein

There are three three copies of this wonderful book in the Little Library of Rescued Book, and my preferred one is the hardback edition which also has a map of the house in it. Three friends could all read it together if they wanted to. When Patricia (a not so popular but very bright girl) is invited for a weekend away without adult supervision at Genevieve's aunt's house in the country she is flattered. Desperate to fit in at her new school, she goes along hoping to make new friends. However, not all goes to plan, things start to go wrong. The girls discover an old diary and decide to hold a seance. The weather is foul and there are other foul things afoot. Suddenly their game turns into something very sinister. Their nervousness turns to panic...what is happening in the house? This thriller is hard to put down. It is very descriptive so you feel you know the characters and the isolation of the house and you can really feel the tension.

The Rainbow Sandwich by Marjorie Darke

This little book is now out of print. It is an easy read suitable for 9-12 year olds. The little ghost called Grey is just having a snooze in the cellar, when suddenly there's a terrible noise and the place falls in around him. He finds that his old haunting place has disappeared, but when he meets Mark, someone who can actually see him, his bones begin to feel at home again and they search for his old haunting-ground. It is hard to find information about the author.

The Ghost on Saturday Night by Sid Fleischman

If you like Tim Burton you will probably really like this little book, especially the illustrations by Eric Von Schmidt. In fact, it was the cover of the book which made me pick it up and look at in a St Vinnies Store in the first place. The story is really quirky. The main character, Opie, lives in a western-style old America and meets a pair of madcap ‘ghost-raising’ magicians. Opie and his aunt know there is some funny business going on when Professor Pepper announces that he is going to raise the ghost of a dead robber, Crookneck John, live on stage. However, the unseen ghost escapes from his coffin during the presentation, and on top of this, the town bank is robbed! What is going on? This little book is filled with hyperbole, piquant phrasing and bravura and it is a lot of fun to read. Unfortunately Sid, the author, passed away last year at the grand age of ninety, but his website lives on and is a real tribute to him and well worth a look. http://sidfleischman.com/index.html

Here is a video clip of Sid so you can have some idea about him:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRkYO-L1gjs