I was really curious about this book after reading a review by 100 Scope Notes (which you should really go read by the way....very creative write up on that book!)
I didn't quite get to it very quickly after getting it from the library but Jill soon picked it up and had lots to tell me about how great it is. Today I took it with us to the pool and while the kids were swimming I read the whole thing. It's a quick read - and so fun! The story is all told through letters. The authors have done a great job of making this a book that will capture kid's attention for all sorts of reasons. I loved the character's names!
Characters:
- Anita Sale: real estate agent.
- Paige Turner: publisher of children's books.
- E. Gadds: lawyer.
- Seymour Hope: the child who is one of the main characters.
- Frank N. Beans: private investigator.
- Professors Les and Diane Hope: Seymour's parents.
- Olive C. Spense: house's resident ghost, and another main character.
- Ignatius B. Grumply: another main character, a grumpy guy with a crusty heart
The book doesn't have chapters. It has letters and newspaper articles. There are a lot of funny little phrases in here that just made me giggle. I loved the tagline in the gossip newspaper articles: Your secrets are our business!
The story is about a young boy named Seymour and his best friend, a ghost, named Olive that live in an old wreck of a house. Seymour's parents leave him home for the summer because they're off lecturing about how ghosts aren't real (notice who their son's best friend is!) and having their son and his best friend ghost along with them certainly wouldn't give them much credibility.
Ignatius, the author, rents the house for a while to try get some peace and quiet while he works on his next book. Ignatius is very grumpy and has a bad case of writer's block. He discovers that he isn't living there alone and tries to get out of his lease agreement - but in the end is stuck. The story unfolds from there....and is really very entertaining!
They do learn to live together - provided they follow each other's rules:
Mr. Grumply’s Rules:
You will not bother me when I am writing
You will stay out of my bedroom and bathroom at all times.
You will not lurk in doorways or dark hallways.
You are not permitted on the second floor, which I have claimed as my own for the duration of the summer.
Seymour’s Rules:
You will not tell me what time I have to go to bed.
You will not tell me what to eat or when to eat it.
You will not play old man music on the stereo.
You’re not allowed on the third floor. No exceptions.
The best part is that this is the first in a series! I haven't read a lot of books that I can continue to follow as new books in the series come out. This is definitely one I'll watch for!
And I found a You-Tube Video!
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