Multiple ghosts and confusing chronology muddle this tale of two children left to roam an old mansion they’re about to inherit while their mother is parked somewhere in suspended animation. (Or maybe not, as she reappears at the end, oblivious to the fact that days have seemingly passed.) Not only is Blaxston Manor a bewildering tangle of arbitrarily numbered stairways and dusty rooms, but as fraternal twins Charlie and Lacey discover, at least three ghosts haunt the premises: an angry poltergeist who lays a silly curse on Charlie (he has to sleep in water or he’ll shrivel into a mummy), a young would-be burglar who died of fright decades before and a friendly tour guide who walks through walls but can also, paradoxically, put away a hearty breakfast. Fortunately there’s a village psychic to help with the curse….unfortunately the plot is so weighted with contrivances and shredded with gaps in logic that it falls apart. (Ghost story. 10-12)
Pub Date: March 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-55453-358-9
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: Dec. 31, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2010
Bunny Brown and Jack Jones, ace detectives, join forces again to solve their third easy-reader mystery in this snappy new series from Newbery Medalist Rylant, author of the beloved Henry and Mudge books. Bunny the bunny is the practical brains of the detective duo, and Jack the raccoon is her humorous sidekick, who is even funnier in this book than in the previous volumes, The Case of the Missing Monkey (not reviewed) and The Case of the Climbing Cat (2000). In this case, Bunny and Jack solve the chronic disappearance (and reappearance) of a trombone from a neighborhood music store. The puzzling possum of the title, Freddy, has been repeatedly "borrowing" the trombone so he can play at hayride entertainments with Gus's Big Brass Boys. Bunny and Jack nab him red-handed, and Bunny offers the practical solution of paying for the trombone by giving lessons at the music store. The combination easy-reader, easy-mystery follows the established format of a few clues, a mild neighborhood mystery, and lots of clever puns and jokes that will delight the intended audience. The humor is exactly on track for the early elementary grades, including a squashed marshmallow on Jack's seat and a quick rush to the bathroom following some dizzying explanations by the music-store owner (just the sort of jokes first graders adore). Karas's engaging illustrations in acrylic, gouache, and pencil help create unique personalities for Bunny and Jack. It's no mystery why this series is successful, and this endearing duo seems destined to crack many more cases of minor mischief in their urban neighborhood. (Easy reader. 6-8)
Pub Date: Feb. 28, 2001
ISBN: 0-688-16308-4
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2001
Bruchac (The Journal of Jesse Smoke, p. 655, etc.) sets this short nail-biter, based on a Mohawk legend—about a man with an appetite so insatiable that he eats himself down to bones, then goes after his relatives—in modern New York state. Despite her protests, when Molly’s parents suddenly disappear, she’s handed over to a tall, thin stranger claiming to be her great-uncle. Molly can’t convince anyone, except a sympathetic but powerless teacher, that she’s in danger. But as she is locked into her new room each night, seldom catches even a glimpse of her captor’s face, and discovers that he has a closed-circuit TV camera trained on her door, she recalls a scary tale her Mohawk father tells. She also begins having strange dreams: of being pursued, and of a rabbit who offers warnings and guidance. Those dreams turn real when she escapes, finds her parents imprisoned in an adjoining building, then leads her captor on a desperate run through dark woods to a (perhaps final) confrontation on a high, rickety bridge. Bruchac adds believable details, vigorously cranks up the suspense, and pits a deliciously ghastly creature who likes to play with his food against a resourceful young heroine who draws both on courage and cultural tradition to come out on top. A natural for under-the-blanket reading. (Fiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-06-029075-7
Page Count: 128
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2001
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