Kamron & Alyssa's Corner

This is a new feature I have been thinking about for a while.  My children, upon viewing my blog, were quite concerned that I only focused on adult literature or young adult and very rarely promoted children's literature, despite the fact that I read it quite extensively and have an educational background in it.  So I have named this one after my children and will focus once in a while on the 12 and younger genre in order to promote literature to the younger readers. 

As the mother of a son, I have always been concerned about getting him to read.  This has been more difficult than I ever thought possible, and finding books that he was interested in is more difficult than for my daughter.  I specialized in gender and literature for my post-grad studies and am now focused on trying to bring forth a lot more attention on literature for young boys. 

Some of the books will be those my children have chosen for me to read, and others will be ones I have chosen.  The first is one I chose as I liked the title, but I read it with my son.

The Ghost's Grave by Peg Kehret
2005 Dutton Children's Book
Hardcover Edition; 210 Pages
ISBN: 0-525-46162-0
Genre: Fiction/Suspense Ages 9-12

4 / 5 Stars

Summary (Press Release)
What Josh thought would be the dullest summer of his life, spent with his eccetric aunt, turns chilling when he meets the ghost of a coal miner killed in a mine explosion.  Willie has been waiting years for some kind soul to dig up his leg and rebury it with the rest of him - only then will he be at peace.

Josh agrees to do the grisly deed, but when he digs in the old cemetary, he finds more than Willie's leg bones.  Who buried teh bos of cash in the grave, and why?  How far will that person go to get the money back?

My Thoughts
As a parent, I would highly recommend this book for this age group.  It was engaging right from the beginning, with plenty of mystery, suspense, and thought-provoking adventure that would make your child ask plenty of questions (at least mine did).  I really like the fact that Josh had to think through a lof of the problems he encountered and thought about the consequences of some of the choices he had to make.  I used it as "What would you do if..." sessions for my son, and we discussed a lot of questions and concerns between us, such as what to do if you were at home alone and someone entered the house. 

Aunt Ethyl was a unique character and I certainly was not expecting her to shoot at a bat in her own house.  I can see how children would really like many parts of the book and how they would find it exciting.  Ms. Kehret has a way of writing that makes things really exciting for children, without using language that goes above their heads. 

If you like mysteries and ghost stories, then I would highly recommend this novel.  It can be scary and mysterious for children, but my son could not put it down.  He is looking forward to reading another book by this author, and frankly, so am I.