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Book Review: The Loch Ness Punster (43 Old Cemetery Road) by Kate Klise, illustrated by M.Sarah Klise

The Loch Ness Punster (43 Old Cemetery Road) by Kate Klise, illustrated by M.Sarah Klise

HMH Books for Young Readers (April 7, 2015)

ISBN-13: 978-0544313378

Availability: Hard cover, Paperback

This is the seventh book in the series 43 Old Cemetery Road. The series is about an abandoned kid named Seymour Hope, a ghost named Olive C. Spence, and a grumpy author, Ignatius B. Grumply, who live together in a haunted house. What makes this series special is that there are exciting new characters introduced in every sequel. The format is fun; it is based on letters, postcards, newspapers, and drawings rather than straight narrative. The author uses comical language and wordplay coupled with true adventure. The plots are exciting and keep the reader guessing. No two books in the series are alike.

In The Loch Ness Punster, we find out why Iggy is so grumpy all the time. A childhood memory continues to haunt and anger him. He is sent to a Scottish castle he inherits from his uncle Ian, who makes lots of bad jokes, so is called a “punster.” Seymour, the main character, inherits the castle from Iggy’s uncle, but he must protect it from a villain who wants to change it into an amusement park so he can become a knight by winning the Queen’s competition to bring tourists to the region.

With ghosts, bizarre pets, and mysterious appearances and disappearances, the reader is caught in a complicated but wildly fun adventure. A storm is brewing, literally and figuratively, and has the cast of misfits running around until the reader has no clue what will happen next. Throw in a sweet romance, and you have a winning series populated by characters who are written with depth and humor, and a way of attaching themselves to your heart. Mysterious and unique, you will have trouble putting this book down. I loved this series and recommend that you read the books in order. Highly recommended for children of all ages.

Contains: N/A

Highly Recommended

Reviewed by the Goblin Girl

Posted on January 4, 2016 by Kirsten, Reply

Book Review: Goosebumps The Movie: Monster Survival Guide

Goosebumps The Movie: Monster Survival Guide– All the Tips and Tricks You’ll Need to Fight an Invasion in Your Hometown by Susan Lurie

Scholastic, 2015

ISBN-13: 978-0545821261

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition

The Goosebumps Survival Guide is the newest monster survival guide to come our way. It’s based on the movie Goosebumps, which is in turn based on R.L. Stine’s enormously popular Goosebumps, series and its related franchises. Does the book live up to its hype? The art is pretty cool, done in typical garish Goosebumps style. and integrates screenshots from the movie. The book tells you about the Goosebumps monsters, such as the Godzilla sized praying mantis, and zombie pirate One-Legged Ben, each in turn. Accompanying text identifying the monster includes the name of the book or books the monster appears in and then a short block of text from that book, But the problem is that the book does not live up to its title. In most of the book, the entries do NOT tell you how to survive an invasion or defeat the monster, and if the entry does include that information, it is not really helpful. For example, with the Godzilla-sized mantis the books says you have to squash it with your foot, but the REAL question is: How do you squash something that is bigger than you?. So that is what I saw while reading the survival guide. I did find helpful information on Slappy the Dummy, who has an extended six-page entry. When it says that Slappy is afraid of termites you might be able to defeat it by releasing termites nearby, because termites love to eat wooden dummies. So all you Goosebumps fans (and monsters) alike might like this when you are about to settle down for a long winter’s nap. But readers beware because you might have some unexpected visitors while reading. Recommended for elementary school and children’s libraries, especially because of the media tie-in, but with reservations for young monster hunters.

Reviewed by the Monster Kid

Posted on December 24, 2015 by Kirsten, Reply

Help a Reader Out: A Haunted Boarding School

Amy writes:

I read a book in the early 80’s about some girls who go to a special boarding school for the arts. One girl is a painter, one a writer and one is a musician. At night, they are possessed by the ghosts of famous artists (one is T.S. Eliot) but are unaware of this. They find out the teachers are using them to get more works out of the dead artists. Do you have any idea what book this is? I have no idea of the name or the author. Thanks.

Ooh, I know this one!