The Haunted Library

The Haunted Library #1

by Dori Hillestad Butler, Aurore Damant (Illustrator)

A brand-new young chapter book series from Edgar Award winner Dori Hillestad Butler!



When ghost boy Kaz’s haunt is torn down and he is separated from his ghost family, he meets a real girl named Claire, who lives above the town library with her parents and her grandmother. Claire has a special ability to see ghosts when other humans cannot and she and Kaz quickly form a friendship. The two join forces to solve the mystery of the ghost that’s haunting the library. Could it be one of Kaz’s lost family members?

Genres: Mystery, Childrens, Fantasy, Chapter Books, Ghosts, Paranormal, Middle Grade

128 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 14, 2014

About the author

Dori Hillestad Butler is an American author of more than 40 children's books, as well as magazine stories, plays and educational materials. Her first book, The Great Tooth Fairy Rip-Off, was published in 1997. She is known particularly for The Truth about Truman School, a 2008 young adult title focusing on the subject of cyber bullying, and for My Mom's Having a Baby (illustrated by Carol Thompson), which in 2011 appeared on the American Library Association's list of most commonly challenged books in the United States for its portrayal of conception and childbirth. Her 2010 mystery title, Buddy Files: Case of the Last Boy, won the 2011 Edgar Award for the best juvenile mystery published in 2010. Before becoming a children's author, Butler worked for three years as a page at a library.

Reviews

[Mir · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is supposed to be a story about friendship? Really? Because Claire is a terrible friend, and not a very nice person. She seems to be one of those people who are sensitive about their own feelings and indifferent to everyone else's, who only think about themselves. Her family is the same way.

Kaz has just been separated from his family, probably forever, in a traumatic accident. Does Claire care? No, she'd just exited to have a new activity. She chases Kaz around in a completely uncaring way, even after she realizes that he is a kid like her and that she is upsetting and scaring him. And she makes a big deal out minor things he says that she doesn't like, such as calling the living "solids", while saying all sorts of insensitive things to him and the other ghost who lives in the library. I can only assume that Kaz is her friend because he has no other options (only Claire can see him).

And the "mystery" is just dumb.

[Diz · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a bit disappointing. The mystery only takes up a few pages of the story. It is solved in only one or two pages of the book, and there were no clues to follow for readers to figure out the mystery themselves. Additionally, the ghost character, Kaz, is really irritating because he knows literally nothing about the human world. I'm guessing that in the world of this story, ghosts have their memories wiped when they become ghosts. However, that presents problems because the whole point of becoming a ghost is that one has attachments to the mortal world, right? Anyway, the story never explains why ghosts are so clueless in this world.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awwww! That was so cute!

[Kest Schwartzman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am specifically mad at the human child for calling all the ghosts "ghosts" but refusing to let them to call her a "solid" because she's just normal "people".

But, that might be a pet peeve.

[Alina Karapandzich · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent option for a children's early chapter book mystery series! Plenty of black and white illustrations throughout, with large print text and the first one had 10 chapters. The characters are fun and each has a very unique personality and the plot line itself is very creative (especially having a whole separate vocab words that ghosts use in regards to 'solids' or living people). I would definitely recommend this series.

[Gail · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was so cute—a fun story (with ghostly terminology that included an index for reference!), short chapters, and just the right length for an early reader. (My son is 6.) Sometimes we check out chapter books from the library and we never get around to finishing them because the subject material doesn't hold his interest long enough, but there was no problem here with this title!

[Stephanie ((Strazzybooks)) · Rating 3 out of 5]

“‘But ghosts are people, too,’ Kaz said. ‘We’re just not . . . solid people. Like you.’”

This was a cute story about a ghost who loses his family and a girl detective who can see ghosts and lives in a library. It wasn’t very exciting, as it’s definitely a set-up for a series, but I like the premise. It could be triggering for kids with the loss of family.

[Stephanie (Reading is Better With Cupcakes) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was just so fantastically fun!

[Eleanor · Rating 5 out of 5]

it’s a spokey,and fun.I love Kas, The ghost.

[Alondra · Rating 4 out of 5]

HOnestly these books bring so much nostalgia from getting them from the library to me
also the're quick but interesting books to read

[EthantheErudite · Rating 5 out of 5]

IT WAS SO COOL, i can't WAIT until I read the next one.

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book makes no sense, and leaves me with some dark and unanswered questions. Namely, how did an entire family (grandparents and dog included) all die? And why do they haunt an old school house? Was there a fire during parent night at the school, and only that family perished? Or are these ghosts even dead people? Because Kaz, the main character, doesn't seem to know ANYTHING about the living world. But he's supposed to be, like, an 8 year old kid, or something, so you'd think that before he died he'd know what a pen was, or what a fan was, or what it felt like to SIT IN A @#$^ING CHAIR!!! Unless when he died, so did every single memory he ever made while alive. Except for those of his family? This book wants to have ghosts without the uncomfortable fact of what ghosts are and where they come from. From an adult perspective, it just makes the story complete nonsense.

[Kat · Rating 2 out of 5]

A few years ago, I wrote some comic strips with the premise of a young girl who befriends a ghost in a library. Then, I saw that there are LITERAL BOOKS about that. So, for the librarian reading challenge, I read one of them, my hopes admittedly too high. I was hoping for something like Henry and Mudge meets Calvin and Hobbes meets a snarky little girl and her best spirit friend. Instead, I just thought it was kind of dull with a weird reimagining of ghosthood. But, you know, it's written for kids.

[Karen Arendt · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun read for 2nd and 3rd graders that like ghost stories (that aren't scary!) and mysteries. Kaz is a ghost who gets separated from his family when he gets blown "outside" then blown away from his family. He end up at a library that is reported to be haunted. A girl, Claire, can see him (and other ghosts, too); she is eager to be a detective like her parents, so she takes notes on all the ghosts she sees. Claire and Kaz ultimately team up to find the ghost that is haunting the library.

[Vesra (When She Reads) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another cute read. :)

Full review @ When She Reads

[Alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not like this book because I do not like to stay up all night. I also did not like this book because I did not like the part when Kaz, the main character, got blown away from his family.

[Chloe (Always Booked) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun story about a ghost named Kaz who gets blown in the wind, away from his family and dog into a mysterious old library. There's already one ghost that lives there, but more surprising is the little girl that lives there named Claire. Claire can see him, even though "solids" usually can't see ghosts unless they intentionally glow. The kids work together to try to figure out if there is a 3rd ghost in the library- and if so- is it Kaz's missing brother, Finn? We can't wait to get the next book and see if Kaz is reunited with this family!

[Allison Lienen · Rating 4 out of 5]

My students really enjoyed this one and I got all thumbs up! I found it to be a little slow in the building up of the overarching storyline. That does however make me want to read more to find out what happens to Kaz’s family!

[Melissapalmer404 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute, quick read. Kaz, a ghost, gets separated from his family. He finds a library and starts looking for his family there. Claire, a human, can see him and they strike up a friendship. First in a series. Would be good for elementary readers.

[Catarina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took a couple of days because I fell asleep while reading. But this book made the perfect little nighttime read! A precious children’s book, and a quick read.

[Ash Bringmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Too cute. loved this one

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute☺️

[Jordan Prairie]

So cute! Love the illustrations.
♥︎♡

[Sarabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great mystery for the Kindergarten crowd. Ben loved it.

[Danielle Booey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just a cute little paranormal mystery about a ghost named Kaz and a girl named Claire. Kaz generally tries to avoid "solids", the ghost term for alive people, but when his family's haunt is torn down his life changes completely. He is quickly whisked away by the wind and away from his family. He finally comes to rest in a library where he meets Claire, a young girl who just happens to be able to see ghosts and wants nothing more than to be a detective. Together they decide to try to find out what happened to the rest of Kaz's family and figure out if one of them might be the ghost haunting the library!

[Jessica-Robyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a cute, but the tone was rather strange for an early chapter book. The idea of little girl befriending a ghost boy to solve mysteries is lovely, but the set up of the little ghost boy being tragiclly ripped from his family and ending up stranded and alone, in a way that clearly distressed him, was not what I was expecting. Like, someone needs to give him a hug or something because he clearly needs one and no one in the book appears to care.

I mostly read this book because the illustrations, which are sprinkled throughout and have the same style as the cover art. They are very well done and a nice addition to the story.

[Katt Hansen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ghost named Kaz gets blown a long way from home and lands in a library where Claire lives. Claire is a solid who can see ghosts (though no one believes her, even the ghosts sometimes). Kaz just wants to find his family. Claire wants to solve mysteries and drags the reluctant spooks into one puzzle after another.

This is a good introduction into an interesting storyworld. The ghosts seem a bit fragile the way they can get blown around, which makes them not too dangerous for the young readers enjoying the story. I liked this.

[Erica Sonzogni · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was suggested by a second grade parent so I read it to my students as a read aloud. It was amazing. At the end of each chapter, my students did not want me to stop. There is a mystery along with cute, lovable characters and you want the ghost, Kaz, to be happy in the end. We have already started the second in the series and I can't wait to read the entire thing.

[Bethe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy to solve mystery for the beginner chapter book crowd. Cartoonish drawings add to the kid appeal.

[Ana · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorite and most exciting parts were when Kaz found out that Claire could see ghosts and Claire's grandma was pretending to be the ghost<\spoiler>.