The Ghost Backstage

The Haunted Library #3

by Dori Hillestad Butler, Aurore Damant (Illustrator)

Kaz and Claire’s new detective agency is a success! Their latest case, though, is proving to be the hardest yet. When Claire’s classmate says he saw a ghost backstage while rehearsing the school play, Kaz goes to school with Claire to investigate. From the description the boy gave, Kaz is sure it’s his mom—but where has she gone? Kaz and Claire search everywhere and find no trace of her, but the mysterious ghostly activities are still happening…

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

131 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 13, 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

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so cute! I need to get the rest of the series!

[Blančitos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Série o strašidelné knihovně mě neskutečně baví a do současného náročného období sedne jako prťka na hrnec. :D

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

Another super fun adventure for Kaz and Claire! This series is just too much fun!

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

3.5 stars. In this one, Claire is in the school play. One kid says he sees a ghost so Claire and Kaz try to find out who it is. Kaz's mom was in the school and Jonathan (the kid) saw her, but then she left and nobody believed him. Everyone was making fun of him so Jonathan continued to do 'ghosty' things to make people stop making fun of him and believe there actually was a ghost.

[Angella McMurdie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Been reading these with my boy. So super cute and he is loving reading

[EthantheErudite · Rating 5 out of 5]

IT WAS SO COOL! I'm glad that Kaz could pick up solid objects.

[Katt Hansen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kaz visits Claire's school (when he should be back at home paying a bit more attention to ghosting lessons) and finds evidence that his mom has been there. He also discovers a unique talent (that annoyingly is never mentioned again. I'm hoping this has bearing in future books...?)

Cute series continues with no real progress made which is what keeps this story from being five stars. I like the storyworld, I like the premise. But I don't want this to become one of those series which is an endless quest that never makes any progress. Maybe in the next book? Will keep reading...

[Tessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I grabbed this for my 6 year old at random and read it aloud. It was pretty fun and cute and she was INSTANTLY hooked. She was actually asking me to read at random times throughout the day (we mostly read at bedtime) because she was so excited by this book. Even though it’s the 3rd book in the series, it was fairly easy to figure out the backstory.

This book makes ghosts very approachable and fun, it’s not scary at all which she loved. It gets very slightly spooky in a gentle, quickly resolved way which was perfect for her sensitive personality. The vibe is cozy-spooky.

I will say for me this had a problem you sometimes run into with series where as a procedural stand alone mystery, it was totally fine, but it did virtually nothing to advance the overall plot of the series. I was surprised it didn’t bother my child but she was totally fine with it and didn’t seem to notice. Considering how many famous, beloved book and TV series for adults do exactly the same thing, I guess I can’t blame her. I will also add the illustrations are very cartoony and cute and reminded me of old school Nickelodeon shows like the Fairly Odd Parents - definitely enhanced the book and felt like the right fit.

[McKenzie Richardson · Rating 4 out of 5]

For more reviews, check out my blog: Craft-Cycle

More mysterious happenings in need of investigating, this time at Claire's school. Another great entry in The Haunted Library series. While these are best read in order, there's enough backtracking and explanation of past events, that one could still enjoy this without having read the first two.

While Claire and Kaz investigate the odd occurrences surrounding the school play, they also come across some clues that bring them closer to finding Kaz's family and discover some surprising new details along the way. Great balance of self-contained mystery and progress in the overarching story.

I also really appreciate Damant's detailed illustrations. First off, they are adorable. But I also enjoy when she provides a clue in the pictures that isn't immediately evident in the narration. It keeps readers on their toes and adds another element to the story.

Definitely enjoying this series. My library only has the first three books but I'm looking forward to getting my hands on the others to continue this series and find out what's in store for Kaz and Claire.

[Linara Kolosov · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Ghost Backstage is the third book of The Haunted Library series by Dori Hillestad Butler. I read two or three chapters every evening to my 5-year-old son. He enjoys the books so much that even asks me to go to bed earlier. This book was a little bit more challenging for my boy to understand because there were many characters there and he got lost in the kids’ names, so I had to explain him who is who. Other than that, it was interesting to guess, “who is the ghost?” and the ending was surprising. It is also nice to see that Kaz discovers new skills.
Short summary: Claire got a part in a play, but there is a problem: one of the boys saw a ghost behind the scene. So, Claire takes Kaz to school and they are solving one more mystery. They discover that Kaz’s mom was in school some time ago, but left. The boy, who saw her, is bullied now, because no one believes in ghosts. And some strange things happen while kids have rehearsals: glowing warnings on the wall, disappearing costumes etc. Luckily, Claire and Kaz find the “ghost” and make the bully believe in ghosts.

[Ashley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Woof. We were attempting to find another series to read with the boys, but I found this to be quite boring. A lot of time spent on dialogue and descriptions of actions that didn’t always end up being that important. I had trouble paying attention. It ended pretty well, and my boys might have liked it more than me, but compared to other kid series we have read, just not as good.

[Abbey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun series continues with Kaz and Claire having adventures at Claire's school and finding evidence that Kaz's mom has been in the school at some point since the family haunt was torn down.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. I'm hoping this was the weakest book of the series, because I am intrigued by the series, but this was a pretty weak book.

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

The series continues for Kaz and Clair as they seek the rest of his family. This time they find the "ghost" who is sabotaging the school play.

[Kim Hampton · Rating 4 out of 5]

My 7 year old daughter picked out this series for us to read together. We really like them. Warning: they end in a cliffhanger!

[Malia Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

These are such fun books that I have been reading with my 6 and 9 year old. They love the mysteries!

[Sarah - All The Book Blog Names Are Taken]

Eleanor says: I was surprised by who is doing the tricks, I thought it was someone else. Kaz is getting great at his ghost skills.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Girls are still loving this series!

[Bethany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute read-aloud series!

[Joseph]

This book is awesome and interesting.

[Jessica S · Rating 4 out of 5]

All of my kids LOVED this book, it's the first one we've read in the series. They literally sat through the whole book in one day. A spooky story with a mystery, but definitely not overly scary.

[Eleanor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I Love Hauntind Library.

[Catarina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Made for a quick lunchtime read! Definitely think this is a perfect series for children that can read chapter books.

[Shankar B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked when Claire and Kaz had to find if Kaz’s mom was the ghost.

[Chelsea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun read with my 6 year old. Kept her engaged and asking questions. I enjoyed the book as well.

Hoping he finds his family soon. :)

[Izzy · Rating 5 out of 5]

love these books so much.their quick, fun,witty books.i want to finish the entire series

[Jane Maple · Rating 4 out of 5]

A boy at school sees a ghost, and Claire brings Kaz with her to school to investigate. Kaz finds a bead from his mom's necklace but can't find his mom anywhere. But he does investigate the other folks who are participating with Claire in a Jack and the Beanstalk play. There is the boy Jonathan, who is playing Jack and initially said something about seeing the ghost. There is the play's director Mr. Hartshorn and Andy who is doing the lights and sound for the play and knows about a secret passage and trap door that are part of the stage. There is Amber who doesn't like working backstage and whose parents work at a paint store and thus might be responsible for the "Beware I'm Here and I'm Watching" warning painted backstage (although the key was on the table and anyone could have gone in that room). While the investigate this case, Beckett is trying to get Kaz to work on his ghost skills, while he can't seem to pick anything up (including a book report at school with the word "ghost" on it which he thought was a clue) but while practicing his skills he does turn a lamp into a ghostly object and Beckett has no idea how he did it. In the end the ghost is Jonathan who did it to stop the others from teasing him, by trying to convince everyone there is a ghost after he saw Kaz's mom. And Kaz has a breakthrough when he picks up a sword to stop a kid from teasing Jonathan about ghosts.

[Mary Ellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Claire and Kaz are back for another ghostly mystery. Lily and I (my 7 year old daughter) booked it through this one today. (Get it...booked it... heh heh).
I have to admit, this wasn't my favorite of the series so far. We're still hooked on the series though. We're a chapter into book #4, I just put #5 on hold at the library, and I just requested our library purchase books #6 and #7.
These series is just perfect for the first, second, third age group. It's a little bit of paranormal, but the ghost (Kaz) is the one that is more spooked by the "solids" than the humans are of the ghosts.
They are just charming.

[Elfeeza Ehsan · Rating 5 out of 5]

That was a fun read! Glad Kaz learnt a ghost skill in this book and used it to help someone. It's really hard to give a spoiler free review on a 128-page book and one with a simple story to begin with. All I can say is I enjoyed he book and I liked how the main character grows in the series so far. The ghostly mysteries are also fun to read. Another book to recommend my students. Well actually, I'm recommending the whole series because I want to know whether Kaz finds his family in the end and I'm sure my students would want to know too.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Know why kids at my school love ❤️ this series. It catches your attention & makes you want to read the next in the series.