The Hidden Staircase

The Hounds of Penhallow Hall #3

by Holly Webb

At Penhallow Hall, where magical objects come to life, Polly and ghost hound Rex discover a toy dog on the nursery shelf. But to their surprise, this dog doesn't want to be woken! Polly finds out that the little toy dog was left behind at Penhallow during World War II by his evacuee owners, when the two children returned to the city. Polly invites her new friend at school, Lucy, over to tea and she seems strangely drawn to the toy dog, too. But before Polly can find out why, Lucy goes missing. Polly guesses where Lucy might be - but she'll need the little dog's help to find her.

Genres: Dogs, Childrens, Fantasy

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2018

About the author

Holly Webb is one of Britain's best-loved children's writers. She has written over a hundred books for children, and her work has been translated into over thirty languages. Holly lives in Tilehurst, just outside of Reading, Berkshire, with her husband, three children and several cats.

Reviews

[Judy Wollin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this mystery. The characters, including the ghost dogs, were interesting.
Polly dreads the first day at school. She’s the new girl, and there is no getting around first-day nerves. Martha is not friendly, but Lucy is, and that makes life and school easier for Polly. That is, until Polly hears unusual whining on the path while walking home, and Lucy starts to behave strangely. What is going on?
Recommended for readers eight years and older.

[Sofy · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is a very interesting book. I recommend it!!!

[Ella Storey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked it. It was at a perfect pace and amazing characters that went very well together.

[Anne-Maria Moynihan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant

This a great book for children to get them reading keep it up more stories like this will keep children gaming back again and again

[Alexie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like that the book recaps the previous books in the series and has reoccurring characters.

I like that the reader gets to see Polly have her first day at school and that it wasn't as bad as she thought.

I enjoyed the fact that the reader got to feel the house change with the mention of a new dog but with a sad story.

I liked that the reader got to see Polly spend time with her mum as the reader got to see them bond.

I like how Polly has become friends with Lucy but Lucy seemed odd when she came to Penhallow and saw the toy dog.

I enjoyed that Polly was able to talk to the little dog and understand his past like with the rest of the dogs at Penhallow. The dog’s name is Skip and belonged to Anna and Jack who were evacuated children but when they suddenly left, Skip wasn't allowed to go so decide to try and find them but when doing so he was hit by a car.

I liked the tension that was built after Lucy didn't go home one day after school so Polly decided to go looking for her, Rex was able to find her scent and found that she was at Penhallow. They realised that if she was there she will be in the nursery however they wouldn’t be able to get into the nursery as there were still guests. So Rex decides to knock a vase next to the stairs which falls down and breaks to distract the guests so he can get Skip.

Polly, Rex and Skip had to get away from the vase but the only way was by using the old dumb waiter, which lead to the cellars. Once down there trying to leave they heard singing. When they followed the voice they realise that it is Lucy with the stray dog that Polly saw on her way to school on one morning.

Polly asked Lucy if she would be allowed to keep the dog and Lucy responded saying she would be able to. From the corner of Polly’s eye she saw two figures, a boy and a girl who looks familiar like the once she had seen in the photos. It was Anna and Jack who looks pleased to see Skip happy.